63 minute read
News Roundup
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya along with Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar, releasing the ICMR/DHR policy
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Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare along with Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare launched the ICMR/ DHR Policy on Biomedical Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Medical Professionals, Scientists and Technologists at Medical, Dental, Para-Medical Institutes/ Colleges. As per the policy, the medical professionals/ doctors will be encouraged to pursue entrepreneurial ventures by forming start-up companies, taking an adjunct position in the company- nonexecutive director or scientific advisor. The doctors will also be permitted to undertake inter-institutional and industry projects alone or through companies, license technologies to business entities leading to commercialisation, revenue generation for self-sustenance and societal benefit.
… releases report on Institute for Competitiveness on COVID-19 vaccine
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare released two reports of the Institute for Competitiveness (part of the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and affiliated to Harvard Business School).
These reports titled ‘COVID-19-India’s Vaccine Development Story’ and ‘India’s COVID–19 Vaccination Administration Journey’ highlight the crucial aspects that have contributed to the success of India’s COVID-19 vaccine development and administration efforts, which includes manufacturing of indigenous vaccines, sturdy and timely procedures and protocols for approvals that ensured the safe administration of vaccinations. The reports have compiled significant crucial information and experiences that can serve as learning for future pandemic management and public health issues. collaboration between Pearson and Apollo will provide the much-needed impetus to the sector and contribute towards creating appropriate skill capacities for healthcare workers. The partnership is initially signed for two years.
Pearson and Apollo MedSkills join hands
Pearson, a leading learning company announced the partnership with Apollo MedSkills, the educational arm of Apollo Hospitals to develop effective skilling programmes and training solutions for strengthening the healthcare sector in India and globally. As part of the collaboration, both companies aim to enhance access to quality healthcare education and upskill around 15,000 healthcare workers in the country. The
CORBEVAX receives DCGI approval for EUA for 1218 years
India’s first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein subunit vaccine for COVID-19, CORBEVAX, developed by Biological E, has received approval for Emergency Use Authorization from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for 12-18 years age group. It is approved to be administered in humans including children and adults 12 years and above.
Alligator Bioscience appoints Sumeet Ambarkhane MD as CMO
Alligator Bioscience has announced the appointment of Sumeet Ambarkhane, as its Chief Medical Officer. In this role, Ambarkhane will provide medical leadership and direction in the development of Alligator's best-in-class preclinical and clinical pipeline, including Alligator's lead assets mitazalimab, a
Sumeet Ambarkhane
CD40 agonist currently in Phase II clinical development, and ATOR-1017, a 4-1BB agonist in Phase I.
Ambarkhane is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of drug development experience in academia and in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Ambarkhane has a proven track record of advancing investigational medicines including immunotherapybiologics, from early phases of development through regulatory approvals and adoption into clinical practice. System business segments supporting AliveCor’s clients and their members with a complete cardiac care management solution. Baran has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare and technology industries, where she has led teams to create and bring to market high-impact offerings and solutions for providers, payors, and patients.
AliveCor appoints Patricia Baran as Senior VP, Healthcare Americas
AliveCor announced the appointment of Patricia Baran as Senior Vice President, Healthcare Americas. In this role, Baran will report to Vincent Balsamo, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Baran will lead the Employer, Payor, and Health
Apeejay Stya Univesity, SERB organise conference on nanomedicine, medical devices
The 3rd national conference on Nanomedicine and Medical Devices in Healthcare was recently organised by the Apeejay Stya Univesity in support of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Government of India. The conference witnessed eminent scientists and experts from the field of nanomedicine and medical devices technologies across the country, who put forward their perspectives on various aspects about the industry along with advocating the consolidation of the sector.
Mindray equipment to ensure medical security in 3 hospitals for Beijing winter games
Mindray, a leading global provider of medical devices and solutions, has been providing the medical equipment used in three designated medical facilities — Peking University (PKU) Third Hospital, PKU Third Hospital Yanqing Branch and PKU Third Hospital Chongli Branch — for the winter games being held in Beijing during February and March 2022, ensuring a complete chain of worldclass, intelligently connected medical solutions including first aid, diagnosis and monitoring for all athletes.
Lupin appoints Dr Fabrice Egros as President of corporate development
Lupin announced changes to its executive team with Dr Fabrice Egros assuming responsibilities for Global Corporate Development as President, Corporate Development and Growth Markets. Dr Egros takes over the Corporate Development role from Alan Butcher departing from the company on February 28, 2022. Dr Egros will lead the development and execution of the company’s inorganic growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions, business development, in-licensing arrangements, and related matters. He will continue to lead a business in LATAM and Asia regions in this new role.
Dr Fabrice Egros
… bags FDA approval for SOLOSEC
Lupin Pharmaceuticals announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to expand the use of SOLOSEC (secnidazole) in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) for female patients 12 years of age and older and in the treatment of trichomoniasis for all patients 12 years of age and older.
Lupin has entered into a distribution agreement with Medis for Lupin’s orphan drug NaMuscla (mexiletine). Medis will commercialise NaMuscla for the symptomatic treatment of myotonia in adults with non-dystrophic myotonic (NDM) disorders in Central and Eastern European countries. NaMuscla is the first and only licensed product for this indication. Under the agreement, Medis will initially focus on the commercialisation of NaMuscla in the Central and East European countries, namely Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia in the first phase. Lupin will continue the commercialisation of NaMuscla in Germany, France, and the UK.
The launch of the new centre in Nanded
Metropolis Healthcare has launched an advanced diagnostic testing centre in Nanded, Maharashtra. The 1400 sq ft laboratory can conduct around 400 sample testing per month with a quick turnaround time and high-quality reports. The new laboratory is located at Shop G1, G2 Aagale Complex, Opposite Kalamandir, Nanded.
… Metropolis Healthcare opens Asansol centre
Metropolis Healthcare has launched an advanced diagnostic testing centre in Asansol, West Bengal. The 900 sq ft laboratory can conduct around 1000 sample testing per month with a quick turnaround time and high-quality reports. The new laboratory is located at West Apcar Garden, GT Road (West), Paschim Bardhaman, Asansol.
Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon has entered into a definitive agreement with its partner Viatris. Accordingly, Biocon Biologics will acquire Viatris’ biosimilars business to create a unique fully integrated global biosimilars enterprise. Viatris will receive consideration of up to $3.335 billion, including cash up to $2.335 billion and Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) in BBL, valued at $1 billion.
The Board of Directors of both companies have approved the transaction.
Velocity Clinical Research invests in Indian tech, acquires TrierHealth
US-based fully integrated clinical site organisation Velocity Clinical Research announced its acquisition of TrierHealth, a digital clinical trials platform whose R&D team operates out of Hyderabad, to develop patient-focussed technology. TrierHealth’s founder, Raghu Punnamraju, will become Velocity’s, Chief Technology Officer. Velocity Clinical Research operates 30 locations across the US and will expand to other regions this year, adopting a hybrid solution of both brick-and-mortar sites plus technology elements to facilitate greater patient recruitment into clinical research globally, speeding up drug development.
Advanced centre for sports medicine opens at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road
Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road has launched North Mumbai’s first dedicated sports medicine diagnosis, rehabilitation, and surgery facility as a dedicated centre. Present on the occasion were Soniya Rajage, Freestyle wrestling Champion, Nikhil Sports personality & Instagram star, and other professionals from training institutes and gyms.
Binnopharm Group to acquire two anti-bacterial brands from Dr Reddy’s in Russia, CIS region
The Sistema Group company, Binnopharm Group, a leading pharmaceutical production company in Russia via its affiliate Joint Stock Company ‘Alium’, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories announced the signing of a deal that will allow Binnopharm Group to acquire anti-bacterial medicines under the Ciprolet and Levolet brands from Dr Reddy’s in Russia, Uzbekistan and Belarus. The portfolio includes various dosage forms such as tablets, solutions for infusions and eye drops.
