Alumnus co-founds Indian biotech company
2 September 2016
A Cardiff graduate and a former Cardiff research fellow have reunited to launch a new biotech company in India.
Dr James Hindley (Hons 2011) and Dr Sivasankar Baalasubramanian worked together at the School of Medicine.
The new Indian company is a sister company of Indoor Biotechnologies - an innovative allergen testing business based at Cardiff’s Medicentre.
Indoor Biotechnologies opened its new laboratory and office facility in the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre.
This follows Indoor’s four years of rapid business growth at the Medicentre - a biotech and medtech incubation hub based at Cardiff University’s Heath Park campus.
Now trading in more than 50 countries including the United States, Indoor provides products and services in the allergy field.
Clients include allergists and immunologists from academia, government and pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, as well as consumers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.
Dr James Hindley, executive director of Indoor, said: “The essence of our business is allergen detection – providing products and services which identify, measure and allow research into allergens from pollen, food, animals and mites.
“We also have a growing line of business in the multiplex detection of allergens, immunoassay development and contract research aimed at providing quicker and better diagnosis, treatment and management of common allergies.”
Figures suggest around 350 million people in India currently suffer from allergy, although relatively little is known about the main causes.
“We are really excited to now have a permanent presence in the Asian market – it’s a part of the world that we have always had in our sights,” said Dr Hindley.
Indoor plans to use its expertise and technology to create allergen-detection kits that will improve environmental and indoor air quality, as well as food safety relevant to Indian allergy sufferers.
The company is also looking to expand its facility and its range of products and services in Wales.