The Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an institute of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, hosted its third annual industry business meet SYNCHN 2026 (Synergistic Collaboration in Healthcare Innovation) at the NCR Biotech Science Cluster campus in Faridabad. The event brought together global health leaders, biotechnology experts, venture capitalists, startups, and policymakers to address coordination gaps and build a pipeline for transferring lab science to commercial-scale patient solutions.
Chief Guest Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon, delivered a virtual address emphasizing that the 21st century will belong to Biology and Biotechnology led by AI, noting that India's challenge has never been science but its translation. She stressed that value is created only when scientific excellence matches translational excellence through cross-boundary trust and collaboration.
Prof. Ganesan Karthikeyan, Executive Director of THSTI, outlined the summit's strategic trajectory, revealing that SYNCHN's initial edition in 2024 saw 13 Letters of Intent signed, while the second edition in 2025 achieved 19 binding strategic agreements. He highlighted THSTI's state-of-the-art facilities including its fully operationalised Medical Research Centre (MRC) with an early-phase clinical trial unit, advanced CAR-T cell research unit, and India's first Controlled Human Infection Studies (CHIS) facility. The institute's Accelerated Productisation and Epidemic Preparedness (APEX) initiative leverages a national-scale pilot production platform designed to close the "valley of death" between validated research leads and manufacturable biologics.
Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General India at CDSCO, announced that the regulatory body is actively shaping a new regulatory system for biologics that integrates non-government industry experts to transform national policy and operational process flows. Prof. M. Srinivas, Member of NITI Aayog, focused on transforming scientific discoveries into affordable, scalable healthcare solutions and advocated for reinforced collaboration between clinical centers and research hubs.
Dr. Manish Diwan highlighted the newly operationalised BIRAC Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund as a primary catalyst to bridge lifecycle funding gaps for startups, industry, and national labs. Mr. Amit Pandey from IVCA noted that India's bioeconomy is sustaining 18% year-on-year growth, creating a supportive macro-environment for innovation.
The summit featured three key panel sessions: the Plenary Panel on Global Health focused on India's expanding influence in addressing global healthcare challenges through international scientific collaborations, competitive manufacturing, and public-private partnerships; Panel 2 addressed accelerating early clinical translation from discovery to first-in-human trials using integrated clinical research platforms; and Panel 3 discussed building bridges to commercialisation by aligning innovators, investors, and accelerators to scale biotech startups.
The event concluded with open interactive forums allowing industry representatives to interface directly with THSTI scientists and guided tours of the institute's state-of-the-art core infrastructure platforms.