Venture Center & Blockchain For Impact collaborate to accelerate biomedical innovation

New Delhi:  Venture Center and Blockchain For Impact (BFI) announced a strategic partnership under the BFI-Biome Virtual Network Program, to expand initiatives aimed at nurturing innovation and driving advancements in healthcare.

The partnership was formally launched at an event in Delhi on 4 March 2024.

Venture Center is the first incubator across India to partner with BFI for this pioneering initiative.

BFI-Biome Virtual Network Program is a pioneering initiative bringing together incubators and research institutes under one umbrella to foster collaborations amongst the various stakeholders in the translational pipeline. Under this programme, BFI will allocate more than US$200,000 over three years and leverage Venture Center’s expertise to create necessary programmes for healthcare startups. Since its inception, Venture Center has played a key role in enabling science and technology entrepreneurship to deliver the benefits of science and technology to the world.

With Venture Center, the goal is to enhance this ecosystem to support technologies showing substantial potential to develop solutions aimed at improving public health. In addition, events and workshops conducted will facilitate collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and mentorship among entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry experts in the biomedical field.

The event, held at Delhi, was attended by Dr V. Premnath (Director, Venture Center), Dr Manisha Premnath (Chief Operations Officer, Venture Center), and Dr Mugdha Lele (Head of Social Innovations, Venture Center). Representatives from BFI, including Dr Gaurav Singh, CEO; Dr Pooja Agrawal, Program Director; and, Dr Satya Prakash Dash, Senior Advisor, were present. This partnership marks a significant step towards accelerating the development of transformative healthcare solutions by enabling and supporting the upcoming innovators and entrepreneurs in the biomedical innovation space.

Sandeep Nailwal, founder and visionary behind Blockchain For Impact, expressed his delight on the announcement of the BFI-Biome Virtual Network’s first incubator partner, Venture Center. With a US$ 15 million programme dedicated to advancing Biomedical Research and Innovation in India, the BFI Biome initiative transcends traditional boundaries by integrating both upstream and deep science, creating an environment that drives innovation leading to transformative health solutions. This programme aims to bring together leading researchers, technologists, and innovators to collaborate and innovate to drive the next generation of intervention for improved healthcare. By partnering with an eminent science and technology incubator in India, BFI-Biome seeks to support initiatives that have the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery in India and the global south.

Dr Gaurav Singh, CEO of BFI, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “This collaboration with Venture Center is a matter of great pride and exemplifies our commitment to advancing biomedical innovation ventures in India. We aim to act as catalysts, collaborating with partners to forge multi-sectoral alliances that deliver long-term, equitable medical preparedness mechanisms. And while funding is one key aspect, our commitment to the cause goes beyond financial support. Through our biomedical research and innovation arm, district-level full-stack partnerships, and process-driven innovation funding and support, we are working towards addressing critical gaps in India’s healthcare sector. The BFI-Biome Virtual Network Program is a significant first step in this direction.”

Dr Pooja Agrawal, Program Director, BFI, highlighted the potential impact of the collaboration, stating, “The partnership between BFI and Venture Center represents a milestone moment in our efforts to advance and promote the development of indigenous solutions for pressing healthcare challenges in India. By leveraging the strengths and experiences of Venture Center, we aim to create programs that encourage the entrepreneurs and innovators of today to develop healthcare solutions for improved public health.”

Dr V. Premnath, Director, Venture Center, emphasised the importance of collaboration in driving innovation, stating, ” Venture Center is delighted to partner Blockchain for Impact through its BFI Biome Program to help strengthen the health tech innovations ecosystem in India with a special focus on ideas and innovators with significant potential for social impact. India holds the promise of creating solutions for pressing healthcare problems not only for itself but also for the majority of the world. That is an opportunity which both Venture Center and BFI value!”

Dr Satya Prakash Dash, Senior Advisor, BFI, said, “The partnership between BFI & Venture Center, arguably one of the best science and technology incubators in the country, will go a long way in kickstarting BFI’s journey to support biomedical innovators and entrepreneurs who are designing novel solutions to alleviate healthcare challenges in India. This is the first step towards BFI’s attempts to understand the biomedical startup space and will inform BFI’s future support to innovators & startups. We look forward to joining hands with Venture Center in supporting & nurturing biomedical innovation”

Dr Mugdha Lele, Head of Social Innovations, Venture Center, appreciated the BFI-Biome Program, stating, that this is a much needed initiative for innovations in the Public Health Sector. She also indicated a few initiatives that Venture Center will undertake as part of this important partnership, like the BFI-BIOME Fellowships, the BFI-BIOME Kick Starter Initiatives and BFI-BIOME Events which will include, workshops, awareness sessions, mentoring clinics and few thematic Campaign events.”

The announcement of the partnership between Venture Center and BFI lays the foundation for a series of collaborations under the BFI-Biome Network Program that will add to the advancement of biomedical research and innovation in India.