5 startups recognised by jury at BioAsia 2023

Hyderabad: The 20th edition of BioAsia, Asia's largest Life Sciences and Healthcare Convention, witnessed an extraordinary startup showcase comprising 76 brilliant participants hailing from national and international geographies. Among them, five startups, comprising of the most innovative and futuristic products and services, were chosen by the jury at BioAsia 2023.

Exobot Dynamics Pvt Ltd Founder Munish Kumar, Lambdagen Therapeutics Founder Harshyaa Makhija, Pratibha Healthkon Founder Dr Pranay Garg, Ramja Genosensor Founder Pooja Goswami and SatyaRX Pharma Innovations Pvt Ltd Founder Murthy Chavali were selected as finalists out of 76 participants in the three-day event.

Exobot Dynamics Pvt Ltd develops bionic limbs, exoskeletons, and assistive devices to improve health and performance of people with disabilities, diseased, and able-bodied individuals. Another startup Lambdagen Therapeutics Singapore, in collaboration with The University of MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA aims to develop personalised brain tumor myeloid cell-based cancer vaccine.

Pratibha Healthkon is a health & medtech startup from Telangana, which has positioned itself as a leading solutions provider and open innovation partner to corporations in the primary health space that provide workflow for managing population screening and taking the individual through the care continuum from within the community to the PHCs.

Ramja Genosensor is the world's first paper-based device that can detect any infection and antimicrobial resistance in just 90 minutes, while SatyaRX Pharma Innovations Pvt Ltd is a drug discovery company focused on discovery and development of novel drugs for cancers. The company is focused on the global markets for its cancer drugs and has developed specific expertise in the DNA damage response pathway.

Over 2,000 delegates, 175 exhibitors and startups, representatives of 50 countries attended the Asia's largest Lifesciences and Healthcare Convention in the last couple of days. The event witnessed high-profile deliberations among governments, corporations, veteran healthcare leaders, academia, and startups to discuss global healthcare challenges.

BioAsia 2023 boasted of five panel discussions and a rip-roaring fireside chat between Dr Sumbul Desai, VP Health, Apple, USA and Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, India. The panels deliberated on the key pillars that reinforce the global growth of life sciences industry. The first panel on 'Data, analytics and technology to transform drug R&D: Redefining innovation'.

Second panel on 'India for India and India for world: Where does quality stand?' focused on the challenges India faces regarding drug and device quality as the stellar panel addresses solutions to these challenges. Third panel on 'Med-tech penetration: What is the way ahead?' discussed roads that will enable India to continue to build strength in the medical devices' ecosystem leveraging its IT strength.

Experts commented on how this robust IT industry will contribute to drug registry and tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs, in a subsequent panel on 'Integrated Healthcare: the future of care delivery model'. Yet another critical panel on 'Global Supply chain transformation' deliberated on sustainability enablement practices about manufacturing & supply chain and adopting ESG as a culture.

On the occasion, KT Ramarao, Minister for Industries and commerce & IT, Government of Telangana said, "I'm excited about the road ahead and the possibilities on how technology can act as a force multiplier to help the lifesciences industry innovate and scale. The most previous resource we have at our disposal, the human capital - the young India, could start working on world class innovations."

"I am excited about the opportunities that India presents in terms of scale, in terms of manufacturing medical devices, pharmaceuticals and all kinds of life sciences products. I am a firm believer in the 3 'I' mantra – Innovation, Infrastructure and Inclusive growth – these 3Is can make the 4th I – India, a true powerhouse of talented first world country in times to come," he added.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce Dept added, "Every year, BioAsia sparks global renewal of joint commitment to build on healthcare innovation at scale. 2023, as the year we return to hosting BioAsia physically, marks a key step forward in significantly strengthen collaboration and understanding between industry, academia, and governments. The Government of Telangana is a proud host of this monumental platform which I am certain, will spark the beginning of ground-breaking alliances and innovations".

Shakthi Nagappan, CEO, BioAsia, and Director, Telangana Life Sciences, said "We are delighted to return to hosting BioAsia in-person after two years of going virtual. Nothing will replace the power of in-person knowledge sharing and collaborations that occur at BioAsia every year. In the past 2 days of the global bio-business conference had witnessed significant and beneficial deliberations. The panels in the conference are designed to broach topics of global healthcare relevance. We have a strong conviction that these discussions will open the door for additional discoveries, partnerships, and business alliances among innovators across the world who venture towards Healthcare for All."