CCMB forges alliance with BFI to accelerate biomedical research, innovation

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), a premier life science research organisation under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has forged an alliance with Blockchain For Impact (BFI) under the BFI-Biome Virtual Network Program to accelerate biomedical research and innovation in the country.

Under this program, BFI will allocate over US$ 600,000 during the course of three years and leverage the state-of-the-art facilities and expertise at CCMB to support interdisciplinary and collaborative translational research projects in the field of biomedical science and innovation.

BFI-Biome Virtual Network Program is a pioneer initiative bringing together research institutes and incubators under one umbrella to foster stakeholder collaborations. The launch event was held here in the presence of CSIR-CCMB director Vinay Nandicoori, senior scientist Manjula Reddy from the institute and representatives from BFI including CEO Gaurav Singh, Program Director Pooja Agrawal and senior advisor Satya Prakash Dash, said an official release on Wednesday.

CSIR-CCMB will be facilitating centralised national access to the most modern techniques in the interdisciplinary areas of biology. Expressing his “delight” at the partnership, Dr Nandicoori said, “it will allow us to attempt projects with sound science and translational value. We hope that the outcomes from these projects would benefit Indian’s healthcare needs at large.”

BFI CEO Gaurav Singh explained that through two verticals — Biomedical Research and Innovation, district full-stack partnerships and process-driven innovation funding and support — the program will work towards addressing critical gaps in the country’s healthcare sector.

Program Director Pooja Agrawal said virtual network intends to develop long-term solutions through biomedical innovation and the partnership with CCMB “will help accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into impactful healthcare solutions.“

BFI was set up during the second wave of Covid pandemic to support those in need of help through supply of medical equipment, vaccines and relief kits. Now, the focus has transitioned towards early identification and prevention activities through capacity building, genome sequencing, adding hospital beds, vaccination and awareness campaigns, added the release. The Hindu