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In a country that has
insufficient healthcare
workers for delivery of care,
is research even a priority?
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.
Dr Gangandeep Kang, Executive Director, Translational Health Science and
Technology Institute (THSTI)
as well as undertake disease
control and elimination
programs. Both will expand
cooperation in the area of
translational health sciences
research with the objective of
developing new and improved
medicines for infectious and
chronic diseases.
For Dr Gagandeep Kang, building
independent investigator and a
clinical research ecosystem in
India is crucial. “To build the
ecosystem, we have to take few
right steps that bring confidence.
If you make the clinical research
attractive, ecosystem will follow,”
she adds.
Rightly so, there is a need to take
appropriate steps in the areas of
joint biomedical research, medical
education, and pharmaceutical
manufacturing and trade. Progress
in these areas will ensure that
critical health products and services
are accessible to marginalized and
neglected populations at a price
they can afford.
The noted heart surgeon and
Chairman, Medanta- the
Medicity, Dr Naresh Trehan
believes that the management of
communicable diseases among
others is a major challenge before
the nation. “If serious efforts are
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BioVoiceNews | September 2016
being made for eradication of
communicable diseases, then
number of patients visiting
hospitals would automatically
come down and we can work in a
more focused way in dealing with
dreaded problems like heart
ailments and cancer and also on
research and innovation,” he
said recently.
Even the lavish spending on big
hospitals cannot justify quality
healthcare feels Dr Devi Shetty,
Chairman and Managing
Director, Narayana Health. “We
spend a huge amount of money
on things like lift and marble
flooring while constructing huge
hospitals. Most of the rural folks
visiting these hospitals don’t use
the lifts, he says adding further,
“Central AC is the main reason for
spreading infections in the
hospitals. It doesn’t go with the
perception of comfort.”
Integration of new research
techniques to boost ecosystem
As per Dr Jitendra Singh, noted
Diabetologist and Union Minister,
not only the spectrum of medical
research has undergone a change,
but the methodology has also
changed. For example, he says, till
1970’s and 1980’s the main thrust
of research was on communicable
diseases like tuberculosis and
sexually transmitted diseases,
wherein India made a historic
contribution by giving to the
world some of the most original
postulations. However, in the last
two decades, the spectrum has
shifted to non-communicable
diseases and now the research has
to be primarily focused on
metabolic diseases like Diabetes
with a specific and exclusive
Indian perspective. At the same
time, he believes, the
methodology has also undergone
a change and wherein till 20
years ago, a young scholar had to
run from pillar to post in search
of references and medical
journals, today, the best of
reference and research papers
from the rest of the world are
available on internet.
The prominent health experts of
India feel that the adoption of
new technologies has to be done
quickly to extend the research
into new disease areas. They point
towards the fact that India is
already gearing up to make that
possible while agreeing that
learnings have to be shared
through collaborations across
regions and nations.
Former Director General, ICMR,
Dr V M Katoch suggests the
implementation of science in
terms of scale up. “The area has to
be chosen carefully. Key
infectious disease areas can be
utilized to share knowledge.
Minimum money maximum scale
up is the only key. Genomics,
proteomics and new sciences are
the ingredients. But at the same
time we must not confuse things,
he says pointing towards
controversies adding, “Clinic
research is an integral part which
has to be taken alongside
whatever we do.”