In October, a delegation from ICARS travelled to Bangalore, India to participate in the Grand Jury for the final selection of innovators for solutions to mitigate Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) under the joint ICARS-C-CAMP Call for proposals, announced in July.
Almost 100 proposals were received in response to the Call and 26 were shortlisted for further review by the Grand Jury comprising of ICARS, C-CAMP and independent experts. The Grand Jury meeting was held on 6th and 7th October, with separate review panels for Human Health, Animal Health, and the Environment sectors, to discuss the innovations and conduct a final evaluation.
The review panels comprised of independent evaluators, sectoral experts, and C-CAMP and ICARS representatives.
India joined ICARS as a Mission Partner in May 2022, and the ICARS-C-CAMP partnership was announced in Oct 2024 in the presence of the Dr Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India; H.E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador at the Royal Danish Embassy in New Delhi and ICARS’ Board of Directors. The project is venturing into a new area for ICARS by supporting technologies or technological innovations which are addressing AMR under the One Health spectrum. Through this partnership with C-CAMP, ICARS aims to support India-led solutions to address AMR within the One Health sectors, not just in the country, but in other similar LMIC settings.
The Grand Jury meeting was a valuable experience for the ICARS team to learn about the bold and varied solutions presented by the innovators, the immense talent in the country, and expand their understanding of the innovation ecosystem in India. The team also had a chance to exchange experience with subject matter experts in the different One Health sectors in India and was given a guided tour of the vibrant C-CAMP campus in Bangalore.
As the next steps, a further technical review and financial due diligence will be done on the shortlisted proposals, ahead of the final selections being announced in early December. The ICARS team came back enriched, refreshed and excited about the immense potential of the various innovative solutions to address AMR.
*The ICARS delegation included Kristina Osbjer, Director of Science; Tim Walsh, Senior Scientific Consultant; and Jyoti Joshi, Senior Science Advisor.
