From Genes to Genius: India Launches Landmark Health Biobank

The Phenome India National Biobank, inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in New Delhi, is a state-of-the-art facility designed to collect and store genomic, lifestyle, and clinical data from 10,000 individuals across India.

This initiative captures India's vast diversity—geographically, ethnically, and socio-economically—and is modeled after global benchmarks like the UK Biobank.

Why It Matters

• Decode complex diseases like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and rare genetic disorders
• Enable early diagnosis and targeted therapies
• Support AI-driven diagnostics and gene-guided treatments
• Track long-term health trajectories and gene-environment interactions

Scientific and Societal Impact

• Addresses India-specific health challenges such as central obesity in lean individuals
• Enables population-specific health strategies
• Bridges the gap between lab research and real-world application
• Supports India’s leadership in CRISPR, quantum tech, and antimicrobial resistance research

Core Technologies Powering the Biobank

Technology	Purpose	Application
Genomic Sequencing	Decoding individual DNA	Identifies genetic variants linked to diseases like cancer, diabetes, and rare disorders
CRISPR-based Genome Editing	Functional genomics and therapeutic research	Enables gene-function studies and potential gene therapies for conditions like sickle cell anemia
AI & Machine Learning	Pattern recognition and predictive modeling	Powers diagnostics, risk stratification, and personalized treatment recommendations
Big Data Analytics	Integration of multi-modal datasets	Analyzes genomic, clinical, and lifestyle data across 10,000+ individuals
Digital Health Platforms	Real-time data collection and monitoring	Supports longitudinal tracking of health outcomes and lifestyle factors
Biobanking Infrastructure	Secure sample storage and retrieval	Preserves biological specimens (blood, tissue, etc.) under controlled conditions for future research

Research Focus Areas

• Gene-environment interactions
• Population-specific health strategies
• AI-driven diagnostics
• Drug development and antimicrobial resistance

Strategic Integration

• Complementing India’s broader scientific ecosystem
• Leveraging quantum computing for high-throughput data processing
• Collaborating with CSIR, DBT, and industry for translational research
• Implementing ethical frameworks for data governance and privacy

The Phenome India Biobank is not just a data repository—it is a national health intelligence engine poised to transform healthcare and biomedical research in India.

WinZO and Tata Memorial Hospital Partner to Set-Up India’s 1st Gene Counseling Facility

Through WinZO’s ‘Play to Prevent Cancer’ initiative, the platform and its users contribute to India’s first genetic counseling and testing lab.

WinZO launched the initiative ‘Play to Prevent Cancer’ to raise funds for early cancer detection through gene counselling and also to create awareness for its 200 million user bases on the critical role of early cancer detection. Through its ‘Play to Prevent Cancer’ hour on its platform, WinZO raised funds from its users and its 200 team members matched the amount raised through its user base to expand the total donation. This amount was donated to Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at Tata Memorial Hospital and will be used to train the gene counselling team at the Tata Memorial Hospital.

WinZO opted to scale India’s early cancer detection capabilities since cancer has now become one of leading causes of death and imposes heavy burden on the patients, their caregivers, and families at large. During 2000-2019, ~13 mn Indians lost their lives to 23 forms of cancer; this is twice the size of Singapore. In 2022, globally there were 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths. The number of new annual cases is expected to rise to new 35 million cases by 2050. However, during the last 20 years, there have been significant breakthroughs in cancer prevention, treatment, and palliative care. The most impactful intervention comes at the stage of Genetic Counselling, rapidly emerging as the pivotal tool to preempt and mitigate the risk of cancer.

The partnership between WinZO, India’s largest interactive social gaming platform, and Tata Memorial Hospital aims to address the burgeoning risk of cancer through genetic counselling to improve knowledge of genetics prone to cancer and support early detection and treatment among prospective cancer patients in India.