Apollo Hospitals Group during the tie up with 8 Chili.inc
Apollo Hospitals Group ties up with 8chili
Apollo Hospitals Group has announced a unique collaboration with 8chili to enable engagement in the metaverse, in the first-of-its-kind initiative. Virtual reality will provide an immersive experience that has been proven to increase patient engagement and skill mastery for handson training.
… forays into Uzbekistan
Apollo Hospitals has forayed into Uzbekistan with the signing of an MoU with Marafon Group for setting up a tertiary care hospital. In line with the mission to promote development in their native country, Marafon Group, is being led by a team of young entrepreneurs who are guided by spirit of change and growth. The Marafon Group already operates over nine medical and diagnostic centres. Now with this partnership with Apollo Hospitals for the tertiary care hospital, it will provide quality healthcare for over 60 million people of Uzbekistan and bordering regions of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Redcliffe Labs, also known as Redcliffe Life Diagnostics, has recently appointed Abhay Singavi as Chief Business Officer (CBO). In Abhay Singavi
his role, Abhay Singavi will be responsible to execute the company’s business strategy, driving the overall growth and performance of key business units as a strategy, operations and business transformation lead. Singavi brings with him an extensive experience of around 15 years. He has worked with Narayana Health as CEO leading the preventive health division of the company. Thereafter, Abhay worked as P&L Head in Medanta and Policy Bazaar. Singavi's most recent stint was as CBO at Healthians.
All India Institute of Ayurveda launches ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’
In line with the Central Government’s initiative to support start-ups, the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in association with Startup India has launched ‘Ayush Start-up challenge’ to encourage earlystage start-ups and individuals working on innovations in the Ayurveda sector and alternative healing. The winners of ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’ will receive both a cash prize and incubation support from AIIA.
There are three entry categories for participating start-ups – Ayush Food Innovations, Ayush Bio-instrumentation (Hardware solutions) and Ayush IT Solutions (Software solutions). There will be two winners in each of the three categories with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for the winner and Rs 50,000 for the runner-up. Therefore overall, there would be six winners.
Crysta IVF opens two centres in Bengaluru
Crysta IVF has started service at its two Bengaluru centre. Crysta IVF aims to make quality fertility treatments accessible to couples and individuals across the country. In collaboration with Parency IVF Hospital and Mannat Fertility Centre located in Jayanagar and Marathahalli in Bengaluru respectively, both centres are equipped with world-class treatments to help couples start their families. These two centres host various treatments such as IVF, IUI, embryology, which are effective and affordable. The cost of IVF treatment varies for each fertility case depending on various factors such as Amount of stimulation required, age, freezing of eggs or sperms, usage of advanced fertility treatment such as laser-assisted hatching, ICSI, Tesa etc. Both the centres in Bengaluru are well-equipped with advanced technology to cure different types of infertility problems.
Rahul Guha to join Thyrocare Technologies as MD & CEO
API Group-backed Thyrocare Technologies has announced the appointment of Rahul Guha as the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer w.e.f May 16, 2022. A graduate of IIM-B, Rahul Guha joins API Group to head its diagnostics business. Guha has spent almost 17 years at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he has led the Health Care & Life Sciences practice.
Rahul Guha
Before joining BCG, Guha has been the co-founder and CEO of Nautilus Software and the Chief Technology Office (CTO) at ValuePay.com where he was responsible for product development in the US Market. He has extensive project experience in MedTech and HealthTech and has worked closely with multiple startups on their digital incubation. He has been an active contributor to the pharma sector and has over two decades of experience.
Proteon Pharma appoints Paolo Doncecchi as Global Sales Director
Proteon Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Proteon Pharmaceuticals Poland, has appointed Paolo Doncecchi as its Global Sales Director as its expansion plans in India and other South-East Region. With over 30 years of experience in marketing and sales, Doncecchi has led several sales and marketing positions at global biotechnology companies such as Pfizer, Zoetis, Biomin and Adisseo in animal health and nutrition. Paolo, an Italian national, has completed his university degree in veterinary medicine. He recently became a member of Insight Partners, American venture capital and private equity firm based in New York City that invests in growth-stage technology, software and Internet businesses.
Jubilant Ingrevia commissions new facility for diketenes and derivatives
Jubilant Ingrevia announced the commissioning of its new Diketene derivatives facility at its manufacturing site in North India at Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh. The newly commissioned facility marks the entry of Jubilant Ingrevia into the fastgrowing Diketene business portfolio. This reiterates Jubilant Ingrevia;s commitment towards growth through its integrated business model, by providing value-added products and innovative solutions to its customers.
Medtronic bags US FDA approval for Freezor and Freezor Xtra Cardiac Cryoablation catheters
Medtronic announced that the Freezor and Freezor Xtra Cardiac Cryoablation Catheters are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are the only ablation catheters approved to treat the growing prevalence of pediatric Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia (AVNRT). The Freezor and Freezor Xtra Catheters are flexible, single-use devices used to freeze cardiac tissue and block unnecessary electrical signals within the heart. The Freezor family enables safe and effective focal cryoablation therapy and has treated more than 140,000 patients across 67 countries. Cryoablation can reduce the risk of permanent AV block, a complication of AVNRT procedures performed with radiofrequency (RF) ablations that results in the partial or complete interruption of the heart’s electrical signals, which dangerously disrupts heart rhythm.
Hinduja Global Solutions wins Rs 2,100 Cr contract from the UK Health Security Agency
Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) announced that its subsidiary HGS UK has been selected by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to provide critical customer support to UK citizens for an initial period of two years, with an option to extend further. The partnership is already underway having launched earlier last week, and the contract could be worth up to £211 million (Rs 2,100 crores) across the term of the contract, employing over 2,000 Work@Home positions across the UK.
The UKHSA is responsible for NHS Test & Trace and this contract will assist with future contact tracing needs for COVID-19 and other health security risks such as a large flu outbreak or new pandemic. The advertised cost of the contract is the maximum that can be spent, and the total could be less.
Dr Vishal Khullar
Cardiologist Dr Vishal Khullar from Mayo Clinic joins Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital
Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai recently announced the appointment of Dr Vishal Khullar as Director of cardiothoracic surgery, heart and lung transplants. After completion of his super-specialisation in cardiac surgery
in India, Dr Khullar honed his skills at world’s topmost medical institutions Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland and Mayo Clinic, Rochester in the US. Dr Khullar has performed and participated in over 7000 general cardiac procedures including bypass surgeries, valve replacement, complex surgeries of the aorta (including Aortic Root Replacement, Ascending Aortic Replacement and Aortic Arch Reconstruction) and Heart and Lung Transplants at these prestigious institutions.
GOQii raises $50 million Series C Funding
GOQii announced its Series C funding round of $50 million led by Sumeru Ventures. GOQii is a smart-tech-enabled healthcare platform that brings together the entire preventive healthcare ecosystem to its users. The company has raised funding across equity, preference shares, notes and debt. The equity round was led by Sumeru Ventures. Sumeru Ventures is a global fund with a focus on next-generation technology areas. GOQii would use the funding to grow the insurance and digital therapeutics vertical in India.
Ayu Health Hospitals acquires SwasthyaSewak network of hospitals in Jaipur
Ayu Health Hospitals, a network of 40+ hospitals across India has announced its maiden entry into Jaipur, via acquisition, adding a network of 16+ hospitals to its portfolio. The company has acquired Jaipur-based SwasthyaSewak. Through this acquisition, Ayu Health will add 1000 beds to provide localised primary and tertiary medical care for citizens of Jaipur. This apart, the Founder of SwasthyaSewak, Yashu Kapoor has joined Ayu Health in the capacity of Head of Growth and will be based out of Delhi NCR.
