BIRAC Regional Innovation Centre (BRIC)

The Biotechnology Industrial Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), in partnership with IKP Knowledge Park (IKP), set up the BIRAC Regional Innovation Centre (BRIC) in 2013 to further BIRAC's mandate of building a deeper understanding of the capacity and gaps in innovation, commercialisation and technology absorption ecosystems, and developing targeted programmes to fulfil its broad vision of stimulating, fostering and enhancing biotech innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

BRIC’s mandates are to:

• Map Regional Life Sciences Innovation Systems to understand the networks and gaps among the various stakeholders promoting innovation in a region and recommend policy interventions
• Build IP awareness and provide IP services to start-ups and innovators
• Promote entrepreneurship in academia and help build an entrepreneurial culture

BRIC started by focusing on four life sciences clusters in southern India around Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Chennai-Vellore and Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi regions. In the second phase, other life sciences clusters such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Indore, Bhubaneshwar and Visakhapatnam will also be covered.

The focus is largely to map innovations related to biopharmaceuticals, medical technology and healthcare (hereafter termed as Biopharma cluster). The activities were first launched in Hyderabad and later taken to the other three clusters. BRIC has in the first phase impacted 1,656 innovators and startups either directly through its services or indirectly through workshops, panel discussions and technology shows.