The focus of the initiative is skill development for genetic counselling, supporting critical interventions on gene reporting & screening, and family counselling. Such investment in skilling and training on gene counselling is likely to have a network effect on how we address the concerns around cancer prevention, awareness, and early detection. This intervention will expand India's capacity to provide genetic counselling through the country's low-cost genetic testing lab at Tata Memorial Hospital, allowing more Indians from different socioeconomic backgrounds to access this critical intervention.

Dr. Rajiv Sarin, Head of the Cancer Genetics Clinic and Cancer Genetics/Genomics Lab at Tata Memorial Hospital, emphasized the importance of capacity building and skilling: “I thank WinZO and its users for their invaluable contributions. Their support for Genetic Counselling Professionals will be crucial in assisting millions of Indians diagnosed with cancer. These Cancer Genetic Professionals would provide timely, culturally sensitive, individualised, and evidence-based genetic counselling to cancer patients To maximize the impact of donated resources, such as equipment or infrastructure, we need an army of well-trained, motivated professionals.”

The journey of a cancer patient and their caregivers is also riddled with mental health challenges. Data shows that up to 20% of cancer patients experience depression, and 10% experience anxiety, regardless of the treatment phase or point in the disease trajectory. The same data also mentions that over 35–40% of cancer patients have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, including neuropsychiatric manifestations and stress-related, neurocognitive, adjustment, and somatic symptom disorders. Together, these challenges increase the suicide risk of patients and loneliness, particularly in the early stages after diagnosis.

Games on WinZO’s platform also often serve as a therapeutic tool to reduce stress, anxiety, and social isolation related to illness, providing distraction through entertainment, and enhancing mental agility among cancer patients. Casual social games like on WinZO’s platform offers cancer patients an avenue to explore alternative coping methods by playing games that improve cognitive benefits such as attention control, cognitive flexibility, and information processing, thereby addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety. WinZO’s users highlighted how its games have struck a chord with patients undergoing cancer treatment and facing the associated mental health challenges. They have mentioned how it made them part of the larger community and provided a sense of belonging through physical isolation. This drastically reduced their anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

Nachiket Mor, Scientist at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, further highlighted the potential of gaming in healthcare, "Cancer patients often face significant mental health challenges, with up to 90% experiencing anxiety and many older adults battling loneliness post-diagnosis. The fight against cancer can leave you with long-term mental health issues, not only for the patient but also for their families. Online gaming offers a promising yet underutilized tool to support mental well-being, improve treatment adherence, and educate patients in an engaging and non-intimidating way. By integrating gaming into cancer care, we can foster resilience, enhance patient support, and create a more compassionate healthcare system, providing a significant avenue to support patients during times of crisis and for addressing long-term challenges such as depression, anxiety, and more."

A cancer survivor and user of WinZO, shared their experience, "Gaming on WinZO’s platform was a huge relief for me. Whenever I felt anxious or overwhelmed, I would take a few minutes to play, focusing on my strategy and the game rather than my worries. The fast-paced games, often lasting just 2-3 minutes, redirected my energy toward something positive and mentally engaging. Whether solving word puzzles or working with numbers, these games distracted me and built my mental skills, keeping me motivated and optimistic during challenging times.”

About WinZO

WinZO is the largest social gaming and interactive entertainment platform in India. Launched in early 2018, the Company partners with third-party developers to host games on their platform, where users can enjoy personalized multiplayer gameplay experiences. The platform is available in 15 languages such as English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and Bhojpuri, with over 200 million registered users. The WinZO platform facilitates over 5 billion game plays across a portfolio of 100+ games. WinZO is focused on building an enthusiastic community of gamers and gaming influencers in Tier 2 – 5 cities in India. The company envisions a future where the WinZO platform can deliver a culturally relevant and enjoyable experience in the Indian gaming ecosystem, monetized through a unique micro-transaction model.​​

WinZO, a series-C funded venture, has raised $100 million from Marquee gaming and entertainment investors such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Courtside Ventures, Makers Fund, all of whom made their first investment in the Indian start-up ecosystem through WinZO.