Ayu Health has recently raised its Series-A funding of $6.3 million from Vertex Ventures and Stellaris Venture Partners in September 2021. With the addition of 5,000 plus beds in multiple locations across India, the organization is expected to grow the business by 10 times in FY2022.
Launch of liver transplant centre Fortis Hospital, Vadapalani launches liver transplant centre
The dedicated centre will provide comprehensive and holistic liver care to patients
Fortis Healthcare is now bringing its 17+ years of legacy in liver care to Fortis Vadapalani, Chennai by launching a stateof-the-art Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary and Liver transplant centre. The centre was inaugurated by the liver transplant surgeon in South Asia Dr Vivek Vij in the presence of Dr Sanjay Pandey and Dr Puneet Dargan. The dedicated centre will provide comprehensive and holistic liver care to patients.
The state-of-the-art liver centre is equipped with advanced technology and 24x7 accessibility to expert doctors. The dedicated HPB and liver transplant centre will be headed by Dr Vivek Vij, Chairman -Advanced Surgical GI, HPB & Liver Transplant and his team of experts. Voxtur Bio launches
exchanges, Panacea Biotec said that its board approved the decision to sell the domestic formulations business including formulations brands in India and Nepal, related trademarks, copyrights etc of its subsidiary Panacea Biotec Pharma to Mankind Pharma for Rs 1908 crore (exclusive of taxes). Panacea Biotec Pharma and Mankind Pharma entered into a binding term sheet on January 31.
MaxiVision forays into Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
MaxiVision Eye Hospitals, one of the largest eye care networks in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have announced their expansion plans to neighbouring states, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. MaxiVision will introduce Femto Robotic cataract, the state of the art technology for the first time in Tamil Nadu.
Mankind to buy domestic formulation biz of Panacea Biotech for Rs 1908 Cr
Mankind Pharma has agreed to buy the domestic formulations business of Panacea Biotec Pharma, a subsidiary of Sputnik V maker Panacea Biotec for Rs 1,908 crore. In a notification to the stock
VoxPress COVID-19
Mumbai-based Voxtur Bio has launched an advanced point of care rapid neutralising antibody test kit VoxPress COVID-19 for detecting neutralising antibodies. The neutralising antibody rapid test is the fastest and most convenient test format that gives information on the presence or absence of a neutralising antibody. The plaque reduction neutralising test
VoxPress COVID-19 test kit
and Elisa methods are very expensive and require sophisticated instruments and trained person to perform the test. On the other hand, VoxPress COVID-19 neutralising antibody is a lateral flow test that detects IgG antibodies to spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, from a small finger prick of blood in only 15 minutes.
West Pharma appoints Ravikrishna Chebolu as GM India
West Pharmaceutical Services, a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration announced the appointment of Ravikrishna Chebolu as GM of its India operations. With more than 20 years of relevant commercial and general management experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, Chebolu will lead West’s cross-functional India leadership team to drive further growth for the business and deliver strategic plans for India.
… partners with IIT Palakkad’s TECHNIC for research centre
West Pharmaceutical Services recently announced its partnership with TECHNIC – a Technology Innovation Foundation of IIT Palakkad which focuses on assisting innovation and incubation for budding entrepreneurs, to build a Medtech Research Center of Excellence. The aim of building a distinctive Medtech Research Center of Excellence is to enable access to healthcare and medical technology by developing an ecosystem of academia, hospitals, and the industry to promote local entrepreneurship. To achieve this objective, West’s medical expertise with IIT’s unique incubation model will be combined to advance research and development in medical technology.
Aster Guardians Global Nursing Awards will be held in Dubai on International Nurses Day on May 12, 2022. One outstanding performer in the field of nursing will claim the grand prize of $250,000 while nine other finalists would share the stage to receive a substantial award each. Aster DM Healthcare has brought on board a lineup of some of the world’s leaders in healthcare as Grand jury namely, Howard Catton – Chief Executive Officer, International Council of Nurses, Switzerland; Prof Sheila Tlou – Co-Chairperson, Global HIV Prevention Coalition and Ex-Minister of Health & Member of Parliament – Govt of Botswana; Prof James Buchan – Adjunct Professor, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing; Muralee Thummarukudy, Acting Head, Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Global Support Branch, United Nations Environment Programme, Switzerland; and Dr Carolyn Gomes, Executive Director, Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), Jamaica.
Mankind Pharma acquires two brands from Dr Reddy’s Laboratories
Mankind Pharma has partnered with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to acquire two of its brands Combihale and Daffy. Combihale is used for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The market for this category is valued at ~ Rs 900 crores growing at 14 per cent (IQVIA). The acquisition of Combihale is expected to strengthen Mankind’s presence in the inhalation respiratory market segment. Daffy is a soap-free moisturising bar for infant babies. The total market for this category is valued at ~ Rs 1000 crores growing at 18 per cent (IQVIA).
IGBA sets up CEO Advisory Committee
The International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (IGBA) has established a CEO Advisory Committee consisting of 13 leading multinational companies from Canada, Europe, India, Israel, Japan, and the US. The committee members are:
Chirag Patel, President and CoChief Executive Officer – Amneal Pharmaceuticals; Jeff Watson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Apotex; Pankaj Patel, Chairman, Cadila Healthcare; Samina Hamied, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Cipla; Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Lucas Sigman, Chief Executive Officer, Insud Pharma; Vinita Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, – Lupin; Richard Saynor, Chief Executive Officer, Sandoz; Peter Goldschmidt, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Executive Board – STADA Arzneimittel; Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries; Kåre Schultz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries; David Peix, Chief Executive Officer, Towa Pharma International Holdings; Michael Goettler, Chief Executive Officer, Viatris.
Launch of 100 bed covid ICU at Narayana Health City
Narayana Health, Goldman Sachs launch 100-bed COVID-ICU at Narayana Health City
Narayana Health has expanded its COVID ICU facilities. The company in association with Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment bank, and its non-profit partner United Way Bengaluru, has launched a modern 100-bed COVID ICU facility at its flagship unit, Narayana Health City in Bengaluru. The facility was inaugurated by Sourav Ganguly, President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Former National Cricket Team Captain in the presence of Sonjoy Chatterjee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs in India, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Founder & Chairman, Narayana Health and Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson & Founder, Biocon.
Health startup Proactive For Her raises $5.5 M in Series A Round
Proactive For Her, a digital clinic for women’s outpatient healthcare, has raised $5.5 Million in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia and India with participation from existing investor Nexus Venture Partners. The funds will be used to expand digital product offerings, grow their online customer base, and launch their flagship clinic in Bengaluru. By March 2022, Proactive For Her will launch their flagship offline clinic in Indiranagar, Bengaluru as the next step in their journey towards providing full-stack clinical care to women.
Insurtech HealthySure raises $1.2 M
Insurtech start-up HealthySure has raised $1.2 million (Rs 9 crore approx.) in a PreSeries A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The round also saw participation from We Founder Circle, Dexter Angels, Campus Fund, HEM Angels and other private investors. The funds will be used to further fuel its mission of offering innovative and affordable group health insurance led solutions to the Indian workforce and their families.
Mpower-Center opens at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Pune
Mpower launched its latest Mpower-Center in Pune at the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital. Located on the third floor, in the A Wing at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, the Mpower Center was inaugurated by Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower in the virtual presence of chief Guest Dattatray Bharane, State Minister of PWD, Soil & Water Conservation, Forest, General Administration, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, Fishery; Guardian Minister – Solapur and Rekha Dubey, CEO, Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital.
