Pfizer to invest ₹25 lakh each in six healthcare startups through partnership with NIPER Ahmedabad

New Delhi: Multinational pharma company Pfizer has announced that it will partner with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Ahmedabad, to incubate six healthcare startups with an investment of ₹25 lakh each under the INDovation programme.

The initiative is supported by the department of pharmaceuticals and Niti Aayog, and anchored by Social Alpha. “Encouraging indigenous innovation in healthcare is not merely a priority but a responsibility shared by all who are a part of this ecosystem. Our support to this collaboration between Pfizer and NIPER-A highlights the potential of startups bringing innovations that can advance the delivery of healthcare in the country,” said Arunish Chawla, secretary, department of pharmaceuticals.

The company said the partnership would follow a cohort-based approach, through which six startups would be selected from across India and incubated at NIPER. "Startups with a proof of concept that matches the set mandate will be selected for a one-year accelerator programme," it added.

In addition to the ₹25 lakh investment, each of these startups will receive incubation support in the areas of product development, regulatory pathway, pre-clinical testing, tech transfer support through the NIPER ecosystem, and a real-world clinical fitment check.

Together with NIPER Ahmedabad and Social Alpha, Pfizer will be looking for innovations at technology readiness level (TRL) 3 or higher in the areas of deep tech and artificial intelligence for predictive analysis, point-of-care testing, software-as-a-service, informatics and wearables, and track and trace solutions. TRLs are a method of estimating the maturity of technologies during a programme’s acquisition phase. They enable consistent and uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology.

The collaboration will seek to support healthcare startups in turning their ideas into market-ready solutions while reaping benefits from NIPER Ahmedabad’s innovation ecosystem in medical devices to advance in their journey towards commercialisation. NIPER Ahmedabad is in the process of setting up a Centre of Excellence in Medical Devices.

"Collaboration with a leading pharmaceutical organisation like Pfizer will provide a boost for these innovative startups and their ideas,” said Shailendra Saraf, director, NIPER- Ahmedabad.

Through the partnership, Pfizer will expand on its INDovation programme, through which the company has so far supported the funding and development of 34 startups, helping them bring their breakthroughs to the market.

The company collaborated with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Social Alpha, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT-Delhi, AGNIi, and the UN Health Innovation Exchange (UNHIEX), among others, to launch the INDovation Programme in 2022.

“Through the Pfizer INDovation platform, we are proud to have given wings to startups that are addressing important unmet needs in areas of oncology, digital health, devices and diagnostics,” said Meenakshi Nevatia, managing director, Pfizer Ltd.