C-CAMP plans Rs 400-cr Innovation Park in city, aims to triple startup base

Bengaluru: The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) is planning a five-acre Innovation Park within the Bengaluru Life Sciences Cluster (BLiSC) on the GKVK campus in north Bengaluru, with the project expected to be operational in 2028.The proposed facility will expand C-CAMP’s work in life sciences research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Planned as a 5,00,000-sqft campus, the park will house more than 100 laboratories and have capacity for over 2,000 scientists.The C-CAMP Innovation Park will focus on healthcare, agriculture and environmental applications, with the aim of helping research move from laboratories towards commercialisation, said Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director of C-CAMP.Its focus areas will include biopharma, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health and artificial intelligence, synthetic and industrial biotechnology, agri-biotech, fast-moving consumer goods and environmental biotechnology.Bengaluru to get Rs 300-cr innovation & startup museum”The objective is to build the next level of world-class life science research and innovation ecosystem by attracting global talent. We want to build the most converging intellectual capacity space. While C-CAMP currently supports over 700 deep science and life science startups from across the country, the aim is to triple this number with the innovation park,” Saiyed said.The park will include facilities for cell and gene therapy manufacturing, rapid prototyping of medical technologies, biomanufacturing for agricultural and industrial biotechnology, biosafety level-2 laboratories, and dry labs and infrastructure for artificial intelligence and medical technology. It will also have upstream and downstream analytical capabilities.The facility is expected to cater to mid-stage biotechnology startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), industry laboratories, global capability centres and service providers, including regulatory, licensing and contract research organisations.C-CAMP plans to raise Rs 400 crore by 2028 to fund the project. The Innovation Park will form part of the larger BLiSC ecosystem, which brings together institutions including the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) and C-CAMP. The campus is located around 25 km from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).Proposal in 2020The Karnataka government had initially proposed a ‘Bio Innovation Park’ in 2020, but the project did not take off until 2025.“The land was allotted towards the year-end of 2025. We were particular about the innovation park being located close to BLiSC, as it would help continue and build the space the BLiSC has already created. The Government of Karnataka has been very helpful in allotting the land and taking forward the project,” Saiyed said.Construction of the Innovation Park has already begun, with work on the main building set to start later this year.

Source: Deccan Herald