LIMA, PERU and TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - October 23, 2014) - CONCYTEC and Grand Challenges Canada today announced $2.2 million CAD in grants for 22 Bold Ideas from innovators based in Peru, seeking to find solutions for major health problems.

These novel projects are the result of a collaborative agreement between CONCYTEC (Peru's National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation) and Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada) to support Stars in Global Health innovators based in Peru.

All funding announced today is for proof-of-concept projects, whereby Canada and Peru are co-funding Peruvian innovators with a seed grant of $100,000 CAD each. Highly promising innovations that can show measurable results and the potential for sustainable impact at scale may later be eligible for transition-to-scale funding of up to $1 million CAD.

Among the new projects announced today;

• A probiotic beverage that can potentially clear heavy metals from the body
• An easy-to-use resuscitator providing artificial respiration without electric power for several hours
• A new screening model for cervical cancer, using community women as promoters
• A low-cost water pasteurization indicator for the Peruvian Amazon to reduce children's diarrhea.

"We are very pleased with the success of the first Grand Challenges contest in which Peru presented 100 innovative proposals, establishing us as the country with the second highest number of applications after host country Canada, which presented 117", highlighted Dr. Gisella Orjeda, President of CONCYTEC.

Her Excellency Patricia Fortier, Canadian Ambassador to Peru, said: "We are proud to see that this partnership and the first innovative projects it is giving us will contribute to health and enterprise development in Peru and further strengthen the Canada-Peru relationship in innovation and global health."

Dr. Peter A. Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Grand Challenges Canada, said: "These 22 projects show that partnership is paramount to identify and nurture Bold Ideas with Big Impact in global health. Grand Challenges Canada is proud to partner with the Government of Peru. We are particularly pleased that many of these ideas support Canada's top development priority, maternal, newborn and child health."

After a global call for proposals, projects that fell within the 20 high-priority areas that CONCYTEC has established, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Peru, received special attention. 

Since 2011, Grand Challenges Canada has committed $52.1 million CAD to support 476 proof-of-concept grants over seven rounds in its Stars in Global Health program.

The implementation of Peru's "Bold Ideas" program seeks to increase the number of researchers and to support research centres that aim to solve the main problems related to poverty and vulnerability. At the same time, it promotes entrepreneurial initiatives for the solutions discovered and helps direct private resources to the production and commercialization of these results. This combines the goals of solving major health problems and creating entrepreneurial networks, based on technological and export potential. 

"Bold Ideas" is one of the financing schemes of CIENCIACTIVE, an initiative developed by CONCYTEC that seeks to promote the national system of science, technology and innovation. 

For details about all 22 projects announced today, click here: http://bit.ly/1yl65a5

For more information, visit grandchallenges.ca or concytec.gob.pe.

About CONCYTEC
The National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) is the governing body of the National System of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation of the Republic of Peru. In charge of leading, promoting, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the actions of the State across the country in the fields of science, technology and technological innovation, it guides the actions of the private sector, and executes support actions promoting the scientific and technological development of Peru, aiming to fulfill its foundational mission to lead modern management of science, technology and innovation contributing to competitiveness and social inclusion.
www.concytec.gob.pe

About Grand Challenges Canada
Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact^® in global health. We are funded by the Government of Canada and we support innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas we support integrate science and technology, social and business innovation to find sustainable solutions to health challenges -- we call this Integrated Innovation^®. Grand Challenges Canada focuses on innovator-defined challenges through its Stars in Global Health program and on targeted challenges in its Saving Lives at Birth, Saving Brains and Global Mental Health programs. Grand Challenges Canada works closely with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) to catalyze scale, sustainability and impact. We have a determined focus on results, and on saving and improving lives.
www.grandchallenges.ca