The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has organised its 5th Innovators Meet at the Mapple Emerald, New Delhi. The two-day event which is a part of BIRAC’s continuous efforts to foster innovation and entrepreneurship started on September 22, 2016.

The theme of discussion at the meet was ‘Biotech Innovation Ecosystem - Strategizing the Next Leap’. The event was attended by chief guest, Union minister for science and technology and earth sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and guest of honour, minister of state (MoS), science and technology and earth sciences, YS Chowdary. There were over 350 participants including Yigal Erlich, The Yozma Group and Dr. Sarvajna Dwivedi, Global TiE from Silicon Valley and many other senior policy makers, industrialists, startups and entrepreneurs.

Inaugurating the two-day meet Dr. Vardhan, says “India is the land of innovations and it gives me great pleasure to see such a large number of entrepreneurs and innovators showcasing their ideas. As per the vision of the Prime Minister, this government is doing everything within its power to give Indian entrepreneurs a platform to take their ideas to the world and vie with the best. The BIRAC Innovators Meet is one such platform which brings entrepreneurs and investors together and catalyzes an open discussion between them.”

Prof. VijayRaghavan, secretary, DBT and chairman, BIRAC says “The biotech startup landscape has grown in the country over the previous five years. The changing ecosystem has been driven by several elements such as public funding agencies, angel funding and VC funding. We are more focused on research and innovation than ever before and it is yielding results. Our job is to be present at every stage of the innovation ecosystem so that we are in a position to support innovators by helping take their idea and proof-of-concept to the market. Institutions such as BIRAC are committed to promoting affordable innovation in key social sectors in order to achieve the larger goal and mission of an innovation-driven Indian Biotech Enterprise,”

Dr. Renu Swarup, senior advisor, department of biotechnology and managing director, BIRAC says “BIRAC has been a major catalyst for the growth of the Biotech Innovation Ecosystem in the country. We are today ready to take the next leap. Today with over 500 start ups and SME’s, 100 entrepreneurs being a part of this ecosystem, we have nearly 50 products in different stages of development and commercialisation. Our target is scaling this 10 times in the next 5 years. We are confident that with the enthusiasm we see in the community we can do this”.

The keynote talk was delivered by Yigal Erlich, founder, chairman and managing partner, Yozma Group, Israel, Erlich, who is the founding father of the Israeli venture capital industry and one of the most prominent figures in the Israeli high-tech arena interacted with the investors and other participants.