New life sciences hub in Attibele to support expansion of scale-ups

Bengaluru: Attibele in south Bengaluru will soon be a destination for innovation with city's first organized life sciences cluster. Bengaluru Lifesciences Research (BLR) District, planned as a 52-acre campus with a total development of 2.5 million square feet, is poised to be an integrated, self-sustained cluster with state-of-the-art infrastructure for R&D and manufacturing.

BLR District complements the growth in existing hubs of Electronic City, Jigani and Bommasandra by enabling expansion as well as consolidation of research and manufacturing operations. Ideally located to tap into the high-quality scientific talent, the cluster will create thousands of new jobs in the region and contribute to the growth of the local economy. It will also foster collaboration between industry, academia, and government, with the aim of driving innovation in the life sciences sector.

Spanning across five districts, the project comprises of lab space modules and built-to-suit Flexi Factories catering to Biopharma, Medtech, Agriscience, Nutraceutical and allied sectors. BLR District is ideal for start-ups, scale-ups and established organizations. The first phase of about 200,000 square feet is ready for fit-outs offering multi-tenanted wet laboratories, incubation facilities, and associated office spaces.

This project is a part of the portfolio of Rx Propellant, India's leading life sciences infrastructure platform and is being developed by Roach Lifescapes (formerly known as RBD Shelters), a renowned name in residential/commercial real estate and hospitality in the city. Commenting on BLR District, Minister for Higher Education, IT, BT and S&T, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Dr. C N Ashwath Narayan said, "Bengaluru has been on the forefront of biotech industry with a thriving network of reputed universities, research institutes, well-established companies and fast-growing start-ups. The city is a hub for start-ups offering top-notch talent and a vibrant ecosystem for innovation. The new life sciences cluster in Attibele is expected to accelerate this growth further by attracting investment upwards of INR 2500 crores and creating 15,000+ skilled and semi-skilled jobs. This first-of-its kind dedicated life sciences destination will be at par with international clusters and will strengthen the region's position globally".

Thr Additional Chief Secretary to Government-cum-Development Commissioner and ACS, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Dr. E V Ramana Reddy said, "The biotechnology industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in recent years, with a significant impact on healthcare, agriculture, and the environment. Bengaluru has one of the highest numbers of biotechnology start-ups in the country which is a matter of immense pride. BLR District, with its size and scale, can house companies at different stages in the innovation value chain from concept to commercialization. It is an ideal destination for the best talent in the industry to ideate, collaborate and bring new products to the market."

The MD, Roach Lifescapes (formerly RBD Shelters), Austin Roach said, "Leveraging our deep expertise in real estate of commercial and residential spaces as well as hospitality, we are excited to foray into life sciences infrastructure domain with Rx Propellant. BLR District in Attibele has a distinct advantage of good connectivity to existing hubs and social infrastructure with housing, schools and hospitals in the vicinity. This life science cluster is poised to be the next big hub for research and innovation".

The MD of Rx Propellant, Vishal Goel said, "After successfully developing labspaces in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, we are thrilled about the expansion of our life sciences infrastructure footprint to Bengaluru in partnership with Roach Lifescapes. BLR District is conceptualized as an integrated campus with well-defined districts for start-ups and scale-ups, contract development and manufacturing hubs, specialized environments and clean manufacturing. The idea is to enable organizations to grow synergistically with innovation-driven companies, service providers and lab equipment suppliers within the same premises".

The President, Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), G S Krishnan said, "Bengaluru has several incubators and accelerators that provide critical support for early-stage start-ups such as Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC). It is encouraging to witness private players develop a cluster like BLR District which offers fitted-out space for young companies to grow and succeed, thereby augmenting the vibrant start-up culture".

The MD, Bugworks Research and Vice President, ABLE, Dr. AnandAnandkumar said, "In the recent past, many early-stage companies in Bengaluru have raised sizeable funds to scale up their operations, however they are challenged by availability of space for expansion. BLR District offers an opportunity to such fast-growing companies to scale up in an agile, asset-light model so that their financial resources can be channelized towards core R&D rather than on setting up infrastructure".