The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is planning to support biomanufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and others in certain product strains, with lesser carbon emission, under its BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) policy, which is aimed at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing.
The move is with an aim to reduce the emission of Green House Gas (GHG) and decarbonise the chemical and pharma industry by transitioning to less carbon-intensive biomanufacturing of chemicals, polymers, and APIs using sustainable bio-based feedstocks.
DBT and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) have invited proposals for biomanufacturing of bio-based chemicals, biopolymers and APIs, particularly in indigenous production strains or strains with freedom-to-operate that will be green, environmentally friendly and renewable alternatives to traditional chemicals. Last date of submission of proposals is July 31, 2025.
Around six product strains would be accessible to the selected candidates through the 'BioE3 strain resource centre for fostering high performance biomanufacturing' at Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) - National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune upon the execution of legal agreements and the remittance of a one-time licensing fee.
The associated information including the catalogue for production strains, instructions for users/depositors, agreement to be signed etc. are accessible through the web portal of the Centre.
In APIs, the proposals should preferably focus on, but not restricted to the biomanufacturing of penicillin G, 7-ACA, erythromycin thiocyanate, clavulanic acid, neomycin, gentamicin, betamethasone, dexamethasone, prednisolone, rifampicin, vitamin B1, clindamycin base, streptomycin, tetracycline, lovastatin.
Proposals for biomanufacturing of indigenous product strains or strains having freedom-to-operate, which are not mentioned by the DBT in the call letter, can also be submitted for approval. These strains, however, should have a proof-of-concept that has been demonstrated at least lab scale, at technology readiness level (TRL) of three and above.
The proposals in the call are supported under two categories - discovery and application-oriented integrated network research, and bridge the gap for scaleup.
The proposals under the first category are invited for establishment of proof-of–concept and early-stage validation in a bioreactor (upto100L) to eventually reach TRL 3-5, focusing on demonstration of bioproduction of metabolites and further development of a strain and toolkit to enable biomanufacturing. For the second category, the proposals are invited for pilot-scale demonstration of technology in a bioreactor above 100 L to eventually reach TRL-7 or above.
Researchers or scientists working in government organisations, universities, academic institutions, national laboratories, DSIR recognised non-profit organisations, start-ups or industries with sound scientific and technical backgrounds and relevant publications in the proposed areas can submit the research proposals addressing various problem statements. Partnership of academia with industry and start-ups are also encouraged. In case of companies and startups, those having a minimum of 51% Indian shareholding or individuals holding Indian passports are only eligible.
Academia, research institutions, and national laboratories can submit applications through the DBT's e-ProMIS portal, while the industry and industry-academia collaborations can submit the applications through the BIRAC website.
As far as funding is concerned, projects having academic partners only will be funded by DBT. Projects involving Academia and Industry or only Industry will be supported by BIRAC. The extent of funding will depend on the proposed activities and will be in alignment with the “Implementation Plan for the Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry Initiative”. The project duration will be upto two years, extendable upto five years based on the performance. The Intellectual Property (IP) for derivative or modified strains will reside with the developer, it added.
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