Biomedical milestones
Engineering solutions play an integral role in the field of biomedical sciences. In view of this, IIT Kanpur established the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BSBE) in the year 2001, which is dedicated to fundamental & translational research in biomedical sciences. The academic programs of the department are ranked amongst the best in the country and the institute tops in research and innovation impact in the country in BioMed/MedTech domains. The Institute has established a strong innovation and incubation ecosystem. The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of the Institute is one of the world-class incubation centers with multiple success stories, and the highest patent-to-commercialization ratio (16% as against the global average of 1%). Presently, the SIIC supports over 20 start-ups in the Biotech and MedTech domains alone. The Institute has established a Fabrication and Certification Centre for MedTech devices and a state- of-the-art Central Experimental Animal Facility for pre-clinical studies on campus. The Institute has attracted funding from the Department of Biotechnology to set up a School of Biodesign and from Indian Council of Medical Research for a Center of Excellence to promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship activities in the biomedical domain. Through its incubator, the Institute has already commercialized several products, including the high-end ventilator produced during the Covid-19 pandemic, and several products are in the pipeline.