New Smartphone Camera-based COVID-19 Test Uses CRISPR Tech and Give Results in 15-30 Minutes

The diagnostic test requires a cell phone camera and a small darkened box. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Fletcher)

In a major scientific breakthrough that brings futuristic vision into a reality, a mobile phone-based device allows for portable and sensitive read-out of the assay. Its like putting your clinical test sample in a device, and getting a read-out on your smartphone in 15 to 30 minutes and tells you if you are infected with the COVID-19 virus or not.

In a new study published in the scientific journal Cell, the team from Gladstone, UC Berkeley, and UCSF has outlined the technology for a CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 that uses a smartphone camera to provide accurate results in under 30 minutes.

The technique was designed in collaboration with UC Berkeley bioengineer Daniel Fletcher, PhD, as well as Jennifer Doudna, PhD, who recently won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for co-discovering CRISPR-Cas genome editing, the technology that underlies this work.

Current COVID-19 tests use a method called quantitative PCR -- the gold standard of testing. However, one of the issues with using this technique to test for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is that it requires DNA. Coronavirus is an RNA virus, which means that to use the PCR approach, the viral RNA must first be converted to DNA. 

Mobile Phone Microscopy

To demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 screening with Cas13a would be possible outside of laboratory settings, the team of scientists, from Gladstone, UC Berkeley, and UCSF, designed a mobile phone-based fluorescence microscope and reaction chamber to quantify the fluorescent signal generated by the Cas13a direct detection assay. 

Cas13a is an outlier in the CRISPR tech world because it targets RNA, not DNA

The goal was to show that mass-produced consumer electronics, rather than specialized laboratory equipment, are sufficient to capture the small fluorescent signals generated by Cas13a direct detection. Interestingly, we found that our device was approximately an order of magnitude more sensitive than the plate reader used in the development of this assay due to reduced measurement noise and the ability to collect more time points, which decreased the uncertainty in slope estimations and therefore enabled us to distinguish smaller slopes relative to the control.

Technological Advancements in Manufacturing Boost the Cell and Gene Therapy Market, Says Frost & Sullivan

CGT CDMO market is likely to reach $10.11 billion by 2026 from $1.52 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 31%

SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Supply Chain Optimization and Decentralized Manufacturing to Expand the Contract Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Market, 2020–2026 , finds that aggressive investments in manufacturing technology and capacity are essential to fully harness the curative potential of the cell and gene therapy (CGT) segment. This enables operational efficiency gains and reduces project costs, generating benefits that can be transferred directly to patients. The increase in the number of assets in clinical development and rising capital flow from larger pharmaceuticals, equity investors, and federal agencies drive growth for the CGT contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market. The buoyant CGT CDMO market is likely to witness almost a seven-fold growth, reaching $10.11 billion by 2026 from $1.52 billion in 2019, up at a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31%.

For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/4ww .

"The need for reproducible, scalable, and economical production of cell and gene therapies is creating a demand for digital bioprocessing technologies," said Nitin Naik , Global Life Sciences Vice President at Frost & Sullivan . "These technologies are critical to realize the true commercial potential of cell and gene therapies in the next two to three years and serve as a conduit to improve market access and control the total cost of therapy."

Naik added: "From a market segment perspective, while the stem cell market is lucrative, the highest growth is expected to be in gene-modified cell therapies, with a pipeline of 269 products,* followed by gene therapies, which account for 182 assets in the pipeline.* Further, although allogeneic stem cell therapies dominate the marketed product catalogs, interest in disease-modifying CAR-T therapies, which are largely autologous, is driving demand for the evolution of manufacturing technologies, models, and capacity expansion investment by CDMOs." (*as of August 2020 )

To tap into the growth prospects exposed by the CGT market, companies must focus on:

Developing manufacturing platforms capable of producing high volumes of clinical-grade products while keeping costs down. Partnering with CDMOs to transition smoothly from laboratory scale to commercial production with greater consistency. Implementing a hub-and-spoke approach toward scaling out or decentralizing manufacturing through a network of on-site pilot manufacturing at hospitals. Supply Chain Optimization and Decentralized Manufacturing to Expand the Contract Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Market, 2020–2026 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Healthcare research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Supply Chain Optimization and Decentralized Manufacturing to Expand the Contract Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Market, 2020–2026.