TPG-backed Asia Healthcare Holdings raises $170 M from Singapore’s GIC
Asia Healthcare Holdings, the single speciality healthcare delivery platform backed by TPG Growth, has signed definitive documentation for a $170 million investment from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. The investment is one of the largest in the single-speciality healthcare services sector in India. Incubated by TPG Growth in 2016 under the leadership of Vishal Bali, AHH owns and operates South Asia’s largest singlespeciality healthcare delivery platform with a unique approach to growing and scaling various single-speciality healthcare companies under one enterprise. GIC’s partnership with TPG will help AHH add more healthcare enterprises to its network. To date, AHH has invested approximately $200 million across single-speciality healthcare enterprises in oncology, mother and childcare, and Fertility. Under AHH, these entities have established market leadership in their respective verticals and regions.
Micro-Tech Endoscopy launches self-expanding Y-Shaped tracheal stent system
Micro-Tech Endoscopy has introduced the first self-expanding tracheobronchial nitinol y-stent. The Y-Shaped Tracheal Stent System is designed to be a flexible, compliant device to aid in the treatment of malignant neoplasms at the tracheobronchial carina. Micro-Tech Endoscopy has introduced the first selfexpanding tracheobronchial nitinol y-stent. The Y-Shaped Tracheal Stent System is designed to be a flexible, compliant device to aid in the treatment of malignant neoplasms at the tracheobronchial carina.
Carestream India launches advanced digital radiology solution The DRX Compass
Carestream Health India has launched The DRX Compass, an accurate, convenient and configurable digital radiology solution designed to provide radiologists with a whole new level of efficiency. Additionally, DRX Compass offers the versatility to build the desired configuration from a wide range of selections in detectors, tubes, generators, tables, collimators, giving radiology facilities full control over
The DRX Compass to the separation of approximately 400 employees of NIL due to role redundancies. We understand the implications of this difficult decision on those impacted and their loved ones and we are extending a severance package along with outplacement services.
how they can use this future-proof digital radiology technology.
Aster Labs launches advanced pathology lab in Visakhapatnam
Aster Labs, the diagnostic wing of Aster DM Healthcare has announced the launch of its pathology lab in Visakhapatnam, Maddilapalem, Andhra Pradesh. Aster Labs Visakhapatnam will soon be equipped to perform the Covid-19 RT-PCR test and will provide accurate results in less than 12 hours to patients.
Health-tech startup My Family First to open 500 digitally-enabled clinics in rural areas
Delhi-based health-tech startup My Family First intends to open 500 Digitally Enabled Smart Health (DESH) clinics in rural areas across the country in the next two years to connect patients in remote villages and towns with medical specialists in the metro cites. The company has opened 30 DESH clinics across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madya Pradesh through the franchising route. The DESH Clinics comprise India’s first integrated telehealth service. These use digital technology and IoT-based devices to directly connect doctors in cities with patients in the rural hinterland, solving the problem of scarcity of qualified doctors in villages and semiurban regions. Patients can benefit from the best medical advice right at their doorsteps at affordable prices and do not need to travel to cities.
Novartis India announced an exclusive sales and distribution agreement with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (Dr. Reddy’s) for a few of its Established Medicines which includes the Voveran range, the Calcium range and Methergine.
This arrangement aims to further broaden access of these medicines beyond the current geographies to benefit many more patients, more efficiently, by significantly extending the reach of healthcare professionals through an expanded field force.
This strategic business decision is leading
Union Labour & Employment Minister lays foundation of 500bed hospital in Manesar
Union Labour and Employment, Forest, Environment & Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav laid down the foundation stone of 500 bed-hospital of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in Manesar, Haryana. Keeping the need of Nursing staff in ESIC Hospitals, the minister announced to open a nursing college in Manesar. The announcement was welcomed by Haryana CM with the commitment of providing five-acre land for this nursing college.
Cloudnine appoints three independent directors
Cloudnine has announced the appointment of three new independent directors to its board. Nupur Garg, a leading investor in private equity and venture capital space and founder of WinPE, Lizzie Chapman, an entrepreneur pioneering ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ in India and CEO & Co-Founder of ZestMoney and Parthasarathy VS, Vice Chairman and Non- Executive, Non-Independent Director on the board of Allcargo logistics and Independent Director with LIC of India and mentor to several start-ups.
Opening ceremony of Govt Junior College at Somalingapuram
Aurobindo Pharma Foundation opens Govt Junior College at Somalingapuram, AP
Aurobindo Pharma Foundation launched a newly constructed Government Junior College building at Somalingapuram village and panchayat, Merakamudidam Mandal, Vizianagaram district. The college building consists of 12 classrooms that include a laboratory room beside a staff room, principal room, cycle shed, separate toilet blocks for girls, boys and staff, compound wall and other infrastructure.
Skye Air Mobility in partnership with Redcliffe Labs
Skye Air Mobility, a drone delivery logistics provider has signed a long term agreement with Redcliffe Labs based out of Delhi- NCR. The partnership in the diagnostics space is for a faster supply chain for sample collection to cater to urban, semi-urban and remote corners of the country using drone delivery technology. Skye Air will conduct BVLOS drone delivery trials in a select corridor and subsequently followed by commercial roll-outs in several urban and remote locations in India. Around 30-40 test flights will be conducted from Redcliffe Lab’s National Reference Lab in Noida from mid-February onwards. The engagement shall also capture deploying drones in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K and North Eastern states.
CEPI, THSTI, Panacea Biotec partner for Betacoronavirus vaccines
CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, announced the latest award under its $200m programme, launched in March 2021, to advance the development of vaccines that provide broad protection against SARS-Cov-2 variants and other Betacoronaviruses. CEPI will partner with a consortium comprised of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and Panacea Biotec, a researchbased biopharmaceutical company and vaccine manufacturer, to develop vaccine candidates that could provide broad protection against SARS-Cov-2 variants and other Betacoronaviruses.
Pfizer board appoints Pradip Shah as Chairman
The Pfizer Limited Board of Directors appointed Pradip Shah as the Chairman of the Board of Pfizer. Shah has been on the Board of Pfizer since December 1999 and has been guiding the board and management on various financial and strategic decisions.
Shah is the ex-Managing Director of CRISIL. Before founding CRISIL, Shah assisted in founding the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in 1977. Shah has also served as a consultant to USAID, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. He is a Director on the Board of several reputed companies and is also a member of various prestigious committees/commissions. Shah is presently the Chairman of Indasia Fund Advisors. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, is a Chartered Accountant and a Cost Accountant and ranked first in India in the Chartered Accountancy Examination.
Pradip Shah
BC Platforms announces data partnership with Mitsubishi Space Software
BC Platforms (BCP), a global leader in healthcare data management and analytics, has announced a new data partnership with Japan's Mitsubishi Space Software. The collaboration, which provides secure access to Mitsubishi's cancer specific cohort of 8,000 patients, will accelerate the provision of cancer genetic data analysis services to medical institutions for cancer research, the company said.
As part of the collaboration, Mitsubishi joins BCP's BCRQUEST network, which is revolutionising drug development and personalising care. This global, federated data partner network enables analytics and deeper insights. BCP has built this network, which reaches over 22 million patient lives in the catchment area, and data partners across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific to enable the realization of the full potential of realworld data.
Saffron-based eye care product ENTOD Pharma introduces saffron-based eye care product
ENTOD Pharmaceuticals, a researchbased pharmaceutical organisation has come up with a saffron-based eye care supplement, MACUSAFF capsule in India. Manufactured from 100 per cent DNA certified Persian origin natural saffron extract with guaranteed 5 per cent crocins and specially imported from France. The natural eye supplement helps with various eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa.
