Alkem Foundation and IIT Bombay collaborate for research centre

Mumbai: Alkem Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Alkem Laboratories Ltd, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) announced a strategic collaboration to set up a first-of-its-kind research centre in India dedicated to immuno-therapeutics and regenerative medicines.

Under this collaboration, Alkem Foundation will fund the establishment of Alkem Centre for Advanced Research and Development of Applied Immuno-Therapeutics and Regenerative Medicines in the IIT-B campus at Powai in Mumbai. 

This is a pioneering step in fostering cutting-edge research and innovation in complex disease areas, which have significant unmet medical needs. 

Alkem Foundation will contribute a substantial 20-25 per cent of its cumulative CSR obligations over seven years on this research centre.

This is the first industry-academia collaboration in the country, initiated through the CSR route, for advancing research in the areas of immuno-therapeutics and regenerative medicines. 

The partnership brings together Alkem’s pharmaceutical industry insights and experience in developing healthcare solutions, and IIT-B’s expertise in biomedical engineering, biosciences, and translational research, along with a pool of globally trained faculty, to create a distinctive innovation and translation ecosystem.

The research centre is being developed with an objective of building a comprehensive ecosystem that enables innovation, research, and skill development in complex and underserved therapy areas, and bridging critical gaps in infrastructure, talent, and translational capability, especially in the area of high precision medicines.

The initiative will augment IIT Bombay’s multidisciplinary approach to healthcare integrating biology, engineering, and data science to advance human health. The Institute’s pioneering research spans biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and cell and gene therapy, forming the foundation for next-generation immuno-therapeutics and regenerative medicine.

Building on this strong foundation, the new research centre will expand into emerging areas such as gene editing and biomaterials and technology to bolster immuno-therapeutics and regenerative medicines using unique models based on futuristic techniques for delivery and edition. It will also serve as a training and incubation hub for clinician-scientists and biotech entrepreneurs, strengthening India's translational research ecosystem in life sciences. It will draw upon IIT Bombay's core faculty and have mentors from IIT Bombay and Alkem, as well as global experts from premier universities, who will advise on the research programmes.

Madhurima Singh, Executive Director and Chairperson of the CSR and Sustainability Committee, Alkem, said, “At Alkem, we understand the critical role of scientific advancement and transformative research in addressing unmet medical needs. Despite government encouragement, only a small share of corporate CSR spending in India goes towards R&D. We saw it as our responsibility to go beyond business and support R&D in the important field of immuno-therapeutics and regenerative medicines through CSR.” 

Prof. Shireesh B. Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said, "This collaboration will foster clinical breakthroughs that lead to affordable therapies, reduce dependence on imports, and take us a step further in India's journey toward self-reliance in healthcare innovation."