Syngene International Ltd., a leading global contract research organization, has opened its Centre for Advanced Protein Studies (CAPS) by the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

The Centre has been set up in collaboration with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) at Syngene’s campus in Bengaluru and will host a state-of-the-art GLP accredited analytical laboratory.

Inaugurating the facility, Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, said, “We undertook an extensive study to identify critical gaps impeding growth and innovation in the Biopharma sector and i3 (Innovate in India) program was launched to develop platform technologies for product validation, link disparate institutions to strengthen clinical trial networks, promote partial de-risking for novel products, and build capacities in emerging areas such as translational bioinformatics, bioethics etc. The National Biopharma Mission is being implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) – a Public Sector Undertaking of DBT, and this facility has be set up in a record time of 9-10 months. This is the first of its kind private-public partnership model."

Regulatory approval of complex biological molecules involves extensive and advanced analytics including assessment of physiochemical characteristics, efficacy, immunogenicity (antidrug antibody), contamination, strength and more.

All these tests need to be performed in a GLP compliant analytical facility. Availability of appropriate certified facilities at affordable costs is a challenge that the start-ups, SMEs/MMEs and the academia in India, have to often face.

CAPS will help address this challenge and will be a big boost in advancing biopharma research and product development in India. Spread across an area of 2000 sq. ft, the Centre will run under the ‘Innovate in India’ program of the National Biopharma Mission, Department of Biotechnology, announced by the Government of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Managing Director, Syngene International Ltd. said, “I am extremely excited to see this partnership between Syngene and BIRAC. In the last few years, India’s biotechnology sector has seen tremendous action. India has immense scientific and entrepreneurial talent available in the country which gives it strong potential to emerge as the R&D hub for the global biotechnology industry. The CAPS facility will provide the right ecosystem for this talent to pursue their research objectives.”

Jonathan Hunt, Chief Executive Officer, Syngene International Ltd., said, “It is indeed an honor for Syngene to collaborate with BIRAC in setting up the CAPS facility. As India’s largest scientific services provider, this collaboration will help Syngene play an active role in the development of India's biotechnology industry as well as nurture the innovative spirit within the industry.”

Apart from providing the necessary infrastructure support at affordable cost, CAPS will also focus on advancing technical skill development to global standards, by conducting various trainings and workshops involving eminent subject experts.

National Biopharma Mission is an industry-academia collaborative mission of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and World Bank for accelerating early development of biopharmaceuticals and is being implemented by BIRAC.

This collaboration is a part of the National Biopharma Mission, which will be a big boost in advancing biopharma research and product development in India.