Pfizer has partnered with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Ahmedabad, to encourage and support startups in India.
 
This collaboration aims to support healthcare start-ups advance innovative ideas into market-ready solutions. The initiative is being supported by the Department of Pharmaceuticals and Niti Aayog and is being anchored by Social Alpha.

Through this partnership with NIPER Ahmedabad, this initiative aims to select 6 innovators pan-India that will be incubated at NIPER Ahmedabad. Start-ups with a proof-of-concept that matches the set mandate will be selected for a one-year accelerator program.
 
Each of these startups will receive incubation support in areas of product development, regulatory pathway, pre-clinical testing, tech transfer support through NIPER ecosystem and real-world clinical fitment check. They will also receive funding support of up to Rs. 25 lakhs each.
 
Together, Pfizer, NIPER Ahmedabad and Social Alpha will be looking for innovations at TRL levels 3 or higher in the areas of deep tech and artificial intelligence for predictive analysis, point-of-care testing, SaaS, informatics and wearables and track and trace solutions.
 
NIPER Ahmedabad is in the process of setting up a Centre of Excellence in Medical Device. This partnership will further help startups in this domain take advantage of the NIPER Ahmedabad innovation ecosystem in medical devices to advance in their journey towards commercialization.
 
Meenakshi Nevatia, Managing Director, Pfizer Ltd., said, “We sincerely thank Department of Pharmaceuticals for their support in facilitating the partnership with NIPER-Ahmedabad. We look forward to welcoming our latest cohort of startups to this program and being a part of their journey to success.”
 
Pfizer is the latest among top pharma companies that are flocking to the Indian shores to either expand their existing operations or set up new bases for drug development R&D.