Whale Tank event to be held on August 18, 19

Hyderabad: Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) in association with ASPIRE – University of Hyderabad and other leading incubation centers in the country in the biotech sector is organising "Whale Tank Event, a Venture Capital – Biotech Startup Connect", which will be held on August 18 and 19.

The two-day program is for big Pharma and Biotech companies to evaluate and make smart investments into technologies/ products. For the participating startup, it gives a chance to demonstrate their product/technology to global industry leaders and to promote their technologies, and explore funding from prestigious VCs. The Venture Capitalists that will be at the event include Genome Capital, Indian Angel Network, BioAngels, Oyster Venture Partners, Technology Development Board - GoI, IdeaSpring, and so on.

The event is being organised by the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA), Hyderabad including Prof P Reddanna, Executive President, FABA and Director, ASPIRE; Dr P Ratnakar, Vice President & Head, Persistent Systems; Dr Uday Saxena, Co-founder, ReaGene Biosciences; Dr Ajith Kamath, Advisor, Pandorum Technologies, Dr Jagadeesh Gandla, CEO and Co-founder, Dare to Start.org; and Dr Prabhat Arya, Co-founder, Smagen, to name a few.

An expert panel discussion on "Challenges in building a successful startup incubation center" by CEOs of leading incubation centers, and "Strategies for drawing synergies from the start-ups by Indian Biotech Industry" are also part of the programme. The program includes VC presentations, start-up pitches, and fireside chats involving CEOs of successful start-ups.

At the event, Dr Renu Swarup, former Secretary, Dept. of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science & Technology, will deliver the keynote address on "The Biotech Startup Ecosystem in India: Opportunities and Challenges in Making a Global Impact" on August 18, Sanjiv Navangul, MD & CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) will deliver another keynote address on August 19 and valedictory address will be delivered by Dr Shirshendu Mukherjee, Mission Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).