C-CAMP AMR Accelerator kicks off in Bengaluru

New Delhi: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms has launched a unique 3-month accelerator program tailor-made for early-stage AMR innovations from India. The program that was announced by Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP CEO and Director in presence of Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, GoI at the Grand Finale of the C-CAMP AMR Quest held in July 2020 gets underway on August 12 with 6 startups/innovators in therapeutics and diagnostics.

C-CAMP is India’s premier bio innovation hub and also a AMR accelerator for CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership dedicated to funding and accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the globally rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.

The 12-week long accelerator program will provide strategic inputs on scientific, clinical, IP, regulatory, and commercialisation aspects. It will also prepare the cohort members for potentially applying for non-dilutive funding and support from CARB-X. The program also includes plenty of networking and Peer to Peer interaction time.

The 2020 cohort comprises of the following winners of AMR Quest 2020 – Dr Shridhar Narayanan, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Foundation for Neglected Disease Research (FNDR), Tanay Bhatt, an academician from DBT Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine, Dr Dhananjay Dendukuri, CEO and Co-Founder of Achira Labs and Dr Chirag Pandya, CEO and Co-Founder of Ampligene India Biotech and following members who received a special mention from the Grand Jury – Dr Dipti Sareen, faculty at Panjab University and Sarath Nair, academician at SRM University.

Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP CEO and Director said while launching the Accelerator program “The C-CAMP AMR Accelerator is one of the first-ever acceleration support programs in India towards nurturing and sustaining breakthrough innovations in Antimicrobial Resistance, an emerging threat for healthcare systems across the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, a widely spreading multi-drug resistant bacteria and or any other MDR-microbial infection will be devastating for our society. C-CAMP as a global catalyzer for AMR innovation is delighted to sow vital seeds through programs like AMR accelerator to diagnose, treat and prevent such an infection from snowballing into the next pandemic.”