Bugworks Research has developed a way to beat bacterial drug resistance, which allows for the development of novel antibiotics to counter the threat of superbugs, bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotic drugs. Pandorum Technologies develops 3D-printed human tissues for medical research and therapeutics. Both startups were judged winners in the ET Startup Awards 'Top Innovator' category.

Bugworks is presently in pre-clinical development stage and expects to begin human trials in two years. Its current portfolio of assets targets hospital-associated infections. The startup's lead chemical series kills a broad spectrum of pathogens via a novel mechanism.

After becoming the first in the country to design and 3D-print human liver tissues for medical research, the Pandorum is working on bio-engineering human cornea that can potentially be implanted. Its 3D-printed human tissues can be used in medical research for drug metabolism and disease modelling. That makes it a useful tool in the discovery of novel drugs with better efficacy and substantially reduced time and money. Pandorum's big vision is to make personalised human organs such as lungs, liver, kidney and pancreas on demand.

Both Bugworks and Pandorum are funded by the Government of India's Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) under the Biotechnology Ignition Grant. Bugworks is backed also by Baxter Ventures, 3one4 capital and Biocon chairperson Kiran MazumdarShaw, and Pandorum by Flipkart founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, and the government's Small Business Innovation Research Initiative.