The Roche Drishti HealthTech Challenge is a strategic initiative launched by Roche Pharma India—run in collaboration with Startup India—to identify and accelerate breakthrough technologies that can transform patient care. With a primary focus on strengthening India’s retinal care ecosystem, the program seeks to co-develop cutting-edge digital solutions that address critical gaps in screening, diagnosis, referral, and care delivery. By collaborating with innovative startups, the initiative aims to enhance patient support, health-system strengthening, and data analytics through scalable technology, ultimately creating measurable improvements in retinal health outcomes across India.
Program Objectives and Vision
- Identify and co-develop innovative digital and technological solutions within healthcare, with a focus on retinal care.
- Collaborate with startups to enhance patient support and ecosystem shaping.
- Address critical gaps in the retinal care pathway, including screening, diagnosis, referral, and treatment initiation.
- Implement and scale high-potential solutions via real-world pilots and partnerships across India.
Challenge Track 1: Next-Gen Retinal HealthTech
- Focus on early detection, smart referrals, and integrated care for retinal diseases such as Diabetic Retinopathy and neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration.
- Develop AI-enabled and digital health solutions that strengthen the care pathway in primary, community, and tele-ophthalmology settings.
- Create tools that enable early, accurate retinal screening and clinical decision support.
- Improve referral linkages and patient navigation to ensure timely specialist access and treatment.
Challenge Track 2: Integrated Real-World Evidence (RWE) Capture and Analytics
- Build secure, interoperable software platforms to capture and analyze ophthalmology data across care settings.
- Collect comprehensive patient demographics (e.g., age, gender), diagnosis, and co-morbidities.
- Track treatment details such as molecule name, regimen, and injection frequency.
- Record clinical efficacy parameters including BCVA, IRF/SRF, and hard exudates.
- Integrate with existing Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR).
- Ensure strict adherence to data privacy, anonymization, and applicable regulatory standards.
Non-Fiscal Incentives for Participants
- Direct mentorship from Roche India leadership.
- Technical feedback and support from the Roche India R&D team.
- Enhanced visibility and co-branding opportunities through the Roche India network.
- Access to potential partnerships and long-term collaborations.
- Opportunities for a pilot project with Roche India for startups selected for incubation.
Evaluation and Selection Procedure
- Applications undergo a comprehensive review by Roche Products (India) Private Limited.
- Evaluation is supported by a panel of subject-matter experts from the pharmaceutical, venture capital, med-tech, and regulatory sectors.
- Shortlisting of high-potential startups based on innovation, clinical relevance, feasibility, scalability, and alignment with the challenge objectives.
- Final selection of winners who will progress toward co-development and pilot phases.
The Roche Drishti HealthTech Challenge represents a significant opportunity for health-tech innovators to partner with a global healthcare leader to solve pressing medical challenges. By bridging advanced technology and clinical needs, this program provides a platform for startups to validate solutions in real-world environments while contributing to the reduction of preventable vision loss in India.