Telangana setting up B-Hub to support biopharma sector

IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao laid the foundation stone for B-Hub at Genome Valley on Tuesday.

Hyderabad: After creating new benchmarks with State-supported facilities T-Hub and WE-Hub, Telangana has now embarked on creating a similar ecosystem for the biopharma segment with Biopharma Hub (B-Hub). IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao laid the foundation stone for B-Hub at Genome Valley on Tuesday.

B-Hub, a unique initiative by the Government of Telangana, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and the Department of Biotechnology, is a first-of-its-kind growth-phase centre and biopharma scale-up manufacturing facility. It is poised to be an epicentre for fast growing biotechnology companies. It will have a bioprocess scale-up facility, research and development laboratories, collaboration modules and training rooms.

It will support small and medium-sized biopharma companies in conducting proof-of-concept studies in its 200L single use scale-up facility and will cater to research activities within its 1.5 lakh sqft area. It will aid in attracting talent and fostering innovation, said Rama Rao.

The new facility will act as a catalyst for the biopharma sector. Complemented by Hyderabad’s booming lifesciences ecosystem, B-Hub will provide a unique opportunity for fast growing organisations in the biopharma sector.

“Telangana is leading by example. It has been at the forefront of innovation. We aim for a $100 billion valuation for the lifesciences segment ahead of the 2030 target set. It was $50 billion in 2020. B-Hub will help consolidate Telangana’s leadership position in biopharma space,” he said.

B-Hub will also have good laboratory practice (GLP) – grade turnkey incubator. The scale-up manufacturing facility will give domestic companies the required impetus viz-a-viz Korea, China and France that have taken the lead in biopharma innovation. With companies aggressively embarking on global biologics and biosimilars opportunities, a biopharma scale-up facility will help them reduce the time to market.

IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Life Sciences and Pharma Director Shakthi M Nagappan were present.