Medical Device Catalogues Display Show

A technical medical devices catalogue display show was conducted on the 23th of October in Ahmedabad Management Association under the student innovation programme for HR development in Medical device industry. 55 Biomedical engineering students from different colleges of Gujarat attended the 6-hour event.

On display were a number of national and international medical device publications, company’s catalogues and product flyers. The main agenda behind the event was to inform the students about the various products in market, their specification and to fuel the students with ideas for their final year projects.

Speaking at the event, Mr Pandya, editor of www.medisourceasia.com, emphasised the need for awareness around technology advancement and innovation in medical device industry. He also asked the students to make the most of this opportunity and to work in groups.

Dr A.S.Rao was kind enough to spare some of his time to speak to the students and take their queries.  He expressed his excitement about advances in medical device industry and the increase in life expectancy. He also stressed on participantion in national level competitions and patent filing.

Towards the end, Mr. Balajee asked the students to share their experience and suggestions, if any. He also asked the students to read around Technopreneur Promotion Programee (TePP).

A facebook page has been created by the name of Innovation Clusters to encourage group discussion between students outside the workshops and events.

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Innovation-clusters/168899666455138?v=wall)

State Level M.Pharm. Thesis Competition in Gujarat

L. M. College of Pharmacy and Foundation for MSME Clusters are organising a state level competition in Gujarat for the best M. Pharm. thesis competition in the following category;

‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪Pharmaceutical Technologies

‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪Pharmaceutical Chemistry

‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪Pharmacology

‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪Quality Assurance

‪‪‪‪‪‪The competition titled  “Rajnibhai V. Patel Best M. Pharm. Thesis Competition – 2010” is in the memory of Late Mr. Rajni V. Patel, ex-chairman of Troikaa Pharmaceuticals, Ahmedabad and is sponsored by Troikaa Pharmaceuticals. The competition is implemented under the Promoting innovation Clusters programme, which is supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, India. 

T‪‪‪‪‪‪hrough the competition, DST aims to encourage fresh talent and promote innovation and creativity in the pharmaceutical industry in Gujarat. Students from over 30-pharmacy colleges offering M. Pharm. Course will be competing for the prize money, which is Rs. 51,000 for the winner and Rs. 25,000 for the first runner-up in each category. The competition kicks off in October with 31s December 2010 being the last date of application.

‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪Click here‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪‪ to view the announcement poster for the competition.

India Joins Global Ranks, Auctions Patented Pharma Technologies

Becoming only the fifth country after US, Japan, Australia and Europe to hold an auction of patented technologies, India eyes to revolutionise its rising economic growth with the pharmaceutical sector daring to break the norm.

The auction, organised by SkyQuest Technology Consulting in partnership Foundation for MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) Cluster in Ahmedabad on 28th August, did not shy away from the challenge of this maiden launch and displayed creative new technologies some of which can ease your pain using snake venom, fix a metallic tooth in your mouth, detect dengue using a simple dengue kit and can create an HIV/AIDS preventing contraceptive.

Dr. A. S. Rao, Advisor of Foundation of MSME Clusters, emphasised the need of innovation in Gujarat life sciences sector and said, “We hope that this event will prove to be a groundbreaking step in the future of pharma sector and the auction will benefit both the innovator and the industry.”

“There is a huge potential for developing business in patent auctioning as the economy grows, companies need more products to add to their existing portfolio and with patented products the companies can create niche market for themselves,” says Shriya Damani, co-founder & CEO of Skyquest Technology.

The auction comes at a time when lack of a competitive platform for buying and selling technologies holds back several groundbreaking technologies. The show stealer technology at the first Tech Transfer 2010 was the herbal health drink. Made for the overall wellbeing of the body, the drink comes with a temptation: it tastes like beer! The anti lung cancer drug was not far behind. Known as Gefitinib, the patented technology at the auction aimed to create the drug in hassle free manner, making the yield go up and the drug itself far more accessible.

The first of its kind auction of buyers and sellers was supported by the Department of Science and Technology under the Promoting Innovative Clusters Programme and organised by the Foundation of MSME Clusters, a non-profit organisation working to assist local businesses connect more socially, increasing their productivity and development and SkyQuest Technology Consulting which facilitates buying and selling of patents in India.

Why Are we here ?

24th October 2010

A global study¹ suggests that Career paths of innovative ventures follow a variety of routes, with the most preferred route being those who have passed out of universities and are gathering practical experience. Such practical experience may be scientific apprenticeship, doctoral research, etc. Other routes being experienced personnel of existing firms starting off with an idea, or persons coming directly to innovation post their university degree. These start-ups are a potential source of numerous minor and major innovations in innovative clusters.

However promotion of such start-ups is almost a no-no in this otherwise lead cluster of India. From the viewpoint of innovation, the pharmaceuticals and medical device industry face various challenges that are attributed to lack of enabling conditions for the promotion of start-ups, insufficient idea pool, limited knowledge of IPR system, weak linkages with support funds, conventional management techniques, limited access to infrastructure, lack of interaction with users and understanding their view points, lack of interaction with matured innovation systems, etc. In lieu of the above shortcomings, the Foundation for MSME Clusters along with other local organisations are carrying out various interventions to strengthen the ecosystem that promotes innovation in pharmaceuticals, medical devices clusters of Gujarat.

[1] “Biopreneurs: The Molecular Millionaires, Ryan Vaidya & Miyuki Shitratani