The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), with support from the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), has launched the One Health AMR Challenge 2025 to identify, support, and scale breakthrough technologies tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) across human, animal, and environmental health.
The initiative will support ready-to-deploy AMR solutions over the next two years in alignment with India’s National Action Plan 2.0 (NAP 2.0) on AMR. Anchored under the India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH) at C-CAMP, this call seeks novel technologies in detection, diagnostics, and prevention of AMR.
What does the Challenge offer?
- Selected innovations will receive financial support ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 (₹40 lakhs to ₹2 crores) based on technology readiness.
- Comprehensive technical assistance—including regulatory, legal, IP, manufacturing, and market readiness support.
- Mentorship and implementation guidance to accelerate translation of these AMR-focused innovations into impactful, scalable products and services.
Who Can Apply?
- Applications are open to innovators from India and abroad.
- Solutions must be AMR-focused with Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-9, as per BIRAC guidelines.
- Academic or research institution-based applicants may also apply if they demonstrate the ability to validate the technology and present a clear roadmap for scale-up.
This call specifically aims to identify mid to late-stage innovations for support. Up to 12 innovations will be supported for a period of 11 months, with funding commensurate with the project requirements.
The focus areas for the call are as mentioned below:
- Validation pilots of solutions for prevention and detection of RTI in Human settings
- Validation pilots of solutions for early diagnosis of zoonotic infections
- Validation pilots for solutions to minimize/prevent the use of antibiotics in food animals, such as poultry and cattle, and/or milking animals, such as cattle, sheep.
- Validation pilot for solutions for removal of APIs in effluents from commercial and domestic settings
- Validation pilots for solutions for the timely detection and diagnostic to reduce the misuse of antibiotics in the treatment of Bovine Mastitis in dairy animals
Important dates
- Call for Applications Open : 3rd July, 2025
- Call for Applications Close : 3rd August, 2025
The call was announced at the India AMR Innovation Workshop, presided by Prof. A.K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and held at C-CAMP that brought together over 50 key stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and the public health ecosystem, all united in their efforts to combat the growing threat of AMR.
The call also follows a Stakeholders’ event & Partnership announcement under the guidance of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt of India & NITI Aayog, and in the presence of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Prof Ajay Sood, and Danish Ambassador, H.E. Freddy Svane, ICARS Board members and C-CAMP anchored IAIH stakeholders in Oct 2024, when a larger commitment was made for supporting One Health focused innovations in AMR whereby ICARS will provide funding support along with technical expertise in collaboration with C-CAMP over the next 5 years. In addition, ICARS and C-CAMP will work together to mobilise further funding to expand their efforts and create wider impact.
Speaking about the announced call, Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, Director-CEO, C-CAMP said:
“Antimicrobial Resistance is a huge threat to society and India is at its epicentre. At C-CAMP we recognise the scale of the problem and have built a strong portfolio of innovations to address AMR especially One Health as a domain crucial to bending the AMR curve. To this effect, we also anchor the India AMR Innovation Hub that is slated to be the innovation arm of the soon-to-be-announced India NAP 2.0. We are excited to open the call for One Health innovations, with support from ICARS and under the IAIH umbrella. We have a significant funding corpus and are looking to nurture and scale up advanced stage technologies close to market readiness for quick commercialisation and impact.”
Prof. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India remarked,
“The opening of the C-CAMP One Health AMR Challenge will be one of the touch points towards India formally recognizing One Health that includes human health, animal and plant health and environment holistically in our combat to tackle the rising AMR burden. Ably supported by the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) the call offers a unique scale up support module that goes beyond funding to identify solutions that address the Indian context. As Chair of India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH), the innovation arm of India NAP 2.0, I welcome the partnership and look forward to an exciting response from stakeholders.”
ICARS’ Executive Director, Dr. Sujith J. Chandy added:
“Addressing AMR requires innovation— innovation that is equitable, collaborative and with solutions grounded in real-world complexity. The One Health AMR Challenge 2025 reflects this ethos by creating space for innovators to not only bring forward science-driven technologies, but to ensure their relevance in societies and across diverse systems. By working alongside C-CAMP, we are investing in solutions with the potential not just to address AMR, but to inspire systemic change far beyond.”
About C-CAMP
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) an initiative supported by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India is a catalyst of cutting-edge research and innovation in the life sciences since 2009. It is positioned itself as India’s premier bio innovation hub in the AMR domain.
C-CAMP has established collaborations with global AMR bodies such as Boston-based CARB-X; UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), Water, Animal, Agriculture and Health (WAAH) Accelerator for One Health with Netherlands and Switzerland; and has instituted and conceptualised the India AMR Innovation Hub IAIH, a convergent think tank on AMR interventions, policy, funding and regulatory support anchored by Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India. It has a portfolio of over 50 AMR innovations that harness the most frontline science for beating superbugs.
For further details please contact:
Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP Director-CEO, ccamp@ccamp.res.in, +91 80 67185100
About the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS)
ICARS’ mission is to partner with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in their efforts to reduce drug-resistant infections. In partnership with LMIC ministries and local research institutions, ICARS co-develops interventions, which provide evidence for context-specific and cost-effective solutions to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that are fit for sustainable scale-up.
Through provision of funding and expertise, ICARS supports intervention and implementation research projects across the One Health spectrum to support countries AMR National Action Plans (NAP).
For further details please visit: https://icars-global.org/
