B. V. Patel Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development (PERD) Centre

Pick the right route

• This route suits biotech and life-sciences startups that need wet lab and clean room space. The stated scope is biotechnology based innovations in pharmaceutics or life sciences.
• If you only need office space, the page does not describe a separate offer, so ask the centre.

How applications work

• The bio-incubator page lists a call for application and a registration form. Neither has a link or a date in the text, so ask the centre for the current intake.
• For details, write to the Director of the centre, as the charge-basis page directs. The page does not show an inbox.

How selection works

• The page does not describe its selection process. Ask what the centre looks for and whether there is an interview.

Questions to ask before you apply

• Which biosafety level applies to the clean rooms today, since two pages on the site differ.
• What the wet lab and office space cost, whether there is a fee, and how long a startup can stay.
• What the assistance in IPR and venture funds involves in practice.

The B. V. Patel Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development (PERD) Centre is a non-profit research centre in Thaltej, Ahmedabad, founded in October 1990. Its bio-incubator takes startups and entrepreneurs working on biotechnology based innovations in pharmaceutics or life sciences, and it was set up with financial support from DBT-BIRAC.

What the centre is

The centre is governed by its own trust, the B. V. Patel PERD Centre Trust, which the B. V. Patel Education Trust set up. It describes itself as a supportive partner to the pharmaceutical industry and academia. Most of its current research and recently completed projects are either government or industry sponsored, and it says it is home to SMEs, various incubations and entrepreneurship.

The director's message says the centre is recognized as a SIRO by DSIR, and that its Ph.D. programme is recognized by Bhavnagar University, Nirma University, Sardar Patel University and Ahmedabad University. These are the centre's own statements, and the site does not date them.

How the bio-incubator works

The incubator was started in 2006 to share the centre's infrastructure and facilities with startups. The centre says its aim is to support biotech innovators to become entrepreneurs, and to help people develop a new product, service or concept in pharmaceutics or life sciences into a marketable product. Its facility page describes the incubator as a way to test a proof of concept and scale it up towards commercialization.

The incubator also says it aims to provide easy entry and exit, and the wording on the page is as stated. The director's message adds that the centre has recently added an incubator facility with the help of funds from government funding agencies.

Who can apply

The stated scope is biotechnology based innovations in pharmaceutics or life sciences. The page does not list selection criteria, a minimum stage, an incorporation requirement or a fee. Ask the centre about each of these before you assume any of them. For details, the charge-basis page tells visitors to write to the Director of the centre, and it does not show an inbox.

Facilities and space

The bio-incubator page lists seven corporate-styled office spaces, wet lab spaces, clean rooms rated BSL-2, and an instrumentation facility for genomics, proteomics and imaging. Common facilities include a meeting room, high speed internet, parking, security, and stabilized and UPS power connections. The charge-basis page gives 250 sq. meter of ready to move space for incubator use.

The biosafety level needs checking before any lab work is planned. The bio-incubator page gives BSL-2 for the clean rooms, while another page on the site describes planned clean rooms with biosafety level three facilities. Confirm the level that applies today.

Support and advice

The bio-incubator page lists advisory services and mentoring for incubatees, along with assistance with IPR and venture funds. It also lists approvals from IBSC and IAEC as an advantage, but does not say how those approvals are obtained. Mentors named on the page include CA Ketan Barevadia, Mr. Padmin Buch, Dr. U.K. Jani, Mr. Mayank Patel and Dr. Sweta Patel.

Track record

The centre names ACTON Biotech, Amrita Therapeutics and AXIO Biosolutions as start-up companies it has benefitted. It gives no count, outcome or date for them, so read these names as examples rather than a verified track record.

Who runs it

Dr. Manish Nivsarkar is the director of the centre. The director's message says the centre has developed on a public-private partnership and offers an interface for academic, industry and government interaction.

Locations

The centre's address on its contact page is Opp. Zydus Hospital, Thaltej, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Its career page gives the pincode as 380054.