JERUSALEM, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a program to promote medical innovative technologies in the emerging field of bio-convergence, the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) said Thursday.
Bio-convergence integrates biology with additional disciplines from engineering such as electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), physics, computer science, nanotechnology, material science, and advanced genetic engineering.
This is to address unmet needs in health, agriculture, energy and security, mainly dealing with the significant challenges faced by the global health and pharma systems.
According to the IIA, the new plan aims to establish suitable conditions to foster the field's growth in Israel, and to build a competitive, world-leading industry with significant economic impact.
As part of the plan, the IIA has announced a new call for proposals aimed at researchers in academia, hospitals and commercial companies, at a total budget of about 3.9 million U.S. dollars.
Thus, researchers could submit requests for R&D funding to develop programs commercializing academic technics for bio-convergence medical innovation.
Aharon Aharon, CEO of the IAA said that "this synthesis of academia and industry is part of an overall attempt to develop an innovative ecosystem that will be an engine of growth for Israeli industry." Enditem
