Saumya Jaiswal

The Industry Day on Novel Alternative Models (NAMs) in Drug Discovery held successfully on 12th June 2026 at IIT Bombay brought together researchers, industry leaders, and innovators to discuss the future of drug discovery. The day featured short presentations by IIT Bombay faculty working across a broad spectrum of technologies, from single-cell data analysis and AI-enabled approaches to droplet microfluidics, organoids, and organ-on-chip systems. The discussions continued through extensive interactions, poster sessions, and laboratory visits. The highlight of the event was two panel discussions involving leaders from industry, CROs, startups, academia, and regulators, including Dr. Taruna Madan Gupta (ICMR), Dr. Abhay Deshpande (Jay Research Foundation), Dr. K. V. S. Narayana Raju (Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories), Dr. Venkat Ramana (Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories), Dr. Kasinath Viswanathan (Zydus), Dr. Amjad Hussain (Canfinis), Dr. Alakesh Das (HiMedia Labs), and Prof. Ashutosh Kumar (IIT Bombay). The presence of representatives from organizations such as Zydus, Biocon, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Yashraj Biotechnology, Unilever, ITC, Jay Research Foundation (JRF), Pfizer, Premas Life Sciences, HiMedia, Avay Biosciences, Deloitte, Karkinos Healthcare, the UK Science & Technology Network, and several other organizations including hospitals fostered productive conversations on future collaborations and innovation. A key outcome of the event was the strong consensus on the need for National validation centre(s) for NAMs; Centres of Excellence to build capabilities and train the workforce; and a consortium model connecting academia, industry, CROs, startups, and regulators. @abhijit_MLab