Jointly organized by IIT Madras, Anna University and VIT University, Bio Processing India 2015 kickstarted yesterday at the IC & SR Auditorium of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M). Bio Processing India (BPI), an annual conference, was first organized by IIT Delhi in 2013 and co-hosted by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai and IIT Bombay in 2014.

The event this year is held over three days from Dec 17 to 19, 2015. The theme of this year's conference is 'Innovative Bioprocesses with Engineered Cell Factories'. BPI 2015 is bringing together leading universities, research institutions and biotech industries, making the conference a common platform for aspiring bioprocess engineers and biotechnologists to promote information exchange, networking and form strategic alliances.

The focus of the conference and the exhibition is on current bioprocess methodologies from engineering cells to manufacturing strategies with emphasis across different verticals in the food, bioenergy and pharmaceutical industries. The conference has plenary lectures, invited talks, oral and poster presentations, webinars and panel discussions. Throughout the course of the conference, attendees have the opportunity to network with international academia and eminent speakers from the biotechnology industry.

At the inauguration of the conference, Dr. T. Ramasami, Former Secretary, DST and Former Director, CLRI, expressed, "Bioprocessing offers a different twist to the current technologies in pharmaceutical science. This conference would set an ideal platform for knowledge evolution in bioprocessing techniques and its future. Scientists must exploit this conference to look beyond the current technologies available and conceive ideas that can solve problems with the aid of bioprocessing.

Highlighting the objectives of BPI 2015, IIT-M Professor Guhan Jayaraman, the key organizer of the event, said, "Bioprocess engineering has come a long way from a process oriented approach to one where engineering biomolecules and cellular process have become an integral part of the bioprocessing strategy. The conference aims to focus on current bioprocess technologies from engineering cells to biomanufacturing for various industries. There is a rapid evolution in synthetic biology and this conference aims to catalyze information exchange in the bioprocessing community. Innovation has stepped up in bioprocessing with additional support from systems biology, computational tools for data analysis and production techniques. The conference will bring together information on newer aspects of biosprocessing."

Biocon, Novozymes, Eppendorf, GE are some of the key sponsors and participants of the conference. Some key presentations at the event are focusing on engineering microbes for biofuel production; microbial production of bio-based chemicals, vaccines and industrial enzymes. The speakers are also projecting on streamlining the bioprocess technologies and the adoption of modern approaches in engineering.