Miltenyi Biotec, BIRAC partner to boost cell and gene therapy capabilities
Miltenyi Biotec India and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) have signed a letter of intent for a collaboration aimed at enhancing India's capabilities in cell and gene therapy through capacity building, advancing clinical research and to solve unmet medical needs by local manufacturing of cell therapies.
The LOI was signed at the BIO International Convention 2025, which opened this week in Boston, they said in a joint release on Wednesday. German cellular research, cell therapy and cell manufacturing solutions provider Miltenyi Biotec in February had announced plans for a cell and gene therapy centre of excellence in Hyderabad.
The partnership with BIRAC is to build national capabilities and upskill scientific talent by implementing structured training and capacity-building programmes for clinicians, researchers and technicians in CGT manufacturing, analytics, and quality control. It is also to expand translational research efforts through co-development of academic and multi-centre studies and set up point-of-care (PoC) CAR-T centres across India using automated manufacturing platforms to enable cost-effective and scalable access to personalised CGT treatments.
Their partnership with also promote targeted cell therapy research and support local innovation through the identification and mentoring of Indian startups thus aligning with the Make in India mission by enhancing domestic production of critical and manufacturing components and by supporting development of national CGT COEs.
'Together, we are exploring how to address current unmet needs in medical science, particularly in areas like autoimmune and rare diseases by enhancing access through innovative mechanisms such as point-of-care CAR-T and graft engineering,' MiltenyiBiotec India MD Priya Kapoor-Hingorani said.
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