BioNEST DMIHER

Before you apply

• Have your product name, thematic area and technology readiness level ready. The form asks for all three.
• Say whether the product already has another incubation. The form asks this.
• Write a short description of the product. The form asks for one.

How applications work

• Apply through the online form linked from the Incubate button on the home page.
• The site does not publish intake dates, a closing date or a selection process. Ask before planning around a date. The contact address is contact@bionestdmiher.com.

Questions the site does not answer

• Whether incubation takes equity or charges a fee.
• Whether founders outside Wardha and Nagpur can join.
• How long the programme runs.
• Which facilities an incubated startup can book directly. The usage rate chart on the facilities page shows equipment charges.

BioNEST DMIHER is a biotechnology incubator on the campus of Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed to be University) in Sawangi, Wardha, with a second location at Datta Meghe Medical College in Nagpur. The centre is hosted by ITE Research Foundation, a Section 8 company, and describes itself as the first bioincubator in central India. It works with startups in biotechnology, medtech, agritech, biopharma, bio-industrial, bioenergy and bio-services.

Who runs it

ITE Research Foundation hosts the centre. The team page names Dr. Pravin Vaidya as CEO, Dr. Abhay Gaidhane as Principal Investigator and Dr. S. S. Patel as Chief Coordinator. It also lists mentors, among them Prof. Sanjay Zodpey, President of the Public Health Foundation of India, and Dr. Deepak B. Saxena of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar.

The incubation programme

The main route in is the BioNEST DMIHER Incubation Program. The home page links its Incubate button to an online application form. The form asks for the innovator's name and contact details, the product name, its thematic area, its technology readiness level, whether it already has another incubation, and a short description of the product.

The site does not say whether incubation takes equity or charges a fee, how long a cohort runs, or when the next intake opens.

Who can apply

The home page describes the centre as a platform for researchers, innovators and startups. The pages do not say whether founders outside Wardha and Nagpur, or outside India, can apply, so ask the centre before applying from elsewhere.

Facilities

Startups can rent workspace, from small offices to larger labs for advanced research. The laboratories listed include cell and tissue engineering, immunology, material synthesis, therapeutic drug monitoring and thermal processing. A digital fabrication lab has 3D printers, laser cutters, a 3D scanner and a vinyl cutter. Electronics and mechanical prototyping labs are also listed. Cold storage holds more than 500 samples at -80°C, -20°C and 4°C.

The site lists further collaborative and associate facilities: a cadaveric lab, an animal house for pre-clinical research, a herbal garden and an advanced simulation lab. The about page also describes NABL-certified facilities, a central research lab and a clinical setting within a NABH-accredited 2500+ bed hospital. The pages do not say which of these a startup can book directly.

Equipment is charged by the hour or by the sample. The usage rate chart shows separate rates for startups incubated at the centre, external students and startups, and industry users.

Services

The centre says it provides expert advisory and mentoring from clinicians, superspecialists, biostatisticians and innovators, covering clinical development, data analysis and business strategy. It lists regulatory and IP consultation, strategic business support, help with grant submissions and legal support. It also says startups can get pre-clinical testing and clinical-trial support through the ICMR INTENT network.

Companies it lists

The incubatees page lists twelve companies. They include CareNX Innovations, which makes a wireless fetal heart monitor; Remote Physios, which provides physiotherapy at home; IRA Medical Technologies, which makes an oral appliance for sleep apnoea; and Precisurg, which makes an adjustable surgical osteotomy guide. Others are AUR Innovations, Sindicolpo, Docuses Healthcare and several LLPs working in agritech and biotech. The site gives no total count of startups supported, so the list is the only figure available.

Locations

Wardha: BioNEST DMIHER, ITE Research Foundation, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra 442107.

Nagpur: BioNEST DMIHER, ITE Research Foundation, Datta Meghe Medical College, Hingna Road, MIDC Industrial Area, Wanadongri, Nagpur, Maharashtra 440016.