KRIBS BioNEST Biotech Incubation Centre

Check the fit first

• KRIBS-BioNest is for biotech, life science, medical science and pharmaceutical ventures that need lab space or instruments.
• Decide which mode you need: pre-incubation for an unvalidated idea, physical incubation for built-up space, or virtual incubation if you only need the instruments.

How applications work

• Register your company and obtain a Startup ID before you apply.
• Submit the online incubation application on the website, then present to the Screening Committee.
• Expect to be judged on innovation, feasibility and market potential.

Prepare the application

• Be ready to describe the product, the technology, what is novel about it and the need it meets.
• State the lab space you need and why, the equipment you will bring, the utilities you need and the manpower you plan to employ.
• Name the period of incubation you want.
• Physical space is charged by rent, so plan for the monthly cost.

Other ways in

• Book a Tuesday industrial visit to see the facility before you apply.
• Students and fresh graduates can ask about 2-week, 1-month and 3-month training.

KRIBS BioNEST Biotech Incubation Centre (KRIBS-BioNest) is a biotechnology incubator at the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park in Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala. It is jointly managed by the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council's Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) and the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). It is a BioNEST centre, built to give early biotech and life science ventures lab space and shared instruments.

Who it is for

KRIBS-BioNest says it is focused on biotech entrepreneurs, from early-stage to growth-stage. Its rental space is meant for ideas in biotechnology, life sciences, medical sciences and pharmaceutical sciences. If you are building a food, nutraceutical, plant-extract, diagnostics or drug-discovery product and need a wet lab rather than a desk, this is the kind of founder it serves. A software-only or non-science startup is not a fit.

How incubation works

KRIBS-BioNest offers three modes of incubation. Pre-incubation gives sitting space, access to the Central Instrumentation Facility and mentoring to validate an idea, with a chance of full incubation once the idea is validated. Physical incubation gives built-up space for a monthly fee, plus access to the Central Instrumentation Facility. Virtual incubation is for entrepreneurs who only want to use the Central Instrumentation Facility and other resources, with no need to occupy physical space. A co-development mode adds scientific mentoring and technical support for young innovators who need help testing their hypotheses.

How to apply

The steps on its site are simple. Register your company and obtain a Startup ID. Submit the online application for incubation through the website. Present your project proposal to the Screening Committee. The committee evaluates the proposal on innovation, feasibility and market potential, and then decides whether you are eligible for the available incubation space. The application form asks about the principal investigator or chief promoter, any existing organisation, the product and technology, the lab space needed with a justification, the equipment you will bring and use, the manpower you plan to employ, and the period of incubation you want.

Facilities

The Central Laboratory is an 8,500 sq ft common instrumentation facility with Molecular Biology, Phytochemical Extraction, Analytical Biochemistry and Bioprocess laboratories. It also has upstream and downstream fermentation, drying systems, classified tissue and cell culture rooms and cold storage. Major instruments include LC MS/MS, HPLC, gas chromatography, a genetic analyzer, conventional and real-time PCR machines, a microprocessor-controlled fermentor, a pilot spray dryer and a freeze dryer. The workspace lease area is 16,000 sq ft, and tenants can customise their space for R&D in line with GLP standards. The centre charges rent by the square foot, with the rate rising each year of tenancy.

Alongside incubation, BioNest and RGCB offer paid analytical and cell biology services. These include chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis, sequencing and gene expression work, and cell-based assays.

Training and visits

BioNest runs training for course-finishing students and fresh employees in molecular biology and analytical chemistry. Internships come as a 2-week intensive programme, 1-month training or 3-month professional development. Every Tuesday it also hosts an industrial visit to the Central Instrumentation Facility, where visitors meet founders of startups incubated there. Bookings are first come, first served.

Startups

Its site lists current incubatees and matured incubatees who have moved out. Names include Alstonia Bio Private Limited, WellGenome Biotechnology Pvt. Ltd and Medscape Pharma Pvt Ltd.

Contact

The centre is at KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, HMT Colony P.O, Medical College - NAD Road, North Kalamassery, Kochi 683503. Its phone number is 0484 - 2989990.