BANGLORE, India–The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, C-CAMP, India’s premier science and technology hub in the biosciences and one the largest bio-incubators in India, has entered into a partnership with the University of Massachusetts Venture Development Center and TiE Boston to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Biotechnology domains through an Indo-US Corridor.
The Corridor is envisioned to catalyze the growth of life sciences ventures in both ecosystems. The Letter of Intent was signed at the TiE Global Summit held in Bangalore on Dec 10, 2024, by Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP Director-CEO, Shubhro Sen, Executive Director, Venture Development Center and Assistant Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives at University of Massachusetts, Boston and Purnanand Sarma, President, TiE Boston.
Flagging off the signing, Saiyed said, “This marks the coming together of C-CAMP as one of the richest startup ecosystems in India, with Boston, the sixth largest startup ecosystem as per the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report through this LoI with UMass and TiE Boston. We are tremendously excited about the possibilities of this LoI to foster collaborations in research, innovation and entrepreneurship development to create societal impact. Boston is also home to one of the strongest regional economies in the US. We are aiming to leverage that by opening the doors to Angel and Venture Capital investments for Indian startups. This will contribute to India’s booming bioeconomy in alignment with Govt of India priorities.”
TiE is one of the largest not-for-profit in the world focused on helping entrepreneurs and startups. Dr. Sarma said, “Our India-US initiative is focused on leveraging our strong network of TiE Charter Members, Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists together with partners such as C-CAMP and UMass VDC, to identify, support and provide access to funding to startups with an intent to grow them into global companies. We are very excited to be working with C-CAMP and UMass Boston to enable the growth of this sector in India and the US.”
Sen. from UMass Boston said, “We are energized by this unique bi-directional collaboration to select and support high impact C- CAMP startups with global potential with H1B visas, co-working, access to funding and specialized equipment in Boston, the leading life sciences ecosystem in the world. We also envision Boston and US-based entities with cutting-edge science and solutions using this exciting avenue to develop strategic partnerships and science collaborations, conduct clinical trials, and create win-win solutions for the Indian and Asian markets”.
The India-US Life Sciences & Healthcare Venture Growth Corridor will facilitate linkages between the two ecosystems anchored by C-CAMP and UMass to:
1) advance the vibrant scientific research the two are reputed for,
2) enable co-development of innovation-led products and technologies towards commercialization,
3) leverage each other’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to nurture and accelerate ideation, startup creation, and growth of early-stage start-ups.
The infrastructural ties arrived at are co-incubation and soft-landing for start-ups and SMEs in each other’s ecosystems, access to mutual technology capabilities and scientific expertise, and investments in associated startups, especially in biopharma and biotech, facilitated by TiE Boston.
The LoI is expected to advance into a full-fledged Memorandum of Understanding once the anchor programmes under the tie-up are established.
C-CAMP is India’s premier innovation and technology hub and one of the largest life science incubators in the country. An initiative of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, C-CAMP’s mandate is to enable cutting-edge life science research and innovation and promote life science entrepreneurship. As a part of C-CAMP’s mandate of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, C-CAMP has created and fostered an entrepreneur-friendly culture in and around the Academic/Research environment through its involvement in Seed Funding Schemes for Startups, Entrepreneur Mentorship programs, and Bio-Incubation facility. To date, C-CAMP has nurtured close to 500 life sciences innovators and startups to help accelerate their journey to the market. For more information about C-CAMP please visit https://ccamp.res.in
Since its founding in 2009, the Venture Development Center (VDC) at UMass Boston has provided essential support to launch and grow innovative technology and life science companies. The VDC offers its members a broad range of support to accelerate their companies’ access to business advisory services, scientific and technological expertise, state-of-the-art instrumentation, cutting-edge laboratories, well-equipped office space, and additional resources. One of its key offerings since 2015 is the Global Entrepreneur in Residence [GEIR] program. The VDC is the pioneer and market leader of this vanguard program that provides visa support for talented foreign-born entrepreneurs with disruptive and scalable ideas to grow their ventures in Massachusetts. It has helped launch 116 GEIR companies in MA, creating over 1750 full-time jobs and raising $ 1.6 billion in capital.
Founded in 1997, TiE Boston connects tomorrow’s founders with today’s entrepreneurs, executives, and venture capitalists. Operating for over 25+ years, TiE Boston’s unparalleled network of successful, serial entrepreneurs who are deeply engaged and committed to giving back to the community by providing mentorship, tactical advice, and expertise to rising entrepreneurs through several signature programs. TiE Boston is the second TiE Chapter to be formed and is one of the largest TiE Chapters within the TiE global network. TiE is the world’s largest not-for-profit network, helping entrepreneurs and startups grow. This ecosystem was established over 30 years ago and has rapidly expanded to 16,000 members across multiple countries, contributing to $250 billion in wealth creation. TiE Chapters worldwide have become a vibrant platform for entrepreneurs, professionals, industry leaders, and investors to interact with one another & forge long-lasting relationships. TiE Boston Angels is a program within TiE Boston where individual TiE Charter Members conduct their own due diligence, make investments, and support companies post-investment.
