IITM Bioincubator

Choosing this programme

• Pick this incubator if your biotech product needs wet lab space, bioprocessing equipment or analytical instruments.
• Teams that need only office space can ask about cubicles or hot desks.
• The incubator is built for companies at proof-of-concept stage with a clear route to market.

How applications work

• Apply through the online form on the site. It asks for a project description covering background, technical details and advantages over existing products.
• Prepare a business plan and supporting documents, since both are required uploads.
• Expect an initial screening by the incubator staff and a discussion before the committee reviews your file.
• The Screening Committee meets once every six months, so plan your timeline around that cycle.
• Confirm current intake dates with the team before you apply, because the site's dated pages do not show a live call.

What reviewers look for

• Technical merit of the proposal.
• A plan for commercialisation.
• Team expertise.
• Seed funding in place or in view.
• Fit with the space and equipment on offer.

The site gives two different lists of criteria, so ask the team which list applies.

Before you apply

• Check that your company is Indian and registered in India.
• Blood samples and pathogenic organisms are not allowed in the facility.
• Existing biotech companies cannot use the space for their in-house research.

IITM Bioincubator is a biotechnology incubator set up in 2014 with support from BIRAC. It sits inside IIT Madras Research Park in Taramani, Chennai, and is run under the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.

How the incubation works

Selected startups get lab or office space, mentoring from IIT Madras faculty, business support from the Incubation Cell and access to seed funding through the BIRAC SEED Fund. Incubated companies take equity in return, and they pay usage fees for the space and equipment. The minimum stay is 15 months, and the programme reviews each company's progress every six months.

Who can apply

Applications are open to biotech startups registered in India that are not more than three years old since registration. The programme's guidance also lists individual innovators with a promising biotech idea, graduates and faculty members, who need a no-objection letter from their college or employer. Companies registered outside India cannot apply, and non-profit organisations cannot be incubated because the programme takes equity. Applicants do not have to be IIT Madras alumni, but they need some link to the institute, such as mentorship.

The application form asks for the company's current turnover, management team, funding status and the number of staff who will work at the facility. Most applicants work in diagnostics, industrial biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, therapeutics, food biotechnology, bio-energy, bioinformatics and sequencing.

Facilities

The incubator runs two phases in IIT Madras Research Park. Phase I has wet lab space with shared equipment for microbiology, molecular biology, cell culture and downstream processing. Phase II has wet lab space and individual cabins, where each company brings its own lab and office equipment. Hot desks are available in Phase II, with or without access to lab equipment.

A smaller space is available in the Department of Biotechnology at IIT Madras, meant for pre-incubation and for bioinformatics teams. The shared analytical services include HPLC, gas chromatography, FPLC, a microplate reader and PCR equipment, which incubatees can book and use. Faculty and students from IIT Madras can collaborate with incubated companies, which gives teams access to academic expertise beyond the incubator's own staff.

Companies can bring their own equipment, with prior notice to the team, and run it under their own supervision. Glassware, chemicals and other consumables are bought and maintained by the company.

The facility does not allow blood samples, human samples or pathogenic organisms. Its published space sizes differ between pages, so confirm the space you need with the team before you apply.

Support and network

Mentoring comes from IIT Madras faculty matched to each company by domain. The Incubation Cell provides legal, accounting, company secretary and patent services, and the IIT Madras Alumni Association's Entrepreneurship Forum runs monthly mentoring clinics. The incubator also runs workshops, seminars and lectures in biotechnology and entrepreneurship, which are open to students, industry staff and incubatees.

Who runs it

The incubator is led by a faculty in-charge from the Department of Biotechnology at IIT Madras, with faculty advisers from the same department. Its operating team includes a senior incubation manager, a finance manager and a senior technical manager.

Scale and track record

The incubatees page lists ten companies as incubated, one as virtually incubated, four as pre-incubated and five as graduated. Several entries carry status periods that begin between 2015 and 2020, so check the current status of any company before you rely on the list. The network page lists 19 partner incubators and centres across India, including several in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune.

Locations

The main office is on the third floor of IIT Madras Research Park, Kanagam Road, Tharamani, Chennai. The Department of Biotechnology room is on the IIT Madras campus.