FABA presents awards to contributors in bio technology
Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) has announced the recipients of this year’s prestigious FABA Awards, which was named after Dr BS Bajaj last year, for their contributions to the advancement in biotechnology. Dr BS Bajaj Memorial FABA Special Award-2022 will be conferred upon Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E for introducing Corbevax vaccine in augmenting the global collective fight against COVID-19 and BP Acharya, Patron, FABA has been selected for the FABA Lifetime Achievement Award for his notable contributions to AIBA (All India Biotech Associations) and FABA. The awards will be conferred during the 19th edition of BioAsia, the largest annual global Biotechnology and Life Sciences summit of Asia, organised by the Government of Telangana and FABA.
Self-disinfecting, biodegradable face mask ARCI scientists develop self-disinfecting, biodegradable face mask
Scientists at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, in collaboration with the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and Resil Chemicals, a Bengaluru-based company have developed the self-disinfecting copper-based nanoparticle-coated antiviral face masks under the DST sponsored Nano-Mission project, to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. ARCI developed copper-based nanoparticles of around 20 nanometres by a Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) processing facility. FSP process involves the conversion of solution precursors into nanopowders by hightemperature pyrolytic decomposition. Stable nanoparticle suspension was obtained by optimising the solid loading and pH. A uniform layer of this nanocoating on the cotton fabric with good adhesion was achieved using a suitable binder.
Glenmark, SaNOtize launch FabiSpray in India
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Canadian pharmaceutical company SaNOtize Research & Development Corp announced the launch of its Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray under the brand name FabiSpray in India; for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 who have a high risk of progression of the disease. Glenmark earlier received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for NONS as part of the accelerated approval process.
Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital partners with Karkinos Healthcare for cancer care
Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital has partnered with Karkinos Healthcare to promote early detection of cancer in Mumbai among the under-privileged communities. The community outreach programme will be conducted to screen 2,00,000 people for cancer in and across Mumbai, along with a managed cancer care delivery system. The screening services will be provided for free to the under-privileged communities under this initiative. The initiative will provide access to potentially life-saving cancer Screening facilities to those belonging to economically backward categories, as they are the ones who need such facilities the most, due to a lack of awareness and funds for such tests. These tests can help detect specific types of cancer before signs and symptoms arise. The primary objectives of cancer screening are to save lives that are taken by cancer and to prevent cancer deaths altogether through early detection.
Aster CMI Hospital with Datar Cancer Genetics launch cancer care
Aster CMI Hospital in association with Datar Cancer Genetics, a leading cancer research company launched a comprehensive
cancer screening Programme. The hospital is bringing in EasyCheck360 (multiple cancers), EasyCheck FemmeSafe (women’s) and EasyCheck Prostrate cancer screening tests. EasyCheck is a revolutionary, radiation-free, globally recognised simple blood test for early cancer detection. It is clinically validated by one of the world’s largest clinical trials registered with the WHO clinical Trial Registry brought to you by Datar Cancer Genetics.
NITI Aayog, USAID collaborate to accelerate health innovation in India
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new partnership under the Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH) initiative, which will improve access to affordable and quality healthcare for vulnerable populations in Tier-II and III cities, and rural and tribal regions. The new partnership announced will enhance SAMRIDH’s efforts to reach vulnerable populations, leveraging AIM’s expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship. AIM and SAMRIDH will leverage philanthropic capital, and public sector resources to offset barriers for commercial investments in small and medium health enterprises to invest in and scale healthcare solutions. A vision centre
Standard Chartered funds 20 vision centres across five districts of UP and Bihar
Standard Chartered Bank has joined hands with Mission for Vision for setting up 20 new vision centres (VCs) in several districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar under the Seeing is Believing and Mission Jyot programmes respectively. Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust and Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital are the other two partners in this project which is expected to cater to a population coverage of one million people.
Venus Remedies joins AMRIA to combat imminent health threat
Venus Remedies has joined the league of over 100 globally renowned organisations as a member of the AMR Industry Alliance (AMRIA) in continuation of its commitment to developing solutions to combat the grave public health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Alliance membership comprises R&D-based pharmaceutical, generics, diagnostics and biotechnology companies, apart from industry associations. Together, they have collectively invested over $1.9 billion in AMR-relevant R&D in FY 2020. In addition to promoting innovation to prevent, diagnose and treat drug-resistant infections, this global coalition is checking the emergence of resistance through appropriate use, addressing barriers to patient access to appropriate drugs and advancing responsible manufacturing.
AstraZeneca expands ‘Young Health Programme’ to Bengaluru
AstraZeneca, a science-led biopharmaceutical company, and Plan India, an NGO striving to improve the lives of millions of children and young people, signed an MoU to expand its ‘Young Health Programme’ (YHP) in the state of Karnataka. YHP aims to reduce the uptake of unhealthy behaviours in young people to improve their health outcomes as adults and help address the growing burden of NCDs on health systems. YHP established 15 ‘Health Information Centres’ in Delhi, two in Chennai and will be launching three in the communities around Mahadevpura, Dasarahalli and Yelahanka in Bengaluru. In this first year in Karnataka, YHP aims to reach 50,000 adolescents and build a strong foundation to scale up the project in the years to come.
Manipal Hospitals has launched ‘For Women, By Women’, a video consultation platform where women can come forward to discuss all their health needs with the women practitioners at the hospital. The platform addresses any problems that females are likely to face, from a lump or swelling in the armpit, discomfort, mental fatigue, tiredness, loss of weight, missed period, headache, to psychologicalemotional disorders. Moreover, it has been curated for their comfort with an easy 2-step registration process and assures 100 per cent confidentiality. It is time for women to open their deepest worries and find comfort in the arms of women specialists at Manipal Hospitals. the approval and launch of CoviSwift – the world’s first point of care high throughput solution for COVID-19. CoviSwift is the first POC testing solution that can be used at small labs, in-hospital labs, airports, villages and allow gold standard testing at high throughputs anywhere. The solution comprises the CoviSwift assay and Compact-Q machines which process 16 samples within 40 minutes. This is approximately four times faster than the traditional method of RT-PCR testing while maintaining the gold standard accuracy. Mylab has developed software to interpret the results automatically without any expertise in molecular diagnostics. The user just needs to take the nasal sample into tubes, mix and put it into the Compact Q, as simple as a selftest. It will be available in a pack of single tests with all components so that labs do not need to manage reagent storage and logs. CoviSwift comes with a shelf life of 24 months at room temperature – the first in its category – making it a truly made-for -India product.
Kriya Medical Technologies receives manufacturing license for KRIVIDA Novus RTPCR Kit
Chennai-headquartered Kriya Medical Technologies has received its manufacturing license from the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) for its product KRIVIDA Novus, an RT-PCR kit that can detect the Omicron variant and its sub-lineages in 45 minutes. Priced at Rs 150 +taxes, the test is affordable and most suitable for entry point screening at airports. The kit is compatible with Real-Time PCR machines with a test run time of roughly 45 minutes. It provides an early report to aid diagnosis and also gives precise variants to enable appropriate treatment. KRIVIDA Novus will be produced at Kriya’s state-of-theart manufacturing facility in Oragadam in Chennai. The company currently has a production capacity of 5 million tests per month and plans to increase it to 10 million tests per month within the next two weeks.
Eclat Health to expand in Tier-II and III cities
Eclat Health Solutions, a leading healthcare technology-services company, headquartered in Washington DC and a base at Hyderabad has announced its ambitious expansion plans to tier-II and tier-III cities as well as existing two centres in the Telangana. Backed by Private Equity Investor Gulf Capital, Eclat Health Solutions is embarked on a growth strategy. It is now planning to add another 1400 employees in the next 18 months. These will be added at two existing locations one at Hyderabad and another at Karimnagar. At present, it has 800 people working in Hyderabad and 200 at Karimnagar. Now it is adding 300 at Karimnagar and 600 at Hyderabad.
