By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : September 14, 2026 8:55 am
The winners were announced at the finale held in Bengaluru, in the presence of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited
Fifteen startups and four student teams have emerged as winners of the ninth edition of the C-CAMP National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition (NBEC) 2026, securing a combined Rs. 35 crore-plus in cash prizes and investment opportunities for startups and Rs. 4 lakh in cash awards for student-led teams.
The winners were announced at the finale held in Bengaluru, in the presence of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited. The competition was conducted with the support of the Department of IT, BT, S&T, Government of Karnataka, as the Home State Ecosystem Partner.
NBEC is the flagship platform of C-CAMP, aimed at identifying, nurturing and rewarding breakthrough innovations addressing critical challenges across healthcare, agriculture and the environment.
Over the past eight editions, NBEC has awarded more than Rs. 90 crore in cash prizes and investment opportunities to over 130 winners. Its alumni have collectively raised more than USD 125 million in venture capital funding from over 120 national and international investors and have launched more than 300 products in India and global markets.
The 2026 edition attracted more than 3,200 registrations from 34 States and Union Territories, including substantial participation from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Women innovators accounted for 40% of the applicants, highlighting the growing diversity of India’s biotech entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The winning innovations span next-generation cancer pathology, quantum sensing for early kidney injury detection, biopolymer-based bone regeneration, affordable insulin patch pumps, surgical training platforms for low-resource settings, compact greywater treatment systems, satellite-enabled smart agricultural spraying and microbial formulations for improving soil health.
The winners were selected from 25 finalists who presented their solutions to a Grand Jury chaired by Dr. Murali Ramachandra, CEO, Aurigene Oncology. The finalists had been shortlisted from 74 pre-finalist startups based on novelty, scalability and business potential.
Speaking at the event, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said the convergence of biology with digital technologies and artificial intelligence is accelerating innovation. “The future of biology looks very promising as its convergence with digital technology and AI accelerates innovation at a never-before pace. With AI and deep tech unlocking biology’s complexity, we have a good understanding of the science. Now would be the time to leverage this deep science and combine with great business opportunities.”
Urging biotech entrepreneurs to focus equally on science and commercialisation, she added, “Once you have created value with your innovative science, think of how to scale a business. This will build a strong economy for an aspiring India and lift the country’s bioeconomy from 195 billion USD to 2.6 trillion USD by 2047.”
Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director, C-CAMP, thanked Mazumdar-Shaw for her continued support and mentorship of NBEC since its conceptualisation in 2017. Congratulating the 74 pre-finalists and the 25 finalists who presented at the finale, Saiyed highlighted the quality and impact potential of the cohort.
“We want India’s innovators to aim higher and trust ecosystems like C-CAMP to support with an ecosystem that enables your science and business growth,” he said.
Among the startup winners, Quantum Biosciences, led by Dr. Ravi Puvvala, received Rs. 3 lakh from Syngene International for its Quantum Sentinel platform, which uses NV-centre quantum sensing for early prediction of post-surgical acute kidney injury.
BioMarkIQ Scientific Technologies, founded by Dr. Manasi Khasnis, was recognised for VarSee Lung, an AI-read blood test for early-stage lung cancer detection. Renu Medtech, led by Vardhan Phadnis, received Rs. 3 lakh from Biocon for its affordable InsuPatch insulin patch pump.
Other recognised startups include CREDAWN Healthcare Innovations for its Marrow Ease bone marrow sampling system; MedrinZ Bio for antimicrobial implants and 3D-printed bone regeneration; Lightprobe Technologies for next-generation digital pathology; Modern Village Future Innovations for its Agri Rover Vyom platform; Openwater for compact greywater treatment; 1000 Farms Agritech for its Nitrogenie microbial formulation; MKelly Biotech for biofortified multigrain flour; Skiom for microbiome-based atopic dermatitis management; Cellarim Labs for cell-free biomanufacturing; Earthkind Foods Biotech for bio-fermented speciality oils; and Premas Life Sciences for an India-focused NGS-based glaucoma panel.
The competition also generated significant follow-on investment interest. Social Alpha is investing Rs. 10 crore across six startups, while Ideaspring Capital has committed Rs. 15 crore across Lightprobe, Renu Medtech and Premas Life Sciences. Other investors participating in the cohort include IIMA Ventures, Enzia Ventures, Indian Healthcare Angels, Java Capital, C-CAMP, TiE Global and Anicut Capital.
The four winning student teams were Bushra Naaz of SKUAST Kashmir for plant-based meat analogues; Pankaj and Mehak of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar for Khimp fibre extraction and bio-fabric development; Aayush Chandra Jha and Yawar Habib of IIT Delhi for the ECGenius dual-biomarker cardiac diagnostic assay; and Adarsh Saju and Aswin Tony of the College of Engineering & Medical College, Trivandrum, for EarlySteps, an AI-powered cerebral palsy screening solution. Each team received Rs. 1 lakh from C-CAMP.