The collaborative model of health research, open source knowledge
sharing besides right medical skills to human resources, are major
keys to achieve success in creating innovative yet affordable
solutions in form of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines. A look at the
detailed recipe follows
T
BY RAHUL KOUL
he government says that
it is setting up the All
India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) like
hospitals in many states including
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha, Assam, West Bengal and
Jammu and Kashmir to increase
the presence of tertiary care.
While decision is based on the
intention to bring
uniformity in health
services across the country,
the question of addressing
the healthcare needs of
huge sections of population
still remains unattended.
Given the challenges, the
steps appear important
yet miniscule and not
long lasting.
Health Science and Technology
Institute (THSTI), adding
“Medical researchers are seen as
selfish person. The fact that they
are the only ones not out to treat
the patients, is not taken in right
sense by those concerned.”
Healthcare being a part of society,
many experts feel that there is a
need to incorporate the health
academia and the government.
The quantum of funding for R&D
has to be increased manifold and
the regulatory framework should
facilitate indigenous development
of medical technologies.
Focused approach for
maximum outcome
Slowly but steadily new
partnerships at massive
scale are being forged
between public and
private sector to boost
health research. While it is
a welcome but we need
more of this in India. As
an example what is being
termed as India’s first
public-private-partnership
(PPP) agreement for
research and innovation in
preventive health, an
understanding on joint
efforts has been reached
between Indian Council
for Medical Research
(ICMR) and Sun Pharma
which was announced on
April 25, 2016 in New
Delhi. Sun Pharma will
fund and execute this malaria
elimination programme over a
span of 3 to 5 years covering over
200,000 households in Mandla
district. In addition, as part of the
PPP, ICMR and Sun Pharma will
jointly conduct scientific research
for development and testing of
medical products (including
drugs, biosimilars and vaccines)
There is a strong need to
develop an enabling
ecosystem for facilitating
healthcare innovation with
active participation from
industry, academia and the
government. The quantum
of funding for R&D has to
be increased manifold and
the regulatory framework
should facilitate indigenous
development of medical
technologies.
In India, most of the health
research happens in the
government run institutes
rather than hospitals.
However, the product
outcomes are not sufficient
enough to match the
expectations. At the same
time, innovation is not a
subject to be discussed in the big
healthcare organizations which
are mostly occupied with tedious
job of firefighting between
product quality and sales targets.
“In a country that has insufficient
healthcare workers for delivery of
care, is res