TECHNOLOGY IS THE KEY TO ENABLING THE IVD PLAYERS TO MEET INDIA'S FUTURE NEEDS."
What are some significant innovations taking place in your respective field(s)? Which among these is the most exciting and why? How will it (or they, if more than one) impact your organization?
Technology is the key to enabling the IVD players to meet India's future needs. Diagnostic services are likely to become more personalized because of Genomics and Genetic testing.
Diagnostic laboratories are aggressively embracing automation. This automation makes them time-efficient, reduces batch testing, and reduces the overall turn-around time (TAT) between the tests and the results. Another extremely encouraging opportunity for IVD companies is biomarker integration and the availability of biomolecular tools that will create condition-specific tests. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will catalyze higher levels of diagnostic precision. AI is transforming the current laboratory workflow, patient diagnosis, and treatment. It positively impacts the performance of key stakeholders - healthcare professionals, laboratory staff, and IVD manufacturers. They are likely to fuel India's influence in the global IVD space. However, India's internal demand for IVDS will also grow substantially on POC diagnostics, higher disposable incomes, an aging population, an increase in lifestyle diseases, better access to quality insurance, and, most critically, the growing demand for preventive care and monitoring.
Are you planning any new launches, or are you looking to open up new markets?
Both aspects have been distinct focus areas. J Mitra is an R&d-focused biotechnology company. We have one of India's most extensive and aggressive R&D structures that accounts for over 55 patents – the highest for any company in India. We are constantly developing new tests and enhancing the efficacy of the existing ones. In fact, during the pandemic, we developed the maximum number of Covid-19 test solutions for any company in India.
We already export to over 45 countries worldwide. We are focused on increasing our footprint, both within and outside the country. This pace has slightly slowed down in the past two years, but with markets and global trade opening up, we are refocusing in this direction.
What are some of the items that we import currently should be considered for developing and manufacturing in India? Could cooperation between you and Indian institutions (such as the IITS and engineering ones) or other Indian manufacturers benefit? For example, a tie-up between a manufacturer of gloves and medical apparel with an Indian rubber plantation (latex producer) might be mutually beneficial.
Considering the industry average, our dependence on imported items and raw materials has been very low. We took a conscious decision almost a decade back to nurture domestic suppliers of quality raw materials and reduce our dependency on imported items. We identified likeminded quality-conscious organizations and worked with them, even helping them financially or with the international market knowledge and technical knowhow. It was an arduous task, but it has benefitted us many times. Our operations were relatively unhindered because of the global logistics shutdown during the worldwide pandemic, but it also softened the impact of dollar fluctuations.
While these domestic suppliers now work with multiple diagnostic manufacturers, we always get preferential treatment due to our long-standing healthy relationship. Both the industry and the Government must nurture the domestic production of raw materials like – antibodies, antigens, enzymes, proteins, reagents, plasma, serum, etc.
While urban India is reasonably developed as far as medical facilities go, vast tracts remain deficient. What are some suggestions from you about how to go about rectification?
While the Indian population has a 20:80 skew, with only 20 percent of the people residing in urban areas, 80 percent of the medical facilities are located in these urban areas. With the hub and spoke model of modern diagnostics services organizations, it is now easier to set up collection centers in rural and semirural areas, which act as feeder units to the region's centralized lab system.
This system needs to be promoted and further strengthened. This mechanism provides economies of scale and enhanced reliability. More and more point-of-care diagnostic solutions and equipment have to be developed and produced suited to rural and resource-scarce settings. The medical devices ecosystem needs to be strengthened. The Government must play a role in offsetting the cost of extensive research and development. Some of these could be – tax sops, infrastructure, or finance. The Government must encourage an academia-institutional process that promotes the generation of an adequate talent pool of scientists, engineers, biotechnologists, tech transfer, raw material manufacturing, etc.
In the latest budget, the Government's focus has been on strengthening the primary and secondary healthcare infrastructure – this is already a step in the direction of bridging the rural-urban divide. In addition, technological developments and investments in digital-delivery mediums for in-vitro diagnostics tests will address the distance divide. It will bring the industry closer to clinicians and patients worldwide.
Any thoughts on the Government's role – any tips/ suggestions/viewpoints that may be shared?
The last two years of the Corona have showcased the Government's commitment to the growth of the Indian IVD industry. The pandemic duration was both a massive challenge and an enormous opportunity, and the IVD industry has emerged as a clear winner. The Government's focus was evident in strengthening the IVD industry and cementing its position on the global IVD map.
The Indian Government introduced the (NEDL) National Essential Diagnostics List (in 2019. The action on this front needs to be further paced up to ensure speedy benefit to the patients. The Government focuses on increasing the number of labs in tertiary cities and small government hospitals as part of the National Health Mission. The Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives address the needs of the National Healthcare Security as defined in National Health Policy 2017. The Government strives to curtail India's import dependence from 80 percent to 30 percent in the next ten years.
The Government introduced the draft Medical Devices Policy in March 2022 and is working with industry organizations like AIMED and ADMI to put together the most robust growth plan. The current pace needs to continue and increase so that the envisaged benefits reach both the industry and the end beneficiaries – the patients. The governmentindustry-academia interface should be strengthened with regular knowledge exchange meetings. The evolving regulatory ecosystem is quite promising. The right incentives and stimulus will catalyze constant growth. Fast-paced technology adoption will fuel cost reduction. PLI scheme for medical devices manufacturing will boost domestic manufacturing and improve the cost competitiveness of Indian devices in the global market.
We are all moving in the right direction. The Indian healthcare industry is progressing toward a more inclusive and quality-driven service-oriented approach. As a result, we will catalyze a more pro-people, quality-driven, closer to point-of-care healthcare for the masses, including those in rural areas.