Mylab Discovery Solutions launches CoviSwift
Mylab Discovery Solutions has announced
Pristyn Care doubles its surgical centres
Pristyn Care, a health technology start-up specialising in secondary-care surgeries, has doubled its surgical centres to 800 in 2021. Pristyn Care surgical centres are now functional across the seven metro
cities – Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata – and 35 tier II & III cities across the country. Operating in over 12 surgical categories such as general surgery, ophthalmology, ENT, urology, gynaecology, – Pristyn Care has successfully treated over 60k patients and completed 1Mn+ patient interactions. Pristyn Care operates on an innovative full-stack Care Delivery model to ensure that high-quality surgical care is offered to patients at an affordable cost. It achieves this through its policy of using the underutilised OT and bed capacity available at its partner hospitals. The company invests in high-end medical technology like diode lasers, Microdebriders, phacolasers, 3D meshes, coblators and mini-port laparoscopy kits and many more such advanced equipment.
NephroPlus launches apps for better dialysis care
NephroPlus has launched two apps for dialysis patients and nephrologists. The first-of-its-kind innovation consists of a Patient App and a Nephrologist App, available on both Android and iOS, where important information related to patient medical history and dialysis, in general, is available at the fingertips. With the Patient app, NephroPlus patients can now book dialysis sessions with just a few taps, book holiday dialysis sessions anywhere in India, get access to the largest directory of dialysis friendly recipes, access prescriptions and investigation results, consult a dietician for free, pay for sessions without having to carry cash and cards to the dialysis centre and book video consults with nephrologists. Nephrologists can see the entire clinical history of their patients through the app.
New South Wales (NSW) will leverage its world-class cell and gene therapy expertise to establish Australia’s first commercialscale viral vector manufacturing facility at Westmead. Premier Dominic Perrottet, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Minister for Jobs, Investment, and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government is now seeking partners to co-invest.
“New South Wales has led the nation investing over $120 million to expand its advanced biomanufacturing footprint, including $25 million to develop our viral vector capability,” Perrottet said.
Viral vector technology delivers genetic material into cells and has been in use since the 1970s. The planned viral vector manufacturing facility in NSW will provide ground-breaking trial therapies for infections, cancer and genetic diseases.
Hazzard said the NSW Government will be seeking interest from companies with commercial and biotechnology expertise to co-invest in the Westmead-based facility.
“With gene therapies and COVID-19 vaccines straining global manufacturing capacity in recent years, viral vector manufacturing services are in high demand worldwide,” Mr Hazzard said.
“In Australia alone, we have two million people living with a genetic disease. Local production will ensure we can run more research trials and increase treatment options.”
Ayres said the facility will manufacture high-quality clinical grade viral vectors and will serve the Australian, broader Asia-Pacific and global markets.
“The gene therapy and cell therapy sectors are experiencing phenomenal growth and upscaling our viral vector manufacturing will keep NSW at the forefront of this industry,” Mr Ayres said.
“Westmead Health and Innovation District is a recognised hub for innovative research and this facility will boost jobs for NSW and provide access to new groundbreaking therapies and treatments.”
Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens said the NSW Government was committed to fostering world-class medical research.
“NSW is leading the nation in this space and we want to harness our cutting-edge research and development and continue to create an innovative, diversified and globally competitive economy,” Mr Henskens said.
Expressions of Interest for co-investment have now commenced. IIT Madras Research Team
IIT Madras research team identifies gene/protein variation that increases risk of metabolic diseases
An Indian Institute of Technology Madrasled International Research Team has identified a gene/protein variation present among Indians and other South Asians that increased their risk of diabetes, heart attacks and hypertension. The multiinstitutional and multi-disciplinary team of researchers found that this variation was present in approximately 15 per cent of Indian and other South Asian populations. The researchers also found that people carrying this variant are 1.5 times more likely to have hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease. This combination could account for the higher prevalence of metabolic diseases among Indians and other South Asians.
Elanpro forays into South India
Elanpro, a leading commercial refrigeration company, announced the launch of its first Experience Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana. Spread across 500 sq ft, the experience centre is located in Madhapur.
Establishing its footprint in Southern India, Elanpro is expanding its business and growing its presence across India. The newly launched experience centre will give its customers access to bio-medical sector
Launch of Experience Centre in Hyderabad apart from other sectors. Additionally, qualified experts/representatives at the store will give users product demos.
Consisting of advanced technology, energy efficiency, and good quality, Elanpro’s finest Commercial Refrigerators are designed ergonomically, giving its product an aesthetic look. The bio-medical range is equipped with best-in-class technology maintaining the temperature and efficacy of all medical products. In addition to this, Elanpro has displayed its temperature monitoring device, ‘Thingif(y),’ which is put in all of its products and keeps the temperature of all units’ constant.
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JANUARY 2022, VOLUME 6 ISSUE 01 `200
Radiology and Business
FEBRUARY 2022, VOLUME 6 ISSUE 02 `200
Making a Difference in Cancer Care
APPROACH What Holds Back Radiologists’ Productivity Advances in Radiodiagnosis and Imaging FEATURE Photon CT changing the CT Scan Space INNOVATE The Revolutionary Journey of Radiology – From an Accident to a Futuristic Science IMPACT
INTERVIEW New Age Cancer Screening and Diagnosis APPROACH Oncology Management FEATURE Preventable Cancers in Females SPECIAL FEATURE Cancer Treatment Comes of Age in West Bengal
EdTech and how it's influencing the current environment
Wendy Dsouza, Senior VP, Enterprise Ireland and Education in Ireland EdTech has revolutionised how the education industry is currently functioning. Not just our classrooms, but also training programmes in our offices had to go online overnight. All this was unimaginable 18 months ago. The EdTech industry uses digital technology to deliver a new form of learning architecture. It is instrumental in driving all kinds of pathbreaking changes to our environment, and has emerged as a sought after, dynamic, but also a lucrative business.
For instance, there is a product that enables educators to create a “learning DNA” profile of each student. The software has been built to continually adapt content and resources according to their performance, style of learning and interests. This intuitive product can help educators develop content tailored for their students. With EdTech, the barriers have been blurred, and ease of access to content has been possible to a greater number of people. But yes, consumers are looking for quality over quantity now. Artificial Intelligence, automation and digitalisation are redefining norms in education as more efficient and engaging forms of educational delivery channels emerge. a life-long learner, and education is no longer something you leave behind after your schooling. Ambitious and careeroriented professionals are expected to keep up with current trends and developments, and sometimes even to re-train for a new career in their middle age. Upskilling and reskilling is the need of the hour. Thankfully, advancements and innovations in educational technology offer professionals the flexibility to study while they work with minimum disturbance to their working life.
Even though the mode of delivery of education training keeps changing, there remain some constants: students will always need teachers and professionals, the trainer. But as in other sectors undergoing rapid technological advancement, only those teachers/ trainers who can use IT to increase productivity and performance will prosper.
In the light of this, it’s fortunate that India has a young, employable population eager to attain training and certification. There is also a growing demand for reskilling, hence even with the economy opening up and normalcy slowly returning, remote learning is here to stay.
EdTech is allowing a hybrid model to thrive. This is the definite future for not only educational institutions but also corporates. But a hybrid model has its challenges with limited resources. The resources must be optimally divided between face-to-face interactions, which impose highest cost on institutions and corporates, and asynchronous virtual learning, which lower costs.
The biggest segment in EdTech is K-12, with LMS leading its way followed by corporate training, test preparation, etc. In the future, we will see a growing demand for teacher training, performance monitoring, upskilling of hobbies and interests, gamification of content and also AI proctoring. We will also see a growth in semi-urban and rural population-focussed products as Internet and smartphone devices increasingly penetrate these areas.
