The massive fire that broke out at the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) in Electronics City on January 14, reportedly caused a loss of around Rs 150 crore. The next day, Karnataka IT-BT minister Priyank Kharge held a meeting with affected startups.
“Karnataka’s leadership in biotech innovation, production, and exports is built on the hard work of incubators like BBC and the startups. While the loss of critical innovations and IP is a setback, we are committed to helping them rebuild,” Kharge said.
Biocon Limited Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw also expressed her sentiments on platform X.
She wrote, "Tragic to see this happen to a vibrant incubation centre that houses so many innovative biotech startups caused by one irresponsible startup that did not follow the norms. Years of cutting-edge efforts reduced to ashes. Fire is a major risk factor that must be addressed with serious preparedness.”
Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre is the Karnataka government-owned research and development centre allocated to the life sciences ecosystem serving as a hub for startups.
The fire and the loss
Preliminary estimates stated that losses incurred by startups range from Rs 80 crore to Rs 110 crore, while damage to BBC properties is said to be around Rs 42 crore.
Though injuries have not been reported, on inspection it was found that he fire started at around 4:35 am in the Galore Tx startup lab (Room ESF07) on the second floor, allegedly due to the improper handling of flammable solvents.
“All BBC startups were previously instructed not to store or use large volumes of inflammable chemicals in their labs. A separate open storage area had been provided for this purpose. The second floor, which was recently revamped to accommodate more startups, was severely impacted,” as stated by the IT-BT department.
The extensive damage was due to interconnected HVAC lines.
Startups severely affected include Fermbox (four labs), Phyxx 44 (three labs), Galore Tx (one lab), Ikesia (one lab), Ajitha Prodrug (one lab), Yokogawa (one lab) and Immunitas (two labs).
Other affected startups are Anabio, Atrimed Pharma, 4basecare, Anava Bio, Pandorium, Oxonexe, Zhichu, and Presude Lifesciences among others, the statement added.
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