Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday launched BIO-NIVESH, a platform aimed at connecting biotechnology startups with investors and increasing private capital for innovations that are ready for scale-up and commercialisation.
The Minister of State for Science and Technology made the announcement while holding a roundtable with biotechnology startups and investors in New Delhi.
Speaking at the event, Singh said innovation cannot reach its full potential without investment, while investment cannot remain sustainable without innovation. He stressed the need for closer coordination among innovators, investors, industry and the government to accelerate India’s biotechnology-led growth.
“India must not be a late entrant in the next biotechnology-driven industrial revolution,” Singh said, pointing to India’s experience during the IT revolution, when the country was around a decade behind.
He said BIO-NIVESH would help create a stronger link between scientific research, entrepreneurship, industry and the market.
Focus on building large biotech companies
During the interaction, Singh suggested that the biotechnology sector could explore a “Big Five in Five Years” approach to create a few large anchor companies capable of driving the wider startup ecosystem.
He said focused resources could help build companies whose growth could create opportunities for other startups in their ecosystem. He also suggested examining whether innovations developed in one sector could have applications in another.
The Minister said the government could create enabling conditions and absorb some of the initial risks, but private capital would be essential for sustaining growth, building companies and taking technologies to scale.
Investors urged to look beyond funding rounds
Singh called for greater participation from the corporate sector and urged investors to assess biotechnology ventures on factors including technology, intellectual property, development pathways, market potential and their ability to build globally competitive companies from India.
He also encouraged startups to engage with investors at an early stage.
The right investor, he said, could bring more than capital by providing strategic expertise, industry partnerships, manufacturing capabilities, market access and global networks.
The Minister noted that biotechnology has longer development cycles, complex regulatory requirements and significant capital needs, making patient capital and sustained partnerships particularly important.
₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund
Singh also highlighted the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, which has an outlay of ₹1 lakh crore.
The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has been designated as a Second-Level Fund Manager for biotechnology and allied sectors under the framework.
The Minister said the fund would facilitate long-term patient capital for technology developers, startups and companies working in strategic biotechnology areas, particularly those involved in technology translation, scale-up and innovation-led manufacturing.
He said public funding alone cannot take every promising innovation to the market and that government support should play a catalytic role by reducing early-stage risks and making technologies more attractive to private investors.
20 startups, 50 investors participate
The inaugural BIO-NIVESH edition brought together 20 high-potential biotechnology and deep-tech startups and around 50 investors.
The platform has been designed to go beyond conventional startup pitching by allowing entrepreneurs to understand investor expectations while giving investors greater insight into the scientific, regulatory and development challenges associated with biotechnology.
The first session featured direct startup-investor interactions, with startups selected on the basis of innovation, development stage, market potential, scalability and regulatory readiness.
The second session involved an interaction between Singh, investors and startups on access to capital, commercialisation, scale-up and measures to support innovation-led growth.
Singh said the success of BIO-NIVESH should ultimately be measured by the partnerships created, investments mobilised, technologies scaled and products brought to market.
The platform is planned as a recurring initiative, with future editions proposed in different cities to connect regional biotechnology ecosystems with investment networks.
The Minister said the initiative could become an important mechanism for strengthening the link between innovation and investment and helping Indian biotechnology companies move from the laboratory to the global market.
