Wellcome Trust signs £45m Indian collaboration

UK medical research charity the Wellcome Trust and the Indian government are to jointly develop a range of innovative and affordable healthcare products.

The five-year partnership will see the Wellcome Trust and the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) share the £45 million costs of the project, which is expected to offer benefits to other emerging economies as well as the developing world.

Sir Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, said: “India offers a vibrant and growing biotechnology sector, with a wealth of scientific talent and a skilled workforce to support scientific innovation.

“India can make a huge contribution to solving its own healthcare needs and to global health efforts. The Wellcome Trust is delighted to partner with DBT to fund the development of affordable healthcare solutions."

The partners aim to bring together researchers from both the public and private sectors, largely working in India, to develop new devices, diagnostics, medicines and vaccines that can reach the greatest numbers of beneficiaries without compromising on quality.

Dr MK Bhan, secretary of DBT, said: “Affordable healthcare requires purposeful and responsible alliances to ensure the convergence of life sciences and other scientific and engineering disciplines for improving clinical care and public health.

“DBT and the Wellcome Trust together offer a unique combination of experience and resourcefulness for ensuring success”.

The new initiative, announced in Delhi during UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to India this week, will build on an existing five-year, £80 million alliance between Wellcome Trust and DBT.

This seeks to strengthen Indian biomedical sciences through a series of fellowship programmes, supporting the most promising researchers at three specific stages of their career.  

Ben Adams