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Bengaluru-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) on Wednesday received CSR funding from Mercedes Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI). C-CAMP will utilise the funds to deploy about 110 oxygen concentrators in public healthcare centres across Karnataka.

According to an official statement, the concentrators — manufactured by Phillips from Germany — have already arrived in Bengaluru and will be deployed in partnership with BBMP and the Health Department of the Karnataka government.

“Oxygen concentrators have the potential to address the critical gap in oxygen supply, which we are witnessing across India. C-CAMP is happy to contribute to Karnataka’s ongoing combat by bringing this much-needed resource to the state. We are planning on collaborating with the Government of Karnataka on deployment in public healthcare centres, including makeshift hospitals and COVID care facilities, which especially lack infrastructure for cryogenic oxygen,” Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director, C-CAMP, said in a statement.

C-CAMP revealed that this initiative is being facilitated by the Nayonika Eyecare Charitable Trust, the German Consulate General in Bengaluru, and the Indian Embassy in Germany. 

This development comes in right after C-CAMP announced that it received a grant of about Rs 12 crore from Novo Nordisk Foundation. It will utilise the grant money for anchoring and hosting a project to establish four emergency hospitals fitted with advanced equipment for COVID-19 care. 

C-CAMP has been at the forefront to come up with solutions for beating the pandemic. The bio innovation hub also enabled mass-scale availability of indigenously developed, ICMR/DCGI-approved COVID-19 diagnostic kits for government and private diagnostic labs, facing any shortfall due to the increased number of cases across India.

Bengaluru-based C-CAMP has directly funded, incubated, and mentored about 200 startups over the last few years. It is connected to about 2,000 startups and entrepreneurs across India, including healthcare, agritech, and cleantech sectors.