The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) celebrated its 6th Foundation Day recently in New Delhi. The event, aptly themed ‘Sustaining Innovation: A Market Driven Pathway’, was presided over by the Hon’ble Minister of State for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Advisor, DBT & MD, BIRAC, Government of India, and attended by a large number of dignitaries from the scientific and industry sectors both from within the country and overseas.

During the Foundation Day, BIRAC and Perkin Elmer, Inc. signed a Letter of Intent to work together on the identified areas for a five-year partnership to promote India-led startups and innovators in the areas of biomedical, biotechnology and public health.

“The goal of the collaboration is to promote the portfolio of Indian-led innovations and startups, which aligns with PerkinElmer’s mission to innovate for a healthier world. Moving ahead, PerkinElmer will continue to invest in India by lending support to government initiatives in technology innovations and advanced solutions that help protect the environment, the safety of our food, and the health of mothers and their newborn babies,” said Scott Palubiak, Vice President, Market Development, PerkinElmer.

Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Advisor, DBT and Managing Director, BIRAC said, “BIRAC supports entrepreneurs and startups at different stages of innovation – from the ideation stage to managing intellectual property rights, and finally to the commercialization of products. This collaboration with PerkinElmer exemplifies our focus to enable commercialization and ensure the global competitiveness of Indian enterprises. This endeavor will also help to develop a complete ecosystem from an innovative idea to employment creation and generation, to product commercialization in domestic and global markets.”

“PerkinElmer is committed to developing innovative technologies to address the challenges of healthcare in India, completing the ecosystem from preventive to advanced healthcare. The products and solutions developed through this partnership will not only contribute to the national efforts of ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India and Entrepreneurship’, but also promotes ‘Go to Global’ market opportunities,” said Jayashree Thacker, President PerkinElmer India.