INTRODUCTION
India’s progress and sustenance as a leading economic power is leveraged on meeting some of the basic determinants of health-related SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and reducing disparities in access to quality care. Start-ups in India have been at the forefront of bringing innovation to healthcare. They increase the capacity and reach of healthcare providers and empower patients and their caregivers to understand and participate in their care plans.
However, to ensure that these start-ups reach the people that need them and evolve into successful businesses to scale in various geographies, it is essential that they find an enabling ecosystem to help them accelerate their lab-to-market journey. Support for clinical trials and validation, regulatory approvals, and defining the right go-to-market strategy can greatly improve the adoption for these innovations.
To support this journey, Pfizer India, and Social Alpha have joined hands to anchor the Pfizer INDovation Program to help accelerate the journey of start-ups into the market through customised support and by fostering relevant cross-industry collaborations.
OVERVIEW
The Pfizer INDovation Program brings together various stakeholders including Social Alpha, the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT-Delhi, Agnii, amongst others on the same platform to unlock greater reach of care, and effectiveness in our healthcare system.
The initiative aims to guide high-quality start-ups and accelerate their journey through product engineering and development services, clinical validation support, regulatory advisory, and market access opportunities through grant support and catalytic cross-industrial collaborations.
The program provides start-ups access to grant funding, incubation support, marketing and branding support, business advisory support, and opportunities to secure follow-on funding.
Pfizer INDovation: NIPER-A Edition, with Social Alpha, Pfizer and NIPER Ahmedabad as anchor partners is designed to support start-ups building high-quality affordable diagnostics. NIPER Ahmedabad will offer their lab infrastructure and technical expertise for product development. Social Alpha as the anchor partner for INDovation, will curate the innovations and support venture development for the selected cohort.
Pfizer INDovation
Pfizer, Social Alpha, and IIT-D launched the INDovation Program to support breakthrough healthcare innovations by start-ups in India. The program aims to equip healthcare systems for a post Covid19 world. The two-year initiative is for a cohort of 6 start-ups to accelerate their commercialisation journey through grant support for product development, clinical validation, regulatory pathway, market access, and industrial collaborations. The program has two tracks – focused on Digital Health and on Oncology.
Pfizer IIT Delhi Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) Program
In India, the thriving R&D ecosystem continues to play a vital role in shaping the future of the healthcare industry. With this conviction, Pfizer initiated a collaboration with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi to launch the Pfizer-IIT Delhi Innovation and IP Program in 2015.