Glatt, PreferCo set up centre of excellence for bioprocess scale-up in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: In a move that could provide a major boost to the Indian govt's BioE3 (biotechnology for economy, environment and employment) vision, German process technology company Glatt joined hands with Hyderabad-based PreferCo to set up the ‘PreferCo-Glatt Centre of Excellence for Bioprocess Scale-Up' in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.The CoE was set up to accelerate microbial precision fermentation from lab to pilot and pre-commercial manufacturing. The facility is designed to address a persistent bottleneck in India's bioprocessing ecosystem: access to reliable, globally benchmarked scale-up infrastructure for innovators across industry, academia, and start-ups, the 2 companies said.The CoE will support scale-up to 1,500-litre bioreactor capacity and will integrate automation, advanced instrumentation, and AI-enabled process intelligence to improve reproducibility, deepen process understanding, and reduce technical risk during scale-up, they said.The two companies said the digital-first architecture is aimed at speeding up decision-making and shortening timelines from proof of concept to commercial readiness.Beyond biopharmaceuticals, the platform will also support industrial biotechnology applications, including personal care, wellness and longevity, sustainable materials, functional foods, and bio-based chemicals.Glatt Systems Pvt Ltd MD Rajiv Bhide said India's bioeconomy grew from $10 billion in 2014 to $166 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $300 billion by 2030, stressing the need for scaling-up infrastructure in line with the govt's BioE3 vision.