BioE3 Mission highlights scale, collaboration in India's biotech drive

Industry leaders at the Bengaluru Tech Summit said India's BioE3 Mission can succeed only with rapid scale-up, stronger industry-academia partnerships and sharper focus on downstream capacity

India’s bid to build a competitive biomanufacturing base under the government’s BioE3 mission will hinge on rapid capacity creation, tighter industry–academia links and a stronger focus on scalability, industry leaders said at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025 on Wednesday.

 

Speaking at a panel on “Bio-E3 and Biomanufacturing”, moderated by P M Murali, CMD of Jananom, the leaders said India’s “semiconductor moment” for biotechnology has arrived.

 

Rajesh Krishnamurthy, CEO of Laurus Bio, said global innovators are generating IP, but lack manufacturing capacity. “If India can build large-scale bioproduction assets in the next three to five years, it could shape the global landscape for the next three decades,” he said.

   

Scaling, however, requires discipline, including saying no to projects that don’t align with long-term capacity goals. Downstream processing remains the biggest bottleneck, he said, urging India to leverage its engineering depth and ability to integrate biology with chemistry and process engineering.

 

Sowmya Balendiran, cofounder and CBO of Sea6 Energy, said India’s startup ecosystem has transformed since 2010, with incubators and student entrepreneurship initiatives now far more accessible. The journey remains challenging, especially for women, she noted, adding that ambition should not be constrained by societal expectations.

 

Swaminathan Sethuraman, dean at SASTRA University, said higher education is expected to convert students trained in rigid, exam-driven systems into job-ready biotech professionals in just four years — “an extremely narrow window”.

 

He called for universities to evolve into mini biomanufacturing hubs with stronger translational and prototyping capabilities. Curricula remain fragmented with over 20 programme profiles, but uneven skill alignment, he added.

 

Murali said even the US is struggling with biomanufacturing capacity, triggering heavy investments in modernisation. This global shortage is driving interest in India’s BioE3 platform and CDMOs. Looking to 2047, he said India has a chance to leapfrog into sustainable biomanufacturing as it once skipped analogue telecom to go digital.

 

Affordability will depend on process design, said Vijay M S S, head of DS Manufacturing at Biocon Biologics.

 

Biologics cannot be standardised like other industries, he said, but cost efficiencies must still be engineered into development. A more mature regulatory system, domestic capability in disposables and equipment and stronger supply chains are already lowering development costs, he added.

 

Vijay also noted a correction in global biotech funding cycles after hype-driven investments four to five years ago that lacked scientific and market fundamentals.