Companies

CBIH kicks off funding cycle in India; invests in biotech start-up Biomoneta

Anil Urs Bengaluru | Updated on June 16, 2020 Published on June 16, 2020

CBIH, a Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and Japanese VC Beyond Next Ventures joint innovation hub, has kicked off its funding cycle by investing in Bengaluru-based biotech start-up Biomoneta.

“Biomoneta is a C-CAMP portfolio start-up under the BIRAC BIG scheme and has developed an advanced air decontaminant technology, Zebox, that can trap and kill a billion microbes — viruses, bacteria and fungi (including spores) — within 10 minutes,” said Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director, C-CAMP.

He added: “An intelligent airflow design and active biological components come together in this device to render a near-sterile zone in a matter of minutes.”

Use of funds

Biomoneta will be CBIH’s first Indian life sciences start-up to join its investment portfolio. The current round of funding is led by CBIH in partnership with ArthaVida Ventures and IVF specialist and angel investor Aniruddha Malpani. Biomoneta is expected to use the funds to take its decontamination devices to market and further develop its products and technologies.

“With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Zebox can be a powerful preventive technology in high-risk areas like hospitals and also other closed spaces like homes, offices etc to check air-borne transmission of the virus, and other secondary infections,” said Saiyed.

“Its high precision level also ensures that it can be used in industry to decontaminate laboratories and help in maintaining a clean environment,” he added.

C-CAMP recently collaborated with Beyond Next Ventures (BNV), an independent accelerator in Japan dedicated to incubation investment in technology start-ups, to launch the C-CAMP BNV Innovation Hub CBIH.

CBIH is facilitating Japanese investment of up to $5 million for Indian start-ups working on technologies in the life sciences and biotech domain through a jointly managed fund.

Tsuyoshi Ito, Managing Partner and CEO, BNV and Mayu Morishima, Executive Officer, BNV said in a statement: “We are very excited with the strong science and evidence Biomoneta accumulated. There is huge opportunity for growth in the space especially after Covid-19, and we believe Biomoneta will establish the standard of infection control not only in India but also globally.”

Saiyed said: “C-CAMP is delighted to have our first CBIH funding, in collaboration with BNV, to Biomoneta, a phenomenal start-up developing technology to reduce microbial load and infections. We look forward to continuing our support to Biomoneta for further scale-up and deployment. This technology has a potential to make a big impact across India and beyond.”

Published on June 16, 2020

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