Neuberg Discusses Effective Implementation of Genetics in Endocrinology

Neuberg Diagnostics Private Limited, a StartUp in the PathLab chain segment organized a webinar talk by Dr.Udhaya Kotecha, MD Pediatrics, Fellowship in Medical Genetics. Dr. Udhaya Kotecha spoke about “Genetics in Endocrinology”.

The webinar was organized on request by Dr Rahul Reddy, a well known practicing pediatric endocrinologist in Hyderabad. The webinar was a part of a continuing medical education process, wherein the focus was to discuss available genetic testing in pediatric endocrinology, their applications, utility, differences and limitations. 

Within pediatric endocrinology, a genetic basis is suspected in patients in many scenarios. A few examples include Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus (NDM) especially when diagnosed with the same before 6 months of age, Maturity Onset Diabetes of Young (MODY), ambiguous genitalia and other disorders of sex development, short stature (especially if not attributable to familial traits), childhood obesity, congenital hypothyroidism, lipid metabolism defects etc. Traditionally available biochemical testing helps categorize these disorders into a particular subgroup, but genetic testing is required to define the underlying genetic basis. Detected genetic variations serve to guide treatment decisions (K_ATP channel genes and sulfonylurea for treatment) as well as predict and monitor treatment response (Growth Hormone and PTPN11 mutations). Genetic disorders are associated with a risk of recurrence and hence prenatal testing is often desired. This is possible only when the underlying disorder has been genetically characterized. This also allows testing other related "at-risk" family members.

Dr. Udhaya Kotecha said, “Genetic testing has forayed into pediatric endocrinology practice as multiple endocrine conditions are attributed to gene defects. While biochemical testing forms the first line test, an abnormality in the same raises suspicion but does not lead to a definitive diagnosis. With the advent of modern Next Generation Sequencing technology, testing multiple genes (which may be responsible for a particular clinical symptom) has become easier thus increasing the chances of a diagnosis. A definitive genetic diagnosis is the first step towards precision medicine."

Speaking on the occasion, Aishwarya Vasudevan, COO of Neuberg Diagnostics said, “The impact genetic diagnostics can have on the health of an individual, as well as the population is tremendous. We aim to spread awareness on the subject to both patient and clinician via such virtual seminars. The talk given by Dr. Udhaya, enlighten us on the most recent developments in the field of genetic testing. I hope this has empowered the treating endocrinologist to select the most appropriate test, which will aid them in treating their patient more effectively."

Dr. Udhaya Kotecha, is quite well known in the medical field and among other medical experts in the country. She has acquired a vast experience of over 14 years in the area of diagnosis and management of various common as well as rare genetic conditions. She serves as a Consultant in the Genetic department of many hospitals. 

About Neuberg Diagnostics

The best-in-class laboratories from across India, UAE & South Africa have united under the banner of Neuberg Diagnostics to bring the latest technology and techniques within the reach of developing countries. Utilizing their combined strengths, the Neuberg alliance brings capabilities to perform over 6000 varieties of Pathological investigations and will promote Prevention & Early Diagnosis, Focused Wellness Programs and Structured Disease Management programs for Chronic and Lifestyle Conditions using the most advanced technologies assisted by Data science and AI tools. Today, Neuberg Diagnostics is among the top diagnostics companies of Indian origin and the fastest growing healthcare start-up in India. The founding members of the Neuberg consortium - Anand Diagnostic Laboratory (Bangalore), Supratech Micropath (Ahmedabad), Ehrlich Laboratory (Chennai), Global Labs (South Africa), and Minerva Diagnostics (Dubai) bring their combined heritage of over 200 years and process over 20 million samples annually. Some of the best Pathologists, Biochemists, Geneticists, Microbiologists and several other Clinical Lab Professionals from around the world are working closely, sharing knowledge and using the latest generation of diagnostics techniques to take accurate and timely diagnosis to the next level.