Pune-based startups win big at Startup Bio event in Bangalore

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Ahammune Biosciences and Synthera Biomedical, Pune-based startups incubated at the Venture Center, took to the winning stand at the Start Up Bio 2017 event in Bangalore. The event brought together key players in the biotech and medtech space such as startups, MNCs such as biocon, and investors and financial/business experts in the health care space representing organizations such as Kotak Investment Advisory, 1Crowd, and Villgro. The event was held on April 25-26, 2017 and was organized  by Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) and Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC).

Ahammune Biosciences was founded in May 2016 by Dr. Parul Ganju, PhD in skin biology, and Dr Krishnamurthy Natarajan, Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. It is a drug discovery company focused on immune related skin disorders, with current focus on the depigmenting disorder, Vitiligo, which causes immense psychological distress amongst patients. Ahammune won the top prize in the Pitch Fest event under the Small molecules, Biologics and Biotech category.

Synthera Biomedical, founded in February 2015 by Dr. Nilay Lakhkar, PhD in biomaterials and tissue engineering, focuses on the development of affordable biomaterials with dental, maxillofacial and orthopaedic  applications. Synthera biomedical won the 1st prize in the Pitch Fest event under the Med Tech and Diagnostics category.

Both the companies received a certificate and an award of Rs. 1 lakh, presented by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Encouraged by her win, Parul (Ahammune) said, "The StartUp Bio conference was an excellent platform for a young company like ours to share our vision with pioneers in the field. It is very encouraging to win an award that recognizes innovation and it gives us the motivation to continue utilizing high-quality science to derive new solutions for problems that are of extreme relevance to the Indian society. This is a great opportunity for us to showcase to the world that as a nation, we can foster new treatments for complex diseases.& Nilay (Synthera) is ecstatic about the win and feels that it motivates the team to continue working harder towards high-quality, innovative products to satisfy stakeholders. 
He says “Winning the highly competitive Pitch Fest event boosts our confidence in our business model, and helps Synthera gain  visibility and credibility with investors, key partners and the wider ecosystem. It validates our core precepts: To be very strong both technology-wise with our innovative product offerings, and business- wise with our sharp understanding of the markets and regulatory environment.”