The Park

Bio360, Kerala’s first Life Sciences Park will advance science to new frontiers. Kerala’s first major step in the field of Life Sciences, the new Life Sciences Park, a Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) initiative, will be a cluster of research institutions, sci-tech academia and companies, working in the field of Biotechnology,

Nano-technology and Life sciences. A new venture to attract both domestic and foreign investments in the related areas, the industry-specific infrastructure of Bio360 – Life Sciences Park, includes incubation centre and technology development centre. With such state-of-the-art facilities, Thiruvananthapuram is certain to evolve as a hub of industry and R&D in Life Sciences.

Kerala is one among the 39 Bio Diversity spots in the world and has rich bio resources, plenty of academic and research institutions and large talent pool in the Life Sciences Sector .KSIDC is setting up a Life Sciences Park at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to leverage the advantages of the state in life sciences sector.The BIO 360 Life Sciences Park, coming up in a 75 acre campus, was conceived keeping in view the opportunities in R&D and Manufacturing in the Biotechnology/Life Sciences Science sector in Kerala. The facilities being planned at the Life Sciences Park are as follows :

• Incubation Centre to accommodate 20 incubatees, initially.
• cGMP compliant bioprocess facility to be made available on time sharing basis.
• Ready to occupy built-up area for R&D and Manufacturing activities.
• Animal House, Disease Diagnostic Centre & Testing Facilities to be made available to the occupant companies /institutions of the Life Sciences Park.

Developed land for companies /institutions to set up their standalone R&D/ Manufacturing ventures. The key distinctions and advantages of the proposed park at Thiruvananthapuram are as follows:

• Policy Drive and Promotion

  The Kerala government is actively promoting economic development through research and development by creating an environment conducive to the establishment of clusters that harness local research base and intellectual pool, and attract global players in Life Science industry.

• Access to Natural Resources

  Kerala has a rich natural ecosystem that provides bio-prospecting opportunities for pharmaceutical, traditional medicine and nutraceutical industries.

• Existing Research Base

  Kerala has a vast network of research institutions and centers that conduct upstream and translational research while offering strong mentorship and technology impe tus for research. Research Institutes such as Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, and Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute based out of Thiruvananthapuram provide excellent opportunities for collaborations and synergistic linkages with the industry.

• Human Resource Pool

  Kerala has demonstrated high levels of literacy across classes and genders. This has been supplemented by skilled and technologically adept human resources emerging from reputed universities and state of the art institutions.

BIO 360 Life Sciences Park will have an Innovation & Incubation Centre with a built up area of 3.3 lakhs sqft will be constructed within the park. The building will have c-GMP compliant Bio-Processing facility, state of the art Incubation facility, office space, and ready to occupy lab modules with support infrastructure facilities. Besides, the Park would also provide developed plots for large and Integrated Bio companies to set up their campuses and ready-to-use modular offices, and wet and dry lab space for intermediate, small and start-up companies. The Innovation cum Incubation Centre with the Bio-Processing facility will be quite unique and first of its kind in the Country.

• Biomedical Research cum Learning Centre by Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (K-VASU) is setting up Biomedical Research cum Learning Centre aimed at establishing Centres for Transactional Research, Validation for Diagnostics & Device-testing and Feed & Food Management Training. The building is about 8000 sqft with Office rooms, class rooms, labs, lobby etc.
   
  
• Polyskin Life Sciences India Pvt Ltd
  Polyskin Life Sciences India Pvt Ltd is a start-up company involved in the development of artificial skin substitutes from biodegradable polymers for the treatment of burn injuries. The chief promoter of the company is Dr Rajmohan, a medical doctor turned biotech scientist. Mr.Sivaprasad (Chartered Accountant) and Mr.Maheen.S.Haja (Commerce Graduate) are the other main directors of the company and they are looking after day to day operations of the business. The technical team for design and development of the bioreactor will be carried out by Mr.Prasant Pillai. KSIDC had released Rs 25 lakhs as seed capital to the company in September 2014.Polyskin Life Sciences had already launched its first product in the life science segment namely "ligo cells" a 3D cell culture scaffolds. "Ligocells" scaffolds will be primarily used by cancer researchers in India and across the world for the growth of cancer cells into 3 D cell cultures and will be used to test drugs and understand various cellular processes happening in cancer. Polyskin Life Sciences will be the first biotechnology company in India to launch a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer based scaffold for the growth of cells. Some of their products are already launched in the market and used by prestigious hospitals in India.The company has been allotted 1500 sq.ft built-up space in Life Sciences Park (the built-up was already available in the Park) on rental basis so as to carry out Research & Development including market development activities. Currently, they are focusing Research & Development in plant biotechnology for the discovery of anti-biotic drugs. As part of advancement of their operation, company has entered into a collaboration agreement with Davos Pharma, USA. Davos is one of the leading provider of discovery services and custom cGMP manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient, New Chemical Entities and Biologics based in USA.