Request for funding to IITM Med-Tech Incubator Healthcare technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) of IIT Madras is a med-tech R&D centre setup in 2012 with a focus towards developing and deploying affordable, accessible and scalable technology solutions. HTIC has evolved into the largest and leading med-tech innovation ecosystem in the country, collaborating with over 30 institutions ranging from hospitals, industry, government agencies and research institutes both within the country and internationally. Its technologies are creating social and commercial impact. Due to its technology development and commercialization success, HTIC was requested by med-tech community and government to setup a med-tech incubator to nurture med-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs through incubation and provide them with necessary support to create successful med-tech enterprise. This is a serious gap in today s med-tech landscape in the country, which is a Rs. 40,000 core market. With capital funding support for from BIRAC, we have recently started a med-tech incubator for entrepreneurs and startups in this space by leveraging the innovation ecosystem and technical capabilities of HTIC. With all these components, IITM is the only academic institute in the country that has such an integrated med-tech centre with R&D, technology development, commercialization and incubation. The new HTIC premises is in a 14,000 sq. ft facility in phase- 2 of IITM Research Park. This proposal is to request funding for the Med-Tech incubator of HTIC. Snapshot of the key technologies and impact Key highlights of technologies developed at HTIC and their impact are given below: a) HTIC s Mobile Eye Surgical Unit, MESU, a first-of-its-kind technology in the country approved by Ministry of Health, targets the huge unaddressed need for cataract surgeries in rural India. The Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) is an innovative engineering solution in the form of a stable, self-sufficient and mobile platform that provides a controlled and sterile environment for performing high quality cataract surgery even in rural locations with no basic amenities. The successful clinical pilot of MESU in rural Tamilnadu with no post-operative complications led to GoI approval from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to use this technology as a delivery model for cataract surgeries. Following this success, another MESU was developed and commissioned in Jharkhand, funded by Tata trust. Till date, MESU has conducted around 8000 surgeries in over 40 rural locations and is continuing operations in states of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkand. More units are under discussion. b) Eye PAC, an ophthalmic image computing technology, developed by HTIC is creating global impact and has reached 1500+ installations in 26 countries so far with around 2 million eye examinations. The technology powers a revolutionary med-tech product, 3nethra by Forus Health, a highly acclaimed Indian med-tech start up. Eye PAC platform powers 3nethra to achieve its goal of eye screening without dilatation (thus reducing cost and crucial skill barrier otherwise required). This technology is powering a new product for newborn eye screening which has been recently introduced into the market. This is the first indigenous technology that is available in market for screening retinopathy of prematurity, a critical premature condition. c) In collaboration with J Mitra, a leading domestic diagnostics company in the country, HTIC has developed the country s first indigenous point of care technology and product for quantitative immunodiagnostics. The product addresses the unmet market needs and requirement of small to medium labs in the community for affordable test kits of key analytes related to non-communicable diseases such as HbA1C (diabetes), Vitamin D, B12, TSH, T3,
T4, etc. The product has completed pilot manufacturing and is expected to reach over 1000 labs by end of 2017 addressing a market of around 50,000 tier-2 labs in the country. In the coming years, around 2 million people will benefit annually through this product by making such tests available in places that today do not have access to such tests. d) In collaboration with EMRI, the largest emergency service provider in the country and Tamilnadu government, HTIC has developed neo-natal ambulance design and the technical specifications for neonatal ambulances in the state. Around 65 neonatal ambulances in Tamilnadu, conducting over 28,000 neonatal transports annually were developed based on this new design and deployed for public service in the state. With our strong industry partnerships, multi-centre clinical partners, and international research and technology collaboration, combined with the technology translation engine of HTIC we envision HTIC to become a national asset and a globally recognized centre for affordable healthcare technologies in 5 years. Through this, we will be able to further strengthen our research, technology development & innovation, and commercial translation to products and field deployable solutions both in India and globally, that has social and commercial impact. Ultimately, at a 10-15 year timeframe, we envision this centre to be amongst the top 20 healthcare technology centres in the world.
