Pfizer has announced the winners of its 2025 INDovation Program.
14 healthtech startups, each tackling some of India’s toughest healthcare challenges, have been selected for this year’s cohort.
From AI-powered diagnostics to vaccine logistics, these startups are building solutions designed for real-world India—across cities, small towns, and rural communities.
Backed by Pfizer and supported by key government partners, each startup will receive ₹60 lakh in grants along with structured incubation and deployment support to help scale their innovations where they’re needed most.
Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Inside Pfizer’s INDovation program
Launched in 2022, the INDovation program is designed by Pfizer to fund ideas and help early-stage healthtech startups navigate the toughest phases of their journey. From clinical validation to regulatory approvals and real-world deployment.
The initiative is backed by Pfizer and supported by:
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
- Department of Pharmaceuticals
- NITI Aayog
- Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT)
- Social Alpha
Over 40 have progressed through the program, and this year’s cohort has added 14 more to the list.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, as part of the program, stated:
“Truly delighted to be a part of this engagement between DPIIT’s Startup India and Pfizer with the intention to nurture talent and focus on the real needs of Bharat, going down to the villages, the less privileged and marginalised sections of society, towards the ultimate goal of ‘health for all”
What do startups receive as a part of the program?
Each of the 14 selected startups this year will receive:
- ₹60 lakh in grant funding
- 18 months of incubation support
- Mentorship and regulatory guidance
- Access to real-world healthcare settings
For early-stage medtech companies, this kind of structured support can mean the difference between a prototype and nationwide impact.
The program operates through two tracks:
- The Incubation Track: Startups with products ready for testing receive support in clinical validation, regulatory approvals, and structured market-entry planning.
- The Deployment Track: Startups with approved products receive assistance for integrating into “Ayushman Arogya Mandirs”, a public health center. This allows companies to get real-world data and demonstrate the public health impact of tools at scale.
The program also ensures the startups align with national priorities such as the “Make in India” mission and the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP) Scheme.
How were these startups selected?
The 2025 selection process had stringent criteria. To win, the startups had to prove their impact in:
- Public health impact: Can this save lives or improve outcomes at scale?
- Technological strength: Is its innovation meaningful and effective?
- Differentiation: Does it solve a problem in a better way?
- Scalability: Can it work across India, from metros to rural clinics?
- Clear roadmap: Is there a realistic path forward?
Meet the 14 startups selected in the Pfizer INDovation Program 2025
The following 14 startups are recognised for their ability to deliver immediate and scalable impact in strengthening India’s healthcare system.
Incubation Track Startups
1. Rheoheme
Founders: Dr. Mahesh S. Tirumkudulu and Dr. Venkata Ramana Gundabala
Year: 2025 | Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Rheoheme focuses on advanced diagnostic tools for blood-related disorders using microfluidic technology.
2. Medblue Innovations
Founders: Jitesh Pandey and Mansi Tyagi
Year: 2020 | Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Develops affordable non-invasive medical devices, such as BiliSURE, to screen for neonatal jaundice.
3. Astraeus Innovus
Founders: Dr. Jayanthi Kumari, Dr. Chaiali Singhal and Dr. Sweta
Year: 2024 | Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
Developed OncoALERT, a rapid, non-invasive screening platform for the early detection of oral cancer.
4. Skyfire Applied Intelligence (Berry.care)
Founders: Reuben Fernandes and Rizma Banu
Year: 2018 | Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Provides an AI-driven platform, Berry.care, that uses smartphone images to screen for oral cancer and precancerous lesions.
5. Heethox-K
Founders: Dr. Shekhar Anand, Kusum Anand and Premchander Aarudhra
Year: 2023 | Location: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Heethox-K focuses on creating low-cost medtech solutions specifically for diagnosing and managing chronic conditions.
6. RNT Health Insights
Founders: Tanmaya M. Gulati and Ria Khurana
Year: 2023 | Location: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Develops AI-assisted diagnostic solutions that detect oesophageal cancer early.
7. Vidcare Innovations
Founders: Karan Agarwal and Rohan Aggarwal
Year: 2017 | Location: Pune, Maharashtra
Developed Mu-sure, a patented lab-on-a-chip platform that performs complex immunoassays at the point of care.
8. BioLockey Healthworks
Founders: Anchal Chandra
Year: 2023 | Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
A women-led startup developing advanced, portable diagnostic tools, like NANOdx, for rapid screening in community health settings.
Deployment Track Startups
9. AI Health Highway
Founders: Dr. (Maj) Satish S. Jeevannavar
Year: 2018 | Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
Developed AiSteth, an AI-enabled smart stethoscope that screens for heart and lung disorders at the primary care level.
10. Blackfrog Technologies
Founders: Mayur Shetty and Dheeraj Bhat
Year: 2015 | Location: Manipal, Karnataka
Manufactures Emvólio, a patented, medical-grade portable refrigeration system for the safe transport of vaccines and blood products.
11. Doto Health
Founders: Dr. Shantanu Pathak
Year: 2022 | Location: Pune, Maharashtra
Provides a digital healthcare platform, CareMother, that monitors high-risk pregnancies and improves maternal outcomes.
12. Neodocs
Founders: Nikunj Malpani, Anurag Meena, and Pratik Lodha
Year: 2020 | Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Developed a smartphone-based lab test system that uses a mobile camera to analyse instant diagnostic results from test strips.
13. Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions
Founders: Anirban Palit and Sayantani Pramanik
Year: 2020 | Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Created CerviCheck, an at-home cervical cancer screening kit designed to improve screening rates in low-resource settings.
14. Sunfox Technologies
Founders: Rajat Jain, Arpit Jain, Saurabh Badola, Nitin Chandola, and Sabit Rawat
Year: 2016 | Location: Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Developed Spandan, a pocket-sized, smartphone-linked ECG device that detects heart abnormalities with high accuracy.
Shared goal for a healthier nation
India needs innovation that works in primary health centres. In tier-3 towns. In remote villages. In overstretched public systems.
And Pfizer’s INDovation program addresses just that. It shows how private-public collaboration can strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem.
By supporting scalable, affordable, and technology-driven solutions, this initiative advances the goal of “health for all”, ensuring innovation reaches underserved communities across the nation.
Fourteen startups. ₹60 lakh each. Eighteen months of support. And potentially, millions of lives impacted.
If this is what collaborative healthtech acceleration looks like, India’s ecosystem is only getting started.
-By Dr Rohini Devi and the AHT Team
