Bengaluru is now the biotech capital of India

Bengaluru is now a formidable ecosystem for life sciences and medical startups that has begun spawning a new generation of sophisticated life sciences startups. Research hospitals, biotech accelerators, and prototyping facilities are working together.

"It is really incredible", Anand Anandkumar, founder of Bugworks Research, an anti-bacterial company. "I do not have to leave Bengaluru to get anything done for Bugworks, including regulatory filing in the US."

Most of India's biotech companies are concentrated around Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Hyderabad has quality laboratories and an incubation centre on its outskirts. However in Bengaluru people can meet and exchange views. It’s also plugged into the Silicon Valley.

Biotech startup activity is about 15 years old in Bengaluru. However, since most startups remained isolated entities and lacked advanced facilities for translational research, it was difficult to tackle sophisticated problems. Newer institutions have solved this problem. Now the city is looking forwards to having parks and buildings specially designed for biotech companies.

Image credit: Indiatimes