NEW DELHI–The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) celebrated its 6th Foundation Day on Tuesday in New Delhi. The event, aptly themed ‘Sustaining Innovation: A Market Driven Pathway’, was presided over by the Hon’ble Minister of State for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Advisor, DBT & MD, BIRAC, Government of India, and attended by a large number of dignitaries from the scientific and industry sectors both from within the country and overseas.

During the Foundation Day, BIRAC and PerkinElmer, Inc. signed a Letter of Intent to work together on the identified areas for a five-year partnership to promote India-led startups and innovators in the areas of biomedical, biotechnology and public health.

“The goal of the collaboration is to promote the portfolio of Indian-led innovations and startups, which aligns with PerkinElmer’s mission to innovate for a healthier world. Moving ahead, PerkinElmer will continue to invest in India by lending support to government initiatives in technology innovations and advanced solutions that help protect the environment, the safety of our food, and the health of mothers and their newborn babies,” said Scott Palubiak, Vice President, Market Development, PerkinElmer.

Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Advisor, DBT and Managing Director, BIRAC said, “BIRAC supports entrepreneurs and startups at different stages of innovation – from the ideation stage to managing intellectual property rights, and finally to the commercialization of products. This collaboration with PerkinElmer exemplifies our focus to enable commercialization and ensure the global competitiveness of Indian enterprises. This endeavor will also help to develop a complete ecosystem from an innovative idea to employment creation and generation, to product commercialization in domestic and global markets.”

“PerkinElmer is committed to developing innovative technologies to address the challenges of healthcare in India, completing the ecosystem from preventive to advanced healthcare. The products and solutions developed through this partnership will not only contribute to the national efforts of ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India and Entrepreneurship’, but also promotes ‘Go to Global’ market opportunities,” said Jayashree Thacker, President PerkinElmer India.

The LOI was signed by Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Adviser, DBT & Managing Director, BIRAC and Dr. Prahlad Singh, Senior Vice President, PerkinElmer.

About BIRAC
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) a Public Sector Enterprise, set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India as an industry-academia Interface agency to support emerging biotech enterprises to undertake strategic research and innovation, to address nationally relevant product development needs. Through the course of five years, BIRAC has supported over 1000 start-ups, entrepreneurs, biotech companies and organizations and 30 incubators across the country, resulting in over 100 products and technologies and an Intellectual property rights wealth of nearly 200 patents being generated. Additional information is available at http://www.birac.nic.in/

About PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world. Our dedicated team of about 11,000 employees worldwide is passionate about providing customers with an unmatched experience as they help solve critical issues, especially impacting the diagnostics and discovery and analytical solutions markets. Our innovative detection, imaging, informatics, and service capabilities, combined with deep market knowledge and expertise, help customers gain earlier and more accurate insights to improve lives and the world around us. The Company reported revenue of approximately $2.3 billion in 2017, serves customers in more than 150 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional information is available through 1-877-PKI-NYSE, or at www.perkinelmer.com.