Bayer Grants4Apps 2018 Selects Four Innovative Health and Agri-Tech Startups

On April 9, 2018, Bayer China officially launched the third phase of Grants4Apps “Bayer Startup Program Shanghai,” with its “Incubator Program” opening calls for innovative projects in China’s healthcare and medical sector.

The Grants4Apps project, an open innovation initiative focused on the healthcare sector, originated in Berlin, Germany. It was launched in Shanghai in 2016. As a key component of the program, the “Incubator Program” is open to all innovative projects in the health field, with a particular focus on self-health management, medication adherence, physician and patient management, and optimization of medical resources.

Headquartered in Shanghai, the team,They launched their project three months ago. The team has extensive experience in embedded software development and gas sensors, with core members graduating from Zhejiang University.The Team's Core Products/ The service offers low-cost, portable gut microbiota monitoring, enabling everyday consumers to conveniently and rapidly assess the functional status of their gut microbiome at home. It helps individuals optimize their gut microbiota through personalized dietary adjustments, thereby maintaining optimal personal health.

Co-founded by scientists from Harvard University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with senior industry elites, the company has assembled a team of high-caliber interdisciplinary experts in molecular biology, nutrition, and bioinformatics. With years of experience in stem cell drug R&D, a mature molecular biology experimental platform, and advanced technologies in stem cell differentiation and gene editing, its main products and services include: food toxicity assessment and drug screening for new drug development, detection of heavy metals and trace elements in the human body and food safety evaluation, and medical-grade biological skincare./skincare products, etc.

Headquartered in Shanghai, our team comprises highly skilled, multidisciplinary experts with extensive experience and complementary professional expertise. The team’s flagship product is an implantable bioenergy harvesting system that utilizes flexible piezoelectric materials to scavenge endogenous biomechanical energy within the human body and convert it into electrical power, offering a novel solution and product for powering implantable electronic devices such as cardiac pacemakers. In preclinical animal studies, the system was successfully implanted into experimental pigs via minimally invasive surgical techniques, marking the first time it powered an implantable cardiac pacemaker. This achievement was featured in a special report by CCTV’s “Innovative China” program.

Headquartered in Shanghai, the team boasts extensive experience in agricultural technology and management, as well as in the processing and sales of natural resources.They launched their project two years ago and are currently expanding their customer base and business operations. The team has obtained a WFOE business license to facilitate an agricultural service model that connects local sustainable farmers with consumers who demand absolute food safety and the ability to choose what they grow or eat. By fostering relationships between farmers and consumers, the model adds value and provides recommendations, management, and execution of essential tasks required for food production.

A review of the aforementioned teams’ innovative projects—ranging from gut microbiota testing, drug screening, and food toxicity assessment, to solutions for powering implantable electronic devices and innovative agricultural service models—reveals a diverse and broad spectrum of fields and directions. Each project underscores Bayer and its expert team’s strong commitment to “innovation.” As Ms. Zhu Lixian, President of Bayer Group in Greater China, stated, “Innovation is in Bayer’s DNA. For over 150 years, innovation has been the key to our growth, and our future development will continue to rely on it.” While providing support to innovative enterprises, Bayer itself has gained sustained vitality, which is expected to further drive its exploration in “addressing various societal challenges and delivering solutions that create a positive impact on the world.”

In the 2016 “Incubator Program” under the Grants4Apps initiative, Huasheng Mi, Wubei, and Ruijia emerged as standouts; in 2017, Tuoxiao Intelligence, Huiyuntang, Nuotong, and Drop Technology distinguished themselves. After 88 days at Bayer, they each gained valuable benefits in terms of funding, networking, market access, marketing, resources, and training. So, this year’s standoutsMetabonose、Hangguan Guanzi Health Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Lianxin Medical Technology Co., Ltd.,What sparks will fly between Farmonize and Bayer, and what changes will be unveiled at the Demo Day on September 21? Let’s wait and see.