BENGALURU: India’s premier biosciences research hub, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), has signed an MoU with Imperial College London to establish the Indo-UK Life Sciences Innovation Corridor — a five-year strategic partnership designed to deepen bilateral collaboration in life sciences research, innovation and entrepreneurship.The agreement was signed by Professor Hugh Brady, President, Imperial College London, and Taslimarif Saiyed, Director-CEO, C-CAMP, in Bengaluru.“The Corridor will create a structured, two-way platform for the exchange of researchers, innovators and startups between the two countries, connecting Bengaluru and London — both recognised as leading global hubs for biotechnology and life sciences,” C-CAMP said.It will establish a formalised knowledge-sharing system around priority challenge areas, innovation readiness and ecosystem development, with the aim of accelerating solutions to shared global health and biology challenges.A key feature of the partnership is a bi-directional exchange mechanism allowing UK-based teams to assess deployment readiness in India, and Indian teams to explore pathways into the UK and European markets, given contextual similarities between the ecosystems.Prof Brady said it would create “a powerful bridge between the UK and India that connects world-class research with entrepreneurship and translation.” Saiyed described it as “a remarkable chapter of synergy” between two of the world’s biotech capitals, envisioning the partnership as an enduring platform to bring together the complementary strengths of both ecosystems.The MoU is supported by Imperial’s Global India initiative, which was launched last year to drive high-impact science and technology programmes and nurture a two-way flow of STEMB talent between the two nations. Imperial’s liaison office in Bengaluru will serve as a key hub for the Corridor’s activities.
