face to face
the patients taking
chemotherapy could
become immuno-
compromised if there
is no way to protect
yourself against
infection. Here in
India, the one of
the most critical of
diseases is tuberculosis
but we are looking
at it from the global
perspective as well.
At the same time, it is
good to find that India
is well represented
in the fight against
the anti-microbial
resistance.
What is the
methodology that
startups must
adopt for product
development to win
the Prize?
The idea must be clear
and that is to develop
the rapid diagnostic
test which must give
the result within 30
minutes of the sample
being deposited for
examination. It should
not be dependent on
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BioVoiceNews | August 2017
mains electricity for
plug-in and must be
handy. Moreover, it
should be addressing
the problem globally.
There are different
ways of developing
a test. For example,
if a test that can
differentiate between
virus and bacteria is
developed, it could
win too. Today there is
no test available that
is sensitive enough to
detect the resistant
bacteria. We are,
therefore, looking
at a test with high
sensitivity. We are also
currently looking at
finding a solution that
is relevant globally.
While the confidence
in the idea is great,
they must also have
data to show that it
works beside a plan
and facility ready to
scale it up. However,
let me clarify that to
win they don’t require
the complete clinical
data validation. Nesta
and its partners could
help in designing the
clinical studies and
fund them as well.
You said Indian
companies have
done well so far
while participating
in this competition?
How many of these
teams are from
India?
Let me explain
how this works. To
participate, one needs
to just sign up on our
website and it is quite
easy. Of course, few
are rejected and many
are accepted based
on the fulfillment of
criteria. Some basic
information about the
work and team and the
registration is done.
So, the idea is that to
win this £8 million
prize, you need to
register as a team to
compete.
There are five Indian
teams so far that have
been selected to work
on their idea under