India’s Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved ₹1,600 crore to support 41 innovative projects in drug discovery and medtech, aiming to strengthen the country’s research landscape and attract private investment to turn groundbreaking ideas into market-ready solutions.
India’s Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved about ₹1,600 crore in support for 41 drug and medtech innovation projects in the first round of the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector scheme, in a move designed to deepen the country’s research base and lift it further up the value chain. According to the reports, the projects are expected to draw another ₹3,020 crore in private funding, taking the combined investment linked to the round to roughly ₹4,620 crore.
The approved portfolio is weighted towards new medicines, with 27 projects focused on novel drug discovery and development. Nine are aimed at medical devices, while five cover complex generics and biosimilars. Together, the projects span areas the government sees as strategically important, including clinical development, rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance, vaccines and advanced medical technology.
The scheme is also being used to broaden the base of pharmaceutical innovation in India. Reports said 19 of the projects involve start-ups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, while 22 are being led by larger companies. Twelve are still at an early stage, compared with 29 that are further along, suggesting the funding is intended to support both risky early research and more advanced development programmes. The list of beneficiaries includes established names such as Wockhardt, Biocon, Bharat Biotech, Sun Pharma, Zydus and Mankind Pharma, alongside innovators including Pandorum Technologies, Cellogen Therapeutics, Aurigene Oncology and Bugworks Research.
Among the work being backed are therapies and technologies aimed at multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections, exosome-based treatments for corneal disease, in-vivo CAR-T approaches, patient-derived breast cancer organoids, programmable RNA-targeting antiviral technology, portable plasmonic PCR systems for point-of-care diagnosis and microfluidic tools for tuberculosis detection. The government has also set aside six projects under a strategic-priority track covering bacterial pneumonia and meningitis, dengue, influenza and next-generation tuberculosis vaccines. The programme includes a benefit-sharing model tied to commercial success, meaning public support can be partly recovered if the technologies reach market, and early-stage start-ups and MSMEs can receive up to ₹5 crore under the scheme, with larger awards available for later-stage projects.
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