Pfizer India (as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative) in collaboration with FITT IIT Delhi and ecosystem partner Social Alpha, has hosted "Translating What's Next: Securing the Future of Innovation" at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

The event brought together leaders from healthcare, public policy, academia, venture capital and India's startup ecosystem.

The centrepiece of the event was the unveiling of 20 winning startups of the Pfizer INDovation Program (IP Support Edition) 2025–26 - a flagship, first-of-its-kind initiative, purpose-built to accelerate India's next generation of healthcare and innovators. The program provides winning ventures with end-to-end technical and legal IP consultation, comprehensive commercialisation support and privileged access to a curated network of investors, venture capitalists and seasoned industry mentors.

By placing intellectual property as startup's strategy, the INDovation program addresses a critical gap in India's innovation pipeline - equipping founders and their ideas with the legal and commercial armour to protect, scale and globalise them.

Dr. M. Srinivas, Former Director, AIIMS New Delhi and Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said, "The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is not merely a government scheme - it is the digital spine of a new India. Interoperable health infrastructure, data-driven systems and technology-enabled access will fundamentally rewrite who gets care, when they get it and how."

Drawing on decades of leadership in India's public healthcare system, Dr. Srinivas addressed the transformative potential of India's rapidly advancing digital health ecosystem. His remarked that innovation without inclusion is incomplete, and that the infrastructure being built today will define healthcare outcomes for generations.

Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, Director, Startup India, connected the ambitions of individual startup founders to the national vision of a self-reliant, innovation-powered India by 2047. He underscored the indispensable role of accessible healthcare technologies in realising this vision.

Tarun Chaturvedi, COO, FITT IIT Delhi, said, "The gap between a breakthrough in a laboratory and a breakthrough in the market is where most innovations die. Closing that gap requires bold industry-academia partnerships, relentless translational research, and startups willing to bet on deep tech."

Chaturvedi brought the perspective of one of India's most active translational research institutions to the conversation, highlighting FITT's role in bridging the chasm between scientific discovery and real-world healthcare impact.

Sharad Goswami, Senior Director, Global Policy & International Public Affairs, Pfizer India, said, "We at Pfizer recognize that sustainable healthcare transformation cannot happen in silos, but demands innovation enablers, cross-border collaboration and ecosystem partnerships to translate breakthroughs into real impact for people around the world."

Representing Pfizer's global policy perspective, Goswami articulated the pharmaceutical organisation's conviction that India is not just a market - it is an innovation source for the world. Pfizer's commitment to MedTech and HealthTech innovators through the INDovation program, he noted, is a long-term bet on the Indian startup ecosystem's capacity to deliver globally relevant healthcare solutions.

Beyond the podium addresses, the event featured two standout panel discussions on "What Actually Makes Healthcare Innovation Defensible? and "Regulation as a Product Strategy, Not a Compliance Checklist."

India stands at an inflection point in its healthcare innovation journey. With a digital health infrastructure maturing at scale, a startup ecosystem producing world-class founders and policy frameworks aligning to support deep-tech commercialisation, the conditions for India to emerge as a global healthcare innovation hub are more favourable than ever before.

The initiative identified and empowered 20 high-potential healthcare and biotechnology startups through a rigorous selection process. It provides end-to-end intellectual property support, including technical patent strategy and legal protection frameworks, while also offering direct access to investors, venture capital firms and industry mentors through a curated ecosystem network. Participating startups will benefit from comprehensive commercialisation roadmaps tailored for global market entry, alongside policy dialogue that integrates regulatory strategy as a core competency for startup growth and innovation.

Pfizer India (as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative) in collaboration with FITT IIT Delhi and ecosystem partner Social Alpha, has hosted "Translating What's Next: Securing the Future of Innovation" at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

The event brought together an extraordinary assembly of leaders spanning healthcare, public policy, academia, venture capital and India's startup ecosystem - all united by a shared conviction that India's moment in global healthcare innovation has arrived.

The centrepiece of the event was the unveiling of 20 winning startups of the Pfizer INDovation Program (IP Support Edition) 2025–26 - a flagship, first-of-its-kind initiative, purpose-built to accelerate India's next generation of healthcare and innovators. The program provides winning ventures with end-to-end technical and legal IP consultation, comprehensive commercialisation support and privileged access to a curated network of investors, venture capitalists and seasoned industry mentors.

By placing intellectual property as startup's strategy, the INDovation program addresses a critical gap in India's innovation pipeline - equipping founders and their ideas with the legal and commercial armour to protect, scale and globalise them.

Dr. M. Srinivas, Former Director, AIIMS New Delhi and Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said, "The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is not merely a government scheme - it is the digital spine of a new India. Interoperable health infrastructure, data-driven systems and technology-enabled access will fundamentally rewrite who gets care, when they get it and how."

Drawing on decades of leadership in India's public healthcare system, Dr. Srinivas addressed the transformative potential of India's rapidly advancing digital health ecosystem. His remarked that innovation without inclusion is incomplete, and that the infrastructure being built today will define healthcare outcomes for generations.

Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, Director, Startup India, connected the ambitions of individual startup founders to the national vision of a self-reliant, innovation-powered India by 2047. He underscored the indispensable role of accessible healthcare technologies in realising this vision.

Tarun Chaturvedi, COO, FITT IIT Delhi, said, "The gap between a breakthrough in a laboratory and a breakthrough in the market is where most innovations die. Closing that gap requires bold industry-academia partnerships, relentless translational research, and startups willing to bet on deep tech."

Chaturvedi brought the perspective of one of India's most active translational research institutions to the conversation, highlighting FITT's role in bridging the chasm between scientific discovery and real-world healthcare impact.

Sharad Goswami, Senior Director, Global Policy & International Public Affairs, Pfizer India, said, "We at Pfizer recognize that sustainable healthcare transformation cannot happen in silos, but demands innovation enablers, cross-border collaboration and ecosystem partnerships to translate breakthroughs into real impact for people around the world."

Representing Pfizer's global policy perspective, Goswami articulated the pharmaceutical organisation's conviction that India is not just a market - it is an innovation source for the world. Pfizer's commitment to MedTech and HealthTech innovators through the INDovation program, he noted, is a long-term bet on the Indian startup ecosystem's capacity to deliver globally relevant healthcare solutions.

Beyond the podium addresses, the event featured two standout panel discussions on "What Actually Makes Healthcare Innovation Defensible? and "Regulation as a Product Strategy, Not a Compliance Checklist."

India stands at an inflection point in its healthcare innovation journey. With a digital health infrastructure maturing at scale, a startup ecosystem producing world-class founders and policy frameworks aligning to support deep-tech commercialisation, the conditions for India to emerge as a global healthcare innovation hub are more favourable than ever before.

The initiative identified and empowered 20 high-potential healthcare and biotechnology startups through a rigorous selection process. It provides end-to-end intellectual property support, including technical patent strategy and legal protection frameworks, while also offering direct access to investors, venture capital firms and industry mentors through a curated ecosystem network. Participating startups will benefit from comprehensive commercialisation roadmaps tailored for global market entry, alongside policy dialogue that integrates regulatory strategy as a core competency for startup growth and innovation.