Chennai, Feb 11 (Reporter) National: Herbalife, a premier health and wellness company, on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras to establish the Herbalife-IITM Plant Cell Fermentation Technology Lab at the campus under Herbalife’s CSR initiative. The agreement signing ceremony took place at IIT-Madras in the presence of Mr. Ajay Khanna, Managing Director, Herbalife India, and Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT Madras and others. This initiative aims to bridge the demand-supply gap in plant-based nutraceuticals, phytoceuticals, and phytopharmaceuticals while aligning with Herbalife’s broader innovation and sustainability goals. This partnership aligns with the Indian government's Bio-E3 policy, aimed at establishing India as a global hub for bio-manufacturing and advancing Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The lab will serve as a catalyst for innovation, capacity building, and industry collaboration in the wellness sector while also fostering entrepreneurship, a Herbalife statement said. The Centre of Excellence – Herbalife Plant Cell Fermentation Technology Lab, is focused on pioneering sustainable solutions for high-quality herbal raw materials and phytochemicals. The facility will be a center to produce sustainable herbal raw materials using plant cell fermentation technology, ensuring high-quality phytochemicals and drive innovation in nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and Ayush formulations, contributing directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG3 - Good Health and Well-Being). The collaborative effort will leverage plant cell technology to enable vitro cultivation of medicinal plants under controlled conditions, ensuring year-round availability, purity, and bioactive consistency. In addition to this, Advanced bioreactor-based scaling will facilitate large-volume production in minimal space, overcoming land constraints and long harvesting cycles associated with traditional farming and the green extraction technologies will drive sustainability in bioactive compound production, the release said...////...