BITS BIRAC BioNEST Incubation Center to help startups in Health

Panaji: BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, has set up an incubator with the financial support of Rs three crores from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit Public Sector Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

According to a statement from the Institute on Sunday, with 3500 square feet of the state-of-the-art facility, the BITS BIRAC BioNEST Lab will help the start-ups in Health and Environment sector by providing them equipment, space and supporting facilities to test their ideas, prototype in the lab and take it to the market.

Professor Varun Sahni, Vice Chancellor of Goa University, will inaugurate the BITS BIRAC BioNEST Startup Incubator cum Innovation Lab at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on January 3.

The event will be presided over by Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus Prof G Raghurama and will include an expert panel discussion on ‘Opportunities in Healthcare’.

Experts will include Dr Shekhar Salkar, Head Department of Oncology, Manipal Hospital, Goa and past President Goa Medical Council and Indian Medical Association Goa; Dr N Sriram, Director, Molbio Diagnostics Pvt Ltd and founder Tulip Diagnostics (P) Ltd; Dr Praveen Khullar, Head of Global Development Center, Sanofi-Synthelabo (India) Private Limited and President Goa Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association; Dr Manish Diwan, Head - Strategy Partnership and Entrepreneurship Development, BIRAC, a Government of India Enterprise; and V Joshi, Co-founder, Sattva Medtech.