Press release, December 2022
C-CAMP, AMR-Global, NADP and Dutch Embassy in India together launch WAH! Accelerator to fulfil the One Health vision to address the challenge of AMR
AMR-Global, Netherlands Antibiotic Development Platform (NADP) and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) are delighted to announce a next-generation Indo-Dutch bilateral collaboration to address the challenge posed by Antimicrobial Resistance. The program called WAH! Accelerator- will emphasize on co-creation and co-development of new technologies in Water, Agriculture, Animal and Human Health towards fulfilling the One Health approach to address AMR.
WAH! Accelerator was formally inaugurated on 8th December 2022 at the official residence of the Netherlands’ Ambassador to India, HE Marten van den Berg, in New Delhi in presence of former Dutch Health Minister, Bruno Bruins, C-CAMP CEO & Director, Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, Dutch Government Officials, Carmen van Vilsteren, Chair Topsector Life Sciences & Healthcare, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Jaap Broersen, Program Leader, International Innovation Cooperation, Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and other Indian Government representatives.
This formal launch has been a culmination of over two years of close partnership between India through C-CAMP and the Netherlands through AMR-Global, NDAP, the Dutch Embassy in India and Dutch Consulate in Bangalore to set-up a platform with shared goals and mandates in tackling the AMR issue.
The Dutch Ambassador to India, Mr. Marten van den Berg said that “The joint WAH! Accelerator is a unique partnership between India and the Netherlands that aims to combat challenges related to One Health and AMR across the value chain. The partnership was ideated during the state visit in 2019, and has today taken shape in the form of WAH! Accelerator. It has full support of the Dutch Economic Network in India as well as the Dutch government”.
One day prior to the launch, a networking/match-making event was organized at C-CAMP in Bangalore. This hybrid networking event saw around 50 participants in total from India and the Netherlands. The idea was to initiate dialogues amongst innovators working in allied technologies, explore the possibilities of one-to-one collaboration, understand each other’s regulatory environments, and get a grasp on each other’s academic and industry R&D eco-systems.
The former Health Minister of the Netherlands Mr. Bruno Bruins, founder and steering group member of AMR-Global Mr. Remko van Leeuwen and executive boardmember of NADP, Mr. Cornelis Boersma led the Dutch delegation for an event at C-CAMP.
To the audience at C-CAMP Mr. Cornelis Boersma told that he is confident that “the WAH! Accelerator will fast-track innovations to improve infection prevention and control, access to improved diagnostics, antimicrobial stewardship, and access to effective antimicrobial drugs and vaccines, tested in real-world settings globally. Mr. Remko van Leeuwen said “The WAH! Accelerator will contribute to lift barriers to development, evaluation, and implementation of such innovations, with emphasis on innovations that matter for people in low- and middle-income countries”.
Commenting on this WAH! Accelerator launch, CEO-Director of C-CAMP Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, noted, “This effort of people from different countries coming together and working towards finding solutions to a common problem demonstrates India’s and the Netherlands’ commitment to the One Health approach”.
The WAH! Accelerator will use existing Indo-Dutch networks within businesses, governments, academics and investors as an early stepping stone toward each other’s health systems and to swiftly develop soft landing spaces.
About C-CAMP
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) is India’s premier innovation and technology hub and one of the largest and most vibrant life sciences incubators in the country. C-CAMP has directly funded, incubated and mentored 330+ start-ups over half a decade and is connected to over 2000 start-ups and entrepreneurs across the country in healthcare, agriculture and environment. C-CAMP is an initiative supported by Govt of India agencies including Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science & Technology, NITI Aayog-AIM, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Startup India and Department of IT, BT, S&T Government of Karnataka. It has several international partnerships spread across US, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil and Israel.
About AMR-Global
AMR-Global is an internationally oriented collaboration between Dutch academia, independent knowledge institutes and private sector to make available viable and essential solutions to curb AMR globally.
About NADP
The Netherlands Antibiotic Development Platform is the Dutch platform connecting all parties focusing on the development of new antibiotics, in academia, companies and governmental organizations.
