India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is inviting applications for the second edition of 'Innovation Challenge'; to focus on solutions within COVID management

Along with COVID management, this year's Innovation Challenge will focus on awareness and treatment of cardiovascular, renal, neuro, cancer and lung diseases

BENGALURU, India, Aug. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre, a collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner's Office, AIIMS Delhi and AIIMS Jodhpur, virtually launched its second edition of the healthcare innovation challenge. The innovation challenge is an opportunity for startups to collaborate with partners on the Innovation Centre platform to help solve some of the problems in the healthcare delivery landscape of India. This year's healthcare innovation challenge focuses on solutions within COVID management and solutions for awareness and treatment of cardiovascular, renal, neuro, cancer and lung diseases.

The application is open from 16 August 2021 till 10 October 2021. All the applications will undergo a rigorous evaluation process by a panel of experts and include partners like AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, ICMR, AstraZeneca, NASSCOM, CCamp, AIM, Invest India and various funding entities.

Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS Delhi, said, "Frugal innovation to develop cost-effective and efficient ways of healthcare delivery is the key need for Indian healthcare market. Innovators developing these solutions could leverage this platform and avail mentorship and guidance from our institute as well as the partners of the center to develop solutions that would benefit our country."

Dr. Sanjeev Misra, Director, AIIMS Jodhpur, said, "Healthcare systems in India are undergoing a rapid transformation post the pandemic. Early screening and awareness tools, wearable tracking devices, remote monitoring solutions and digital tools are critical in creating a more strong and sustainable healthcare system in India. Innovators in these areas can avail the incubation facility, expert mentorship and validate the solutions at our campus through India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre to further enhance their products and scale-up of solutions."

Cecilia Oskarsson, Swedish Trade Commissioner to India, said, "COVID has emphasized the need to have robust healthcare infrastructure across the countries and this could be achieved only through innovation. Therefore, the challenge would focus on innovative Digital Tools/Platforms - Med-Tech, Artificial Intelligence-backed solutions that support new ways of working and improve the efficiencies of healthcare systems."

The selected startups will collaborate with the India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre to enable faster scale-up, cross-country mentorship, access to state-of-the-art incubation centre located within AIIMS Jodhpur and NASSCOM Bangalore campus, lab facilities, guidance on funding, and the ability to ideate with like-minded innovators from across India and beyond.

Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited, said, "It is our pleasure to partner with India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre to support the ecosystem. We hope that this platform will really help innovators, who are working hard to impact patients' lives, to further develop their products/solutions to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to people in these difficult times."

The first edition of the healthcare innovation challenge had seen an overwhelming response of 450+ applications from innovators and startups last year. Post a rigorous evaluation process by a panel of doctors, venture capitalists and industry leaders, 14 compelling solutions submitted by innovators are selected for centre. The announcement of these winners was made in the presence of the health minister and key government and private stakeholders. These 14 startups are currently being mentored and are validating their products at the partner hospitals of innovation centre. 

The Innovation Centre is built under strategic guidance from the Government of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Government of Sweden's Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Embassy of Sweden in India. It also has a strong network of ecosystem partners - Atal Innovation Mission, Invest India, Startup India, CCamp, Bangalore Bio-innovation Centre, Vision Zero Cancer and knowledge partners – AstraZeneca and NASSCOM.

About India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre

The India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is a tripartite collaboration between AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur and Swedish Trade Commissioner's office (Business Sweden). The platform is envisioned to develop an ecosystem of open innovation that startups and the healthcare delivery stakeholders can use to collaborate and address current and future challenges in the healthcare sector in India. This platform will enable the development and scale-up of solutions through frugal innovation for affordable and accessible healthcare in line with the objectives of the Government of India. For more information, please visit: www.indiaswedenic.com

About AIIMS Delhi

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS, New Delhi) is a public hospital and medical research university based in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

About AIIMS Jodhpur

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur (AIIMS Jodhpur; IAST: Akhil Bharatiya Aayurvigyan Sansthan Jodhpur) is a medical college and medical research public university based in Jodhpur, India. It is Institute of National Importance. Like five other All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), it was established in 2012 and operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

About Business Sweden

Business Sweden is jointly owned by the Swedish state and the Swedish business sector with a mandate and a mission to help international companies gain access to the Swedish market and help domestic ones utilize it as a platform for expansion

About AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (AZPIL) was established in 1979 and is marking its 40th year of long-standing commitment to patients in India. It is headquartered at Bengaluru, Karnataka. AstraZeneca India has a workforce of over 1400 employees across the country committed to deliver great medicines to patients through innovative science and global excellence in development and commercialization. For more information, please visit: www.astrazeneca.com/india