EdTech is enabling personalised and adaptive learning. Online platforms offer flexible and convenient learning environments which allow students to learn at their own pace. Adaptive learning ensures that students are engaged in a way that brings out the best results. Cloud-based EdTech platforms are additionally gaining popularity. Academic content, online assessments, school management, parent-teacher communication, etc. which are cloudbased will help real-time tracking, instant reports and much more.
While the pandemic has given the EdTech industry a boost, the current EdTech landscape will keep on evolving with new products that provide an experiential learning experience for users, well after the age of lockdowns and curfews comes to an end. In the coming years, online education will be the new normal, where the mantra will be to learn anywhere, at any time, at one’s own pace!
Is Gender Gap Undermining Healthcare Businesses
As more industries strive for gender equality for sustainable growth, we ask experts to explain why women do not reach senior ranks in healthcare organisations in India and how is this affecting the healthcare business
Dr Alok Roy,
Member, FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals In India, almost 70 per cent of the healthcare workforce is made up of women but less than 25 per cent of this workforce occupies leadership positions. Gender equality in the workforce is a passionately discussed subject leading to a number of actionable pointers but nothing much has changed in reality. In the management segments, some of the key barriers include gender stereotypes and bias, lack of mentorship and poor organisational support. Domains like hospital operations, housekeeping or clinical departments can be found with women leaders because they have the necessary acumen and knowledge. However, this is not the case in nursing as a majority of the workforce in the nursing sector constitute women. Still, there is something amiss when it comes to women holding the leadership role.
Dr Alok Roy, Member, FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals says, "Yes, it is true for the Indian Healthcare sector, that private hospital ownership might be limited, then you have to primarily look at the constituents of those in a leadership position. Our hospital has female Vice President of Operations, the Vice President of Facilities is a lady, the housekeeping is headed by a lady and the list goes on. We consciously nurture women's talent and by their merit and hard work they have got promoted to go higher up the ladder. We keep a very close watch on women leadership to balance genders and for a more equitable representation. It is
Rama Venugopal,
Ishiqa Multani,
President Sagar Group of Hospitals required that more women should come into administration and leadership positions."
Rama Venugopal, Executive Director, Value Added Corporate Services says, "Healthcare sector, like any other sector, needs a balanced mix of leadership roles at levels of organisation structure. This lays a very strong foundation for the growth of the sector." She also feels that a gender balance across levels is non-existent and will remain elusive unless proactive measures are taken to eliminate the obstacles that keep women from reaching leadership positions.
Says Ishiqa Multani, President-Sagar Group of Hospitals, "As a woman, getting to the highest offices in healthcare takes a lot of work, given that there are more constraining factors that make it challenging for women to climb the ladder of leadership. Many of the C-Suite executives and department heads in healthcare organisations are men."
Dr Minnie Bodhanwala,
CEO, Wadia Hospitals Main constraints
There are multiple constraints for women to hold a senior-most position. Maintaining a work-life balance, gender discrimination and sexual harassment are some of the challenges that a woman comes across in the corporate sector. Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO, Wadia Hospitals explains, "Women sometimes may lack confidence, they are underpaid and there is the absence of agency to navigate gender discrimination and sexual harassment."
Adding to this, Aishwarya Vasudevan, Group COO, Neuberg Diagnostics says, “To name a few corporate speed breakers, a company may not have a proper agency to navigate the institutional structures and may also be scarce on the support and mentoring required to bring women to senior positions. Sexual harassment is another crucial reason for women to be kept away from such senior roles.”
However, Dr (Major) Harshita Surange, Founder, CEO, Clinical Head, DESH Clinics a venture of Family First opines, "With changing times and mindset the constraints to reach the top in the hierarchy by women is not very difficult and if you are eligible and qualified nothing comes in between the top line and you." She adds, “The child bearing period and its connected leave period always make the employer to have a preference to male.”
India’s patriarchal system in is the main impediment- where men are given the top position always. It is very difficult to accept the women in the top position and men are reluctant to be under a woman leader. According to Dr Beena KV Additional Medical Superintendent Amrita Hospital, Kochi, “Women find it difficult to get support from her men folk.”
Woman traditionally adjusts her career option to suit that of the husband and keeping the interest of children in mind. To that extent balancing the family, prioritising the needs etc., are posing a challenge of sorts.
According to Ramesh Kannan, Partner at Somerset Indus Healthcare Fund, “Post Covid there is a significant technology development and work from home is the new norm. This can be taken advantage of by the lady professionals and clearly offers the scope to achieve their objective. While we see lady employees occupying senior posts in the metro cities partly, we don’t see that happening in other cities.”
Do women leaders (CEOs, CXOs) perform better?
Better capabilities lead to success. Research proves that a balance of men and women leaders in a Company outperforms Companies that are led solely by men. Having women in a leadership position proves to be inspirational for other women who aspire to reach that position as well. Gender diversity is key to success, better productivity, innovation, decision making, and satisfaction is seen in companies with a healthy gender ratio. Women have less mentors than men to help them navigate the institutional ecosystem.Women also do not have the same opportunities like the men do.
Thinking about it Multani adds, "Women leaders tend to be more empathetic, making them better placed to occupy leadership positions. Empathy is also beneficial in leading employees, making it much easier to motivate them. Thus, it is safe to say that women leaders perform better, which is why companies should invest in female leaders."
Dr Devlina Chakravarty, MD, Artemis Hospitals, while citing an example about her organisation, says that most of the leadership positions are taken up by women as the workforce has learned better than any male counterparts. According to her, women should be given better roles in leadership positions not just in healthcare but across industries.
Negating gender bias
Dr Surange says, "Why to compete on a gender basis. Equality and leadership are different. A leader or top brass is a more capable person and capability does not come by being of any particular gender. I am a woman and I am heading two companies. I have my strengths and weaknesses, and so do other CEO’s/CXO."
Investing in female leaders
There is a huge need to invest in female leaders as it will lead to gender balance in the workplace. Investing in women makes good business sense because diverse and inclusive workplaces are essential in meeting the needs of today’s diverse clients, communities and other key stakeholders. For instance, Medica Hospital has women valet drivers, that was all this while considered as a pure male bastion. Similarly, the hospital trains and promotes women in managerial positions as well, depending on the availability of positions. Besides, regular training sessions and workshops are also organised. This adds to the value of the organisation says Dr Roy.
Dr Bodhanwala says, "Women’s leadership in healthcare is imperative. Better hiring, promoting, enabling networks, and mentoring will help a
Dr Beena KV,
Additional Medical Superintendent, Amrita Hospital, Kochi If you are eligible and qualified nothing comes in between the top line and you.
Dr. (Maj) Harshita Surange,
Founder & CEO, DESH Clinics
Ramesh Kannan,
Partner, Somerset Indus Healthcare Fund large number of women to take up leadership roles. It is a fact that female leaders will make a better society for women to thrive."
"Doing the balancing act, caring and empathising comes naturally to women. These are the strong ingredients or qualities a good leader is supposed to possess. Healthcare deals with sick people and stressed outpatient attendees that require a lot of energy and patience, empathy, sympathy to manage this segment of customers. Women are used to doing multitasking act and managing multiple scenarios at a time comes naturally to them," Venugopal adds.
Investing in female leaders creates a culture of diversity and equity within the organisation. Having more female leaders will encourage female employees and attract more qualified women to the organisation. Multani says, “Female leaders tend to perform better as they are more thoughtful and communicate much better, which will improve employee morale, which will affect output.”
Recommendations for more equitable healthcare leadership
Companies should actively pursue the path of gender balance, encourage more women to come forward and break the so-called glass ceiling and encourage them at a grassroots level.
The leadership positions at Medica are very well represented by women leaders. Out of the 25 highest positions, a good ten of them will be women who are leading by example. Almost 40 per cent of the women are leaders in the system and housekeeping consists of almost 70 per cent.
