Pune-based technology business incubator Venture Center said on Tuesday said it has made seed-stage investments in two medical devices startups.
Venture Center has invested in neonatal care startup Sensivision Health Technologies Pvt. Ltd and cancer screening startup Kozhnosys Pvt. Ltd, it said in a statement. It didn't disclose the amount.
The investment in Sensivision was made under the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations-Seed Support System (NIDHI-SSS), an umbrella programme of the government set up by the Department of Science and Technology. NIDHI-SSS offers financial support of up to Rs 1 crore to a startup.
The investment in Kozhnosys was made under the government’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) SEED Fund, which offers support to life sciences startups with a funding of up to Rs 30 lakh.
Founded in 2007, Venture Center is the trademark of Entrepreneurship Development Center, a not-for-profit company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. It offers a range of services to technology startups in chemicals, materials and biological sciences segments. It has supported over 350 entrepreneurs and has incubated more than 70 startups so far, the statement said.
Last year, Venture Center through its BIRAC SEED Fund, had backed implant maker SynThera Biomedical Pvt. Ltd.
Sensivision
The medical devices company is focussed on the critical care segment of the newborn child.
The company's founder Jayadeep Unni said it is developing a device that is tailored for countries like India where a large number of babies are affected with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a situation which results in babies either dying or developing brain damages resulting in life-long disabilities.
The device can be used in emergency cases where newborns need their body temperature to be regulated.
"The Venture Center investment committee noted the international interest in Sensivision’s product offerings and was very excited to be able to help Sensivision take their ideas to the next level," said V Premnath, director, Venture Center.
Kozhnosys
The company is developing its flagship device, CanScan, which is designed to detect breast cancer as early as stage 1.
It will use the funds from BIRAC for testing the prototype and conducting a wider observational study of exhaled breath of breast cancer patients, said Jilma Peruvangat, founder and chief executive, Kozhnosys.
"A portable, breath-based screening tool for breast cancer has enormous global potential for both financial and social impact, and we are delighted to be part of this journey," said Venture Center's Premnath.