India is a developed country in cancer care & Emerging Markets looking to maximise our expertise: Dr Ajaikumar

India is a developed country in oncology care. Emerging Markets are looking at India to access the expertise and the advantage of affordable oncology treatment, said Dr. BS Ajaikumar, chairman and CEO, HCG Enterprises.

The country is now envisioned to define the future of cancer care with the use of genomics which is revolutionising personalised medicine, said Dr. Ajaikumar at the inauguration of the Triesta Genomics and Translational Research Centre.

Facilities like HCG through its 19 comprehensive cancer care centre across the country are extending the value-based medical attention at a fraction of the cost, he added. Developed countries cannot ignore this and India is on par with the western world in terms of expertise but way ahead in offering the economies-of-scale. This could be capitalised not just for treatment but for clinical research too.

The new facility is positioned to offer targeted therapy with the usage of genomic data for better diagnosis. These will help in making therapeutic decisions more effective treatment to improve patient outcomes. We already have a genetic information of 1,000 patients where 48 percent of them  do not respond to certain drugs due to their genetic makeup, he said.

The genomics tests will be offered at around Rs. 35,000 and is a lot cheaper than chemotherapy treatment. Since the pricing is driven by volumes, we are confident to bring down the cost to Rs. 10,000. Conducting genetic analysis and radiation genomics followed by precision medicine, help oncologists to  come out with the best outcomes, said Dr. Ajaikumar.

According to Dr. Mithua Ghosh, director and head of Triesta Genomics and Translational Research, understanding the genetic signature of cancer help oncologists penetrate to the root cause of disease. The application of next generation technologies including the liquid biopsy facilities the  predictive biomarkers for clinical oncology.  The facility is manned by 20 researches who are PhDs supported by a team of post graduates in medical genetics and biotechnology.

HCG  has also partnered with Strand Life Sciences for clinical informatics. The data from these studies will be integrated with the patient’s medical histories to create a Genomics Data Bank to develop tailor made approaches to predict treatment response.

 Dr. Intezar Mehdi, consultant, paediatric oncology , Haematology  & BMT and Dr. Vijay Anand, medical oncologists, HCG  said that the  genomics lab and expertise provide a seamless integration to adopt a multidisciplinary approach.

“At the Triesta Genomics and Translational Research Centre, our objective is the implement an individualised predictive treatment model which is  accessible for all patients. Our intent is to improve outcomes, reduce cost and ultimately follow the HCG way of treating cancer the right way, the first time. This is where India is a developed country in cancer care & Emerging Markets are looking at India and  HCG to maximise our expertise, said Dr. Ajaikumar.

Source:http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=102197&sid=2

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