‘Accelerating Translation of Research And Commercialization of Technologies in Life Sciences’ Program
(ATRACT-Life Program)
Transforming Indian Academic Discoveries into Commercializable Life Science Innovations
Write To: dia_applications@ccamp.res.in | Call At: 080 6718 5055 (+91 80 6718 5055)
The ATRACT-Life Program:
The ATRACT-Life program is an integrated Research Translation & Commercialization program at C-CAMP, created with the primary goal of fostering innovations for society by leveraging the strength of Indian academic research and C-CAMP’s translational resources.
The ATRACT-Life program is a part of C-CAMP’s Discovery to Innovation Accelerator (DIA) program, and has been ‘Catalysed & Supported by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India’.
The ATRACT-Life program is also generously supported by the Pratiksha Trust, a charitable trust founded by Mr. Senapathy "Kris" Gopalakrishnan and Mrs. Sudha Gopalakrishnan.
ATRACT Life program is a collaborative program. It aims at identifying industrially relevant and socially impactful projects from the Indian academic sector and translating the selected projects towards commercialization of the technology/innovation with interested industries.
Refer to ‘Mandate’ and ‘Functioning’ below for more details.
Mandate
Translation of basic research from academic laboratories is an inherently risky venture owing to uncertainty in scientific feasibility, industrial scalability, and societal adaptability for any research work. This problem gets aggravated further by the lack of specific resources available to academics for testing, validating, and refining their ideas from lab-scale to field-level. Furthermore, for any novel innovation to reach society at scale would need to be commercialized, which necessitates a clear understanding of industrial requirements and preferences.
The ATRACT-Life program under the DIA program at C-CAMP has been conceived primarily for this cause of making basic lab-scale research ready for industrial adoption:
- The ATRACT-Life program will provide active translational support to risky yet exciting ideas from academia, enabling the transformation of basic science discoveries into de-risked industry-ready innovations for society.
- The ATRACT-Life program has been designed, with the strong involvement of academic and industrial partners, to identify, understand, and catalyse the adaptation of potentially impactful scientific discoveries for existing or future industrial/societal needs.
Functioning
Through the ATRACT-Life program, the DIA team will leverage C-CAMP’s extensive R&D resources in transforming lab-scale ideas from Indian academia into actualized products for the market. This ‘Lab to Market’ approach of DIA would benefit the scientists and their respective research organizations, industry, and society, while stimulating ‘Innovate in India’.
- The program will invite proposals from Indian academic organizations through an annual ‘National Call for Translation of Research And Commercialization’ (NC-TRAC).
- The DIA team will identify the most exciting and relevant scientific discoveries for translation that align with the program’s mandate and capabilities through an extensive screening procedure.
- The proposals selected for ‘Research Translation & Commercialization’ will be jointly developed by the applicant/inventor (and their organization/s) and the DIA team (C-CAMP).
- The DIA team (C-CAMP) would sign an agreement with the applicant/inventor(s) and their organization/s, which would now serve as the academic partner for the proposed innovation.
- A road map for the joint development of the proposed innovation will be created for each selected proposal with inputs from the academic partner, subject/field experts, and the industry.
- The DIA team will secure the required funding and carry out all of the translational work at C-CAMP in close collaboration with the applicant/inventor(s).
- The DIA team would actively engage with the local and global industry, along with other relevant stakeholders (such as regulatory agencies, Govt. and non-govt. funding bodies, patenting authorities, etc.) for ensuring the successful translation of proposals.
- The developed industry-ready innovations and the respective intellectual properties/ trade secrets/ know-how created would be jointly shared between C-CAMP and the academic partner(s), and will be commercialized to the relevant industry.
‘National Call for Translation of Research And Commercialization’ (NC-TRAC):
The 'National Call for Translation of Research And Commercialization’ (NC-TRAC), is the annual call for proposals announced by DIA, under its ATRACT-Life program. The call is open to Academic Discoveries & Inventions, which require support for translation into technologies with the potential for significant impact in the different fields of Life sciences, including areas such as Human Health Care, Animal Health Care, Primary & Secondary Agriculture, and Environment.
Who Can Apply
The program welcomes exciting proposals from Indian academic researchers for developing life science innovations, such as novel technologies, devices, resources, etc.
- The applicants can be individuals or teams of researchers.
- The applicant team can include researchers from more than one academic research institute.
- The applicants can be faculty members, principal investigators, or independent scientists affiliated with an Indian academic research organization.
- If senior students/post-docs wish to submit proposals, their team must contain at least one faculty member/PI from a recognized Indian academic organization.
- The applicants may be from any scientific stream/background, but the proposed innovation must have a clear utility in the field of life sciences.
The Application Process
The submitted proposals for innovations will be carefully screened by an expert committee and the selection process may include multiple rounds of screening.
The key criteria for the selection process are:
- Underlying Scientific Novelty
- Technical Feasibility
- Industrial Adaptability & Scalability
- Market & Societal Impact of Proposed Innovations
Previous Calls
- The first call for proposals, the ‘National Call for Translation of Research & Commercialization 2020’ (NC-TRAC 2020), was launched on 14th November 2020 and concluded on 31st December 2020
- The second call for proposals, the ‘National Call for Translation of Research & Commercialization 2021’ (NC-TRAC 2021), was launched on 15th November 2021 and concluded on 8th January 2022
- The third call for proposals, the ‘National Call for Translation of Research & Commercialization 2023’ (NC-TRAC 2023), was launched on 16th February 2023 and concluded on 10th April 2023
- For exploring the applications received through NC-TRAC 2020 and 2021, please click here.
Timeline for the Program
- The review process for the proposals received under the NC-TRAC 2023 call is now complete.
- Projects are selected as per mandate of the program and are currently undergoing translational research.
How to Apply
- When the next 'National Call for Translation of Research and Commercialization' (NC-TRAC) is open for proposals, applications will be accepted through an online application form.
- For discussing new ideas & projects for collaboration throughout the year, please use the offline replica of the online NC-TRAC application form (Click Here to download). You can share the filled template with us at ‘dia_applications@ccamp.res.in’, and we would be happy to share our feedback.
Currently Ongoing ATRACT-Life Projects
- Therapeutics for wound healing (Healthcare)
- Therapeutics for Skin Cancer (Healthcare
- Bioresorbable edible pill (Healthcare)
- Biocontrol agents against Insect pests in agriculture (Agriculture)
ATRACT-Life Collaborators
Contact
For any queries regarding the ATRACT-Life program, the NC-TRAC application process, and for discussing novel ideas for new potential projects, please write to us at ‘dia_applications@ccamp.res.in’ or call us at 080 6718 5112 (+91 80 6718 5112)
For further information and specific inquiries regarding the program, you can submit your details with the specific requests at 'www.ccamp.res.in/dia-contact'.
'ATRACT-Life' & 'NC-TRAC' are copyrights of C-CAMP.