Pfizer to fund six startups through its INDovation program for healthcare

Pfizer in collaboration with National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER)-Ahmedabad, the Department of Pharmaceuticals(DoP), NITI Aayog and Social Alpha, on Monday announced six winners of the NIPER-A edition of Pfizer’s flagship INDovation program for healthcare start-ups.

Since the launch of the partnership in February 2024, Pfizer has received applications from over 200 start-ups across the country focusing on solutions for timely screening and cost-effective diagnostic tools.

The shortlisting criteria to decide the final six included the potential impact of the product or solution, level of technological innovation, uniqueness of the value proposition, competitive advantage, financial and operational scalability, and clarity on the future roadmap.


The winning start-ups will receive a grant of Rs 25 lakhs each from Pfizer, while NIPER-Ahmedabad will provide comprehensive incubation support that will help accelerate their lab-to-market journey.

The winners include Aarca Research, Babycue Pvt Ltd, Biolockey Healthworks Pvt Ltd, Brela Innovations Pvt Ltd, RNT Health Insights Pvt Ltd and Utopic Tech Pvt Ltd.

Dr. Arunish Chawla, secretary DoP announced that under the PRIP (Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech) scheme or Research Linked Incentive Scheme these 6 startups will be the first set of winners to secure funding. They are also approved for support for pre-clinical and clinical studies.

“With grants from Pfizer and incubation support from our program partners, I am confident that these start-ups will get the full support to rapidly bring their groundbreaking ideas to the market and deliver the promise of making a significant difference in healthcare delivery in our country,” said Meenakshi Nevatia, MD of Pfizer Ltd, said.