According to Dr Surange, "We as women should not look for extra privileges, support and hand-holding unless we feel we are less privileged. If we relate our self-equal to our counterparts no matter how much we are supported we shall always feel that we are not being given equal opportunity." Company cultures must be created in a manner that encourages more equity in leadership. More women should be mentored and groomed for leadership positions.
Says Multani, “This can be done by selecting a few promising women with leadership acumen and pairing them with a leader in the company who shall serve as their leadership mentor. This will expose more women to leadership and what it entails, and increase the number of women interested in leadership opportunities."
According to Vasudevan, a nongender biased leadership will enhance productivity, decision making etc. and will also affect the level of satisfaction among employees. A fair sense of recognition will also work as a driving force among employees. Gender diversity should be the key that will in turn bring any company success it desires.
“Lady doctors are becoming entrepreneurs, thanks to their qualification. In the management and
Aishwarya Vasudevan,
Group COO, Neuberg Diagnostics
Dr Devlina Chakravarty,
MD, Artemis Hospitals leadership role play there is definitely significant scope to enhance the role of women,” opines Kannan.
Kannan further adds, “Women are very apt for health education and play a stellar role in harnessing and improving talent. Investing in female leaders is ultra-beneficial in the long run and builds a better bonding and compatibility with the team.”
Conclusion
It is important that a company is seen as an equal opportunity company promoting the interest of all subject to merit. Companies see a huge advantage in terms of lessor attrition, greater responsibility, focussed approach, challenging tasks, ability to manoeuvre tricky situations and attitude that is adjustable etc. A lot of initiatives are being undertaken by various stakeholders to take in more women's workforce in the health sector. Despite this, the number of women leaders are negligible. Companies need to relook strategies and minimise the gender gap and promote more women to climb the leadership ladder.
YVV Raghava, Hospital Management Consultant and trainer
Hospitals see anxious and scared human beings who walk in and are accompanied by near and dear ones who are equally anxious. Unlike a mall where customers visit in a happy state of mind and want to spend money to enjoy, hospitals are always without exception full of sad and worrisome people who bring in a lot of negative emotions into the environment and leave a highly emotionally charged environment in the hospital. Employees in the hospital are bound to get impacted by the negatively charged emotions and are also bound to suffer. If research is undertaken, people who work in hospitals may report sick more than any other industry or business because of the huge negative energies that permeate the hospital premises. The employees of the hospitals need to be trained extensively in emotional intelligence to break the effect of negative emotions prevalent in the working environment in the hospitals.
Very simply defined, emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and regulate one’s own emotions and also understand and manage others’ emotions. Emotional intelligence like an intelligent quotient is measurable.
Unlike IQ, EQ can be improved by training people.
Emotional intelligence can be learnt as well as taught. Training employees in emotional intelligence skills will help helps employees to move to the next level, reduce stress, teaches employees how to react to constructive criticism, helps employees conquer their fears, doubts, and insecurities, improve communication skills, enhance social skills and create a positive environment. Emotionally intelligent employees know how to balance work and life, embrace change easily, are good judges of character and neutralise negative talk in the environment. A high EQ in the team helps to build relationships, reduce team stress, defuse conflict and improve job satisfaction.
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness
• Social Management
Self-awareness is the first step of emotional intelligence. It teaches how to identify your emotions and be aware of them, their triggers and their impact. Beyond just recognising your emotions, however, is being aware of the effect of your actions, moods, and emotions on other people. There are many tools and techniques to teach employees how to be self-aware of their own emotions. If employees are self-aware of emotions, conflicts can be avoided.
Self-regulation or self-management is the second of the four dimensions of emotional intelligence. It is the ability to control impulsive feelings and behaviours, manage one’s own emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances. Having to handle everyday new situations and new customers, hospital employees need to adapt to change very fast and self-management helps them to handle the situations better.
Social awareness is the third dimension of emotional intelligence self-awareness is looking inward to learn about self and understand, social awareness is looking outward to learn about and appreciate others.
Social awareness focuses on recognising and understanding others' feelings. Strong emotions can make it difficult to think clearly. People say and do things that they later regret when they are emotionally charged. Before reacting, people should stop and think about the emotions of others and then develop better ways of handling the situations.
The last dimension is social management which helps to resolve conflict and build better understanding in teams. Social management helps in choosing the correct timing of what to say and when to say it.
Research confirms that having highly emotionally intelligent teams in the workplace is a business advantage. And training has been conclusively shown to improve EI. Emotional intelligence is one of the best-known predictors of job performance. It improves job satisfaction and reduces job burnout. As workplace diversity increases, emotional intelligence as a training tool delivers wonderful results to the productivity of teams in hospitals.
Why is Omicron a 'Variant of Concern'?
Tracy S
Independent Journalist and Political Analyst, Jeremy R Hammond, uncovered data that indicates 'negative effectiveness' of mRNA vaccines, making the double vaccinated more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 than the unvaccinated
Why is the Omicron variant of COVID-19, deemed a 'variant of concern' (VOC) by international public health authorities, and are they really even concerned with 'public “health'?
It’s certainly not because the Omicron mutation is more fatal, far from it. Officials can’t dispute the data as they now openly admit that Omicron presents a significantly lower risk of severe disease. Part of their reasoning is linked to how rapidly Omicron became the more dominant strain in parts of South Africa, where it was initially detected. After appearing in the US, Omicron quickly replaced the Delta strain and, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), now accounts for more than 98 per cent of covid infections.
Aside from sheer chance, another reason Omicron could have taken over the other strains is the possibility that it could be substantially more transmissible. However, this in itself is not sufficient for Omicron to be a socalled “variant of concern, ” since it’s much less severe than its predecessors. If more people catch Omicron, while
fewer people become seriously ill, it’s indicative that herd immunity is being achieved, and there’s no longer a pandemic, as the disease becomes endemic.
As obtuse policymakers across the world proudly announced their irrational plans to achieve 'Zero Covid', more prudent minds observed from the beginning that we must adapt and learn to manage the microorganism because it’s not going to be eradicated.
So what else could prompt so-called public health “experts” to label Omicron a VOC?
To put it bluntly, the real concern is that Omicron will cause more devastation to policymakers’ mass vaccination programmes (and to Big Pharma’s profit margins) than to human life.
Many mutations were identified with Omicron, most of them occurring in covid’s spike protein, and the alleged protection provided by the newfangled mRNA vaccines depends on the triggering of immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Natural immunity, acquired by catching covid and recovering from it, also depends on responses against the spike protein; however, naturally acquired immunity comprises a significantly wider array of immune responses, including antibody and T cell responses to the nucleocapsid and membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2.
Data indicates negative effectiveness approximately 8 months after vaccination.
Before Omicron’s debut, data suggested that the efficacy of covid vaccines was reduced to less than zero. A Lancet preprint from Swedish researchers published on October 25, 2021, revealed the effectiveness of two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine dropped from 92 per cent in the first month to 47 per cent after six months, with no significant effectiveness after seven months.
Protection against hospital confinement and mortality also reduced from 89 per cent to 42 per cent after six months.
On December 23, 2021, a study in Denmark was published on the preprint server medRxiv that showed a statistically significant negative effect of two doses of mRNA vaccines against the Omicron variant.
The Denmark study revealed vaccine effectiveness quickly reduced from around 55 per cent during the first month to no significant effectiveness after one month. Three months after the completion of two doses, effectiveness became significantly negative.
“Negative effectiveness” means that people who are fully vaccinated, in line with the present CDC definition of receiving two doses of an mRNA vaccine, and it being two weeks or more after the second dose, are more likely to become infected with COVID-19 than unvaccinated people.
