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The Pandemic Has Opened up Opportunities for Innovations Diagnostics and Digital Health
Nov 19, 2020

Indian Healthcare industry is under intense focus and is rapidly changing, currently. The worldwide pandemic has led to increased societal expectations and has accelerated shifts in the way healthcare is delivered. Never has there been a better opportunity to do so much good for more people than ever before. Towards this Asia Health 2020, is being organised from 18th – 20th November where world’s top leaders who are moving beyond simply addressing patients’ medical conditions and diseases, and really treating the whole person. + World’s Industry leader who are seeing India as manufacturing hub for all kind of drugs and technologies will be discussing and deliberating on a wide array of themes.

The second day of CII’s Asia Health organised on 19th November saw imminent dignitaries such as Dr Jitender Singh, Dr Vinod Paul and Dr Renu Swarup with various national and international speakers discussing and deliberating on issues such as The India Imperative in VaccinesExporting from India – HealthTechnology and Skills and Accelerating Healthcare Funding across segments - A % of GDP for 100% Health.

Speaking at the session on The Untapped Potential of E Pharma sector and ways to leverage it for Growth, Dr Rana Mehta Senior Partner and Healthcare Lead PWC said that Pharma Industry is India’s 3rd largest in volume and 13th largest in value. Pharma segment is fragmented. India is the only country where medicine is sold in strips where there is issue of counterfeit drugs and inventory is not managed properly. The pandemic has brought to light that physical access to healthcare is not really a necessity. With respect to telemedicine he said that unless there is proper regulation and clarity financial investment will not come in. Mr Prashant Tandon Founder 1MG remarked that Covid has made online buying necessary. He also said that trackability and traceability in healthcare will become important over the years. Vishwananthan NS CFO Mfine said that digitisation is the way to solve problems. What we are building today with the help of technology is a huge aggregation channel. Correct regulation and clarity is needed for financial investment to come in especially in the telemedicine segment. The government should make the draft regulation for e-pharmacy clear for everybody.

The focus on innovation is a need, as our Government healthcare budget is 1.5% of GDP expressed Mr Mitesh Daga, Managing Director, TPG Capital. Healthcare said that projects can be scaled, created enough opportunities and is extremely viable from a commercial perspective.

Ms. Hilly Hirt, Head- Emerging Markets division Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) stated that the Israeli  government believes we need to support companies in all stages and life cycles. The interconnectivity that comes between industry, academia and government is how innovation thrives. There is a seamless connection between stakeholders, the infrastructure is there along with the regulatory aspects. Everybody plays a role to make sure high innovation is taking place in the ecosystem.

The role of the public sector in Israel is often discounted and not spoken about, but it is critical for entrepreneurs due to the safety nets provided, the opportunities and introductions, and the ongoing relationships it enables its entrepreneurs stated Mr Ariel Beery, General Partner- Co Velocity

Venture capital investment in India and abroad  expect you to get started and grow rapidly and push you to achieve certain milestones expressed Mr Prashant Warier, Founder, Qure.AI. Mr Vishal Gondal, Founder, GoQii stated the traditional healthcare model is not a healthcare model it is a sick-care model. The incentives are not really aligned towards patients. You need product innovation, delivery innovations and business model innovation. In the absence of  all the three coming together, it is difficult to think of the scale within an Indian context addressed Dr Anand Sivaraman, Founder, Remidio.

Addressing the session on The India Imperative in Vaccines Dr Renu Swarup Secretary Department of Biotechnology Ministry of Science and Technology Government of India emphasized that during the pandemic a strong collaboration between academic research and industry has been witnessed. She also mentioned that the government of India is currently focusing on strengthening the research ecosystem by focusing on the building of immuno-assay labs, strengthening facilities within academic and research centers for animal studies setting up robust labs to facilitate clinical trials. Ms Annapurna Das Country Head, Vaccines, South Asia and India Sanofi Pasteur said that adult vaccination is going to be a major social change and needs concerted efforts to make it a success. 

19 November 2020

New Delhi

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