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Biogenus India Ltd, a subsidiary of the Colorado,
US-based biotechnology company Biogenus Inc, is
planning to set up two manufacturing facilities and a
technology development centre in India with an overall
investment of $40 million in a phased manner.
The Aqua media & Biofuels plant with an annual
installed capacity of 50,000 tonne of shrimp culture
media (feed to shrimp), 35 million liter of ethanol (biofuels)
and 5,000 tonne of bio-fertilisers is proposed to be
set up at Pharma City near Visakhpatnam. The
government of Andhra Pradesh has allocated 104 acres
for the $25 million project, said K S Reddy, CEO of
Biogenus India.
The second manufacturing facility with an
investment of $11 million will come up near Bangalore
and will be dedicated to enzymes manufacturing and
microbial culture packs.
It will have a capacity to produce 10,000 tonne of
bioremediation media per annum, besides developing and
producing specific Probiotics for the Asia Pacific
market, Reddy said. The company has signed an MoU with
the Government of Karnataka for the setting up of the
microbial cultures and enzymes plant in Bangalore, he
added.
“We are planning to set up a technology
commercialisation & development center at a cost of $7
million at Hyderabad with the active participation of
the Technology Development Board, Government of India,
and CSIR laboratories,” Reddy said.
Biogenus Inc, the parent company of Biogenus India,
is the spin off of IMAC Inc (International Media and
Cultures Inc), which claims to have done pioneering
research in the field of food and enzyme biotechnology
since 1982.
The founder of IMAC, M S Reddy, is a US-based
scientist with 30 years of experience.
Biogenus has engaged Ernst & Young as consultants
for the preparation of business plan, managing
governmental relationships and raising capital, Reddy
said, adding that “Biogenus Inc will invest $ 20
million as equity, while the remaining $20 million
will be mobilised as international debt.”
Reddy said Biogenus India was currently in the
process of demonstrating its proprietary technologies
to the state governments in the areas of aquaculture
media production and bioremediatin technologies for
effluent treatment and water bodies remediation.
“We will set up the manufacturing units once this
process is successfully completed,” Reddy added.
“Scientists from Central Institute for Brackish
Water and Central Institute for Fresh Water Management
have evinced keen interest in working in close
cooperation with Biogenus. Besides validating
technologies available with us, these institutes are
planning to have a partnership with Biogenus,” Reddy
stated. |
