New Delhi: The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), with support from the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), has announced seven awardees under the inaugural edition of the C-CAMP One Health AMR Challenge 2025, an initiative aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across human, animal, and environmental health.
The challenge is anchored within the larger India AMR Innovation Hub programme at C-CAMP, which has been officially designated as the Innovation Arm of India’s National Action Plan on AMR (NAP 2.0). This national strategy places the One Health approach at the centre of India’s efforts to combat and prevent AMR.
Through this programme, selected innovators will receive grant funding along with comprehensive technical, business, regulatory, and intellectual property support, as well as facilitation for deployment in India and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Challenge is designed to accelerate the translation of One Health–focused innovations into impactful, scalable, and economically viable products and services, particularly in regions where the AMR burden is high and awareness and regulatory frameworks remain vulnerable.
Launched in July 2025, the C-CAMP One Health AMR Challenge attracted nearly 100 high-quality applications from innovators and startup companies across India, highlighting the growing depth, awareness, and commitment of the country’s biotech innovation ecosystem in addressing complex AMR challenges beyond the development of new drugs and policies. Following a rigorous evaluation process, ICARS experts focusing on AMR science, along with C-CAMP leadership and independent experts, convened over two days in October 2025 to assess 26 shortlisted innovations. Seven of these were ultimately selected for support.
Announcing the winners, Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, Director and CEO of C-CAMP, said he was delighted to unveil the first cohort of awardees under the C-CAMP–ICARS One Health AMR Challenge 2025. He noted that the selected innovations address critical gaps such as point-of-care tests to differentiate bacterial from viral infections in clinical care, particularly in respiratory tract infections; detection of specific respiratory pathogens; treatment of effluents from pharmaceutical manufacturing units; and prevention of unnecessary antibiotic use in aquaculture and dairy sectors. Emphasising the potential of the inaugural cohort to contribute meaningfully to AMR mitigation, Dr. Saiyed said C-CAMP looks forward to working closely with national and international stakeholders, under the guidance of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, to provide end-to-end ecosystem support—from ideation to deployment—across industry, agriculture, and public health.
Dr. Sujith J. Chandy, Executive Director of ICARS, said the organisation was pleased to partner with C-CAMP to advance a strong pipeline of One Health innovations that address key drivers of AMR. He highlighted that the seven selected solutions combine scientific rigour with clear potential for implementation in LMIC settings, and that ICARS aims to accelerate their journey from promising concepts to real-world impact. According to Dr. Chandy, the inaugural cohort reflects India’s growing leadership in AMR mitigation, a priority recently underscored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his remarks on the urgent need to address antimicrobial resistance. He added that ICARS looks forward to supporting evidence-based preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic solutions that can reduce inappropriate antibiotic use across human, animal, and environmental health.
The selected innovations span multiple One Health domains. In human health, Bigtec Labs Pvt. Ltd. has developed a multiplexed reverse transcription PCR diagnostic solution to address antibiotic resistance in lower respiratory tract infections, while Muse Diagnostics’ TreBle Respire offers an AI-driven screening platform for early detection of respiratory infections and improved antimicrobial stewardship. GenePath Diagnostics has been recognised for its affordable, comprehensive, modular, semi-quantitative respiratory pathogen and AMR detection panel designed for open PCR platforms, and Achira Labs for its work on developing and validating a rapid point-of-care test to distinguish bacterial from viral infections in humans, supporting more rational antimicrobial use.
In the environmental domain, FNDR has been selected for its solution focused on depleting antimicrobials and other active pharmaceutical ingredients from effluents generated by pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing units. In animal health, Ultranutri’s circular, insect-based feed solutions for shrimp health aim to reduce antibiotic dependence in aquaculture, while Chimertech’s Quadmastest and Inline Quadmastest technologies enable rapid, reagent-free early detection of mastitis to prevent unwarranted antibiotic use and curb AMR in the dairy sector.
C-CAMP and ICARS had formally announced their partnership on 14 October 2024 in New Delhi at an event presided over by Professor Ajay K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Chair of the India AMR Innovation Hub, along with His Excellency Freddy Svane, then Ambassador of the Royal Danish Embassy in India, and members of the ICARS Board of Directors. Through this collaboration, ICARS joined hands with C-CAMP and the India AMR Innovation Hub to support innovations addressing critical unmet needs in AMR across India. The joint vision is to identify and nurture affordable, accessible tools and innovative solutions across One Health sectors, while strengthening evidence-based decision-making for the appropriate use of antibiotics in the country.