Med-Tech incubator structure and operations: The objective of the Medtech incubator (MTI) is to nurture MedTech start-ups and entrepreneurs through incubation and provide them with necessary support to create a successful MedTech enterprise. The MedTech Incubator aims at building a community of healthcare entrepreneurs who can deliver innovative, affordable and valuable MedTech solutions and products for the Indian society. It provides wide-ranging support to start-ups and entrepreneurs working at the intersection of healthcare and technology. MTI also extends its support by providing a stimulating platform for healthcare enthusiasts, medtech innovators, aspiring entrepreneurs and early stage start-ups to get their hands dirty working on premature ideas. The unique differentiator of the Incubator is being attached to the multidisciplinary R&D and innovation centre, HTIC. The centre extends its support in providing access to its healthcare researchers and product experts to assist the start-ups in joint technology development, product/service development and clinical, design and market validation. The incubator also has an extensive support network of medical institutions, public health organizations, government bodies, hospitals, doctors, industry strategic partners and venture capitalists. And the wide pool of mentors and consultants and subject experts with expertise in research & technology, business management, regulations & policies, manufacturing to guide the start-ups in the right direction. The incubation facility is designed to suit the MedTech entrepreneurs with meeting rooms, conferences room and innovation spaces along with access to equipment and machineries required for development, testing and validating the product as a remitted service. The legal, secretarial, accounting and web development service support services are also provided to the incubatees within the stipulated scope. The start-ups incubated at MTI also get access to the IIT Madras Innovation Fund to ascertain a seed fund and MTI s strategic partnerships with venture capital firms and healthcare investors also creates a funding sources for the start-ups. The Incubation Program is organized under four broad divisions- The Curious (Squid), The Builder (Bonobo), The Operator (Raven) and The Marketer (Dolphin). The Curious This is our flagship program designed for anyone to come explore and play and to get hands-on experience by probating and developing their medtech idea. The curious space is an open playground for school students, college students and other MedTech enthusiasts who are keen to play with medical devices, learn and work on new technology and assess if the idea can be converted into a commercially viable product. The Builder This space is for anyone ready to build on the idea. Once the clinical need is identified, to start defining the product concept and convert it into a prototype. Develop an initial proof of concept to validate the technology with the support of our researchers, technical officers, mentors and MedTech experts. Design the functional specifications, design, develop, test, reiterate and validate the product in the builder s space. The Operator This space is for anyone ready to setup the startup. Once product has progressed from concept to a prototype; building a team consisting of individuals from diverse domains (managers, engineers, clinicians and marketing professionals) to take the product to the market. Structure the business concept and formulate a business plan to identify the commercial potential of the product. Interact with our business experts, regulatory and compliance professionals, industrial designers, clinicians and hospitals to re-engineer and design the prototype to get it clinically validated. The Marketer This space is entrepreneur who are ready to go to market, once the product development is completed, and it is ready to be commercialized. Next step is to approach public health organizations, hospitals and healthcare companies to run a pilot project while complying with the regulatory standards and laws; set up the production and design process for
the product with the help of our manufacturing and production experts. The marketer s focus should be on clinical adoption, customer acquisitions and fund raising to scale the venture. Funding requested: We are requesting Rs. 1.5 crores, 50 lakhs per year for the next three years for development of MTI. This will leverage the significant capital investment of Rs. 10 crores of space, equipment facilities funded by government, besides the R&D facilities, expertise and knowledge of HTIC, which is independently funded at over Rs. 5 crores per year by government and industry. Output and Outcome: We expect on an average of 5 companies per year to be incubated by the Centre s med-tech incubator funded by BIRAC. This will include entrepreneurship activities by IITM faculty, students and alumni in field of health technologies. The centre is also attracting reputed clinicians and medical leaders who are incubating their ideas/companies with HTIC. This will enhance the reputation and visibility of IITM in the field of healthcare. We will leverage the centre s technical strength and our partnerships to enhance the success and quality of the incubated companies. Within few months of operationalizing the incubator, has four companies in areas of Deep Learning, Robotic Surgery, Medical Devices Quality standards and Imaging system are already incubated in MTI. We have six ventures in areas of Stress measuring and monitoring system, Preventive and Wellness care, Medical solutions for Orthopedics, Diabetes management, Imaging solutions and
collaborative space for health stakeholders are undergoing pre-incubation to refine the concept before entering the incubation stage. Other companies are in the application and evaluation stage. The founders are experienced clinicians, researchers, engineering professionals, serial entrepreneurs, and IITM faculty. The nascent med-tech entrepreneurship in the country provides an opportunity for IITM to take leadership in this space. Our efforts in incubator will be driven by the larger vision of creating social and commercial impact in healthcare in the country. Through our activities and success of enterprises, we will aim to be the no. 1 med-tech incubator in the country.