face to face
because the idea is already validated .
This is where the gap lies . Here we should help these startups to build the technology and proof of concept but equal attention must be given to the thorough understanding of the market and business model as well .
Which type of startups are building more traction in the bioscience market ? For that matter , are these agriculture , medical technology or biotechnology driven startups ?
Medical technology and diagnostics are the prominent ones and there
are reasons behind it . MedTech startups are technology intensive i . e . engineering intensive and less in biology in terms of proof of concept . And these also have the less gestation time than pharma .
A lot of investors are more interested in visibility . While somebody makes a product prototype that is much visible in nature , another one says I have a molecule with CNS aspect where there is no clear visibility though . We know it has to go through clinical phase 1 , 2 and 3 . The first guy comes up with a small toy and says it works . So , it excites investor much more . So that is where the significant percent is going in terms of the funding . But making a toy is not the final solution as it has to sell in numbers . If you have a blockbuster pharma drug , you will make money even if in small numbers obviously but here all these so-called toys may not get sold . The need might not be there and may be market is less .
Hence , the investors that must also understand that the dynamics of this sector are far different than what works for other industries .
Has the scenario over industry academia collaborations changed ? Are enough technology transfers happening in India ?
It is happening here and there but it is still in an early phase . I think more and more it happens , more students will get inspired to take up challenges . We will see more and more academiaindustry partnerships building up over the period .
The technology transfers are happening but not
14 BioVoiceNews | May 2017