Hyderabad, Feb 19th: In a major boost to Government of India’s BioE3 push, German major Glatt and PreferCo announced the launch of “PreferCo-Glatt Centre of Excellence for Bioprocess Scale-Up” in Hyderabad’s Genome Valley during BioAsia 2026. The Centre of Excellence, unveiled in the presence of Ms Rashmi Pimpale-CEO, Research and Innovation Circles of Hyderabad (RICH), is dedicated to microbial precision fermentation and is designed to support reliable scale-up of technologies from laboratory to pilot and pre-commercial manufacturing. The initiative strengthens India’s bioprocessing infrastructure at a critical inflection point as the country seeks to translate innovation into globally competitive biomanufacturing outcomes.
The facility enables a broader range of bioproduct development pathways, extending beyond biopharmaceuticals into emerging areas such as industrial biotechnology, personal care, wellness and longevity, sustainable materials, functional foods and bio-based chemicals. By expanding access to scale up infrastructure for microbial precision fermentation, the facility addresses a long-standing gap faced by established industry players, academic researchers and established startups and alike.
Designed to support scale-up to 1,500-litre bioreactor capacity, the Centre of Excellence is being built with automation, advanced instrumentation, and AI-enabled process support embedded into the facility architecture from day one. This approach enables deeper process understanding, improved reproducibility, and faster decision-making during scale-up-reducing technical risk while accelerating the path from proof-of-concept to commercial readiness.
The initiative aligns closely with the Government of India’s BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) vision, which emphasizes strengthening domestic biomanufacturing capabilities through innovation-led infrastructure and industry participation. Microbial precision fermentation represents a critical lever within this framework, offering scalable, resource-efficient pathways to manufacture high-value biological products across sectors. The PreferCo-Glatt Centre of Excellence is positioned as a practical enabler of this vision, helping ensure that India’s growing innovation pipeline can be translated into commercial success at global scale.
By expanding access to high-quality, globally benchmarked scale-up infrastructure at accessible price points, the Centre of Excellence aims to reduce barriers for not just Indian but global innovators seeking to commercialize breakthrough technologies. This partnership with Glatt ensures adherence to the highest engineering and process standards, positioning the facility among the leading microbial fermentation scale-up platforms globally.
Mr. Rajiv Bhide, MD, Glatt Systems Pvt. Ltd. adds: “India’s bioeconomy has grown from USD 10 billion in 2014 to USD 166 billion in 2024 and is on track to reach USD 300 billion by 2030. Sustaining this momentum will depend on strengthening the country’s ability to convert scientific capability into reliable, large-scale manufacturing. The Centre of Excellence has been established to support this next phase of growth. By providing a dedicated platform for structured fermentation scale-up, supported by advanced engineering and integrated digital systems, it enables technologies to be validated and industrialized on a robust technology platform. Such infrastructure is essential to building a competitive biomanufacturing ecosystem- one that can consistently deliver high-value, fermentation-based products for both Indian and global markets.