Indian Angel Network (IAN), one of the largest angel network, has today said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) to invest into biotechnology startups and bring the ecosystem together to promote biotech industry in India.
BIRAC is a public sector undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT). It provides funding for research on projects and early stage startups, addressing nationally relevant product development needs in life-sciences.
Commenting on the partnership, Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, IAN said,
The Indian Biotechnology industry breeds very innovative technologies with the potential to have a high impact on our citizens. However, these are usually long gestation investments. Over the years, IAN has promoted and nurtured ground-breaking technology startups in India bringing in patient money. We are delighted to partner with BIRAC. Indian biotech companies surely have the potential to go global and IAN could well bring a catalytic effect to these ventures.
Dr Renu Swarup, Sr. Adviser, Department of Biotechnology and MD, BIRAC, said,
BIRAC has catalyzed a significant transition in the Indian bio entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are very pleased with our partnership with IAN. We hope that the 500 startups that BIRAC has supported can leverage this partnership especially IAN’s expansive network to move to the next level & bring cutting edge products & solutions for national & global challenges.
According to the latest research data brought out by IBEF, India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world and ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region. The Indian biotech industry holds about 2 percent share of the global biotech industry and is expected to be valued at $ 11.6 billion in 2017.
Despite a huge market potential, biotech entrepreneurs face challenges like accessing capital and high-end infrastructure like labs and animal testing centres. But, the biotech market seems to have a lot of potential.
With investors from 10 countries, IAN’s presence spans 7 locations, which includes cities in India and UK. The network is sector agnostic and has funded startups across 17 sectors in India and 6 other countries growing global footprint companies.