IndiaMedToday June 2021

JUNE 2021, VOLUME 5 ISSUE 6 `200 INDIA MED TODAY

Leadership During Pandemic Dr Om Manchanda Managing Director, Dr Lal Pathlabs

FEATURED EXPERTS IN THE ISSUE Anand K CEO, SRL Diagnostics

Arpan Malhotra India Business Head – Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare

Dr Dharminder Nagar MD, Paras Healthcare

Gautam Khanna CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC

Narendra Varde MD, Roche Diagnostics India JUNE 2021

Dr Ritu Garg Zonal Director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute India

Sushant Kinra COO, Suburban Diagnostics

EDIT NOTE www.indiamedtoday.com

June 2021 EDITORIAL Editor Neelam Kachhap Sub-Editor Abishek Raj editorial@ indiamedtoday.com ART & PRODUCTION ScreeTract Shylesh

Leadership During Pandemic

BOARD OF ADVISORS Dr Alexander Thomas

As the second wave of COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across India, spreading to new regions and threatening life as we know it, healthcare professionals are working tirelessly to develop and implement effective strategies for patient treatment, organisational management and public health measures. They are also looking beyond the pandemic to anticipate not only the ‘new normal’ but a redesigned and the improved healthcare system.

Dr Girdhar Gyani Dr Prem Kumar Nair Dr Bhabatosh Biswas Dr Alok Roy Ramesh Kannan CONSULTING EDITOR Dr Libert Anil Gomes Dr Salil Choudhary

Keeping this in mind we bring out a special issue on “Leadership During Pandemic” drawing together expertise from different

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segments of healthcare delivery. We invited influential healthcare leaders to share COVID-19 management strategies and the impact of the pandemic on healthcare delivery in India. This collection of articles highlights the most urgent issues health workers are facing, and present crisis management best practices that are being implemented across the board. The special issue provides insights on how we can manage the pandemic with the resources we have and in future what investments and initiatives we should be prepared with.

Our guest editor for this special issue is an industry veteran who has successfully led the transformation of Dr Lal PathLabs in the last 16 years from a small business to a professionally run listed company. Dr Om P Manchanda, MD, Dr Lal PathLabs has over three decades of invaluable experience in business management, he is an alum of IIM, Ahmedabad and Harvard Business School. His management acumen, easy-going nature and popularity among fellow healthcare leaders are the heart of his leadership ability. The winner of “EY Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2019 in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category and ‘Healthcare Personality of the Year-2020’ at the FICCI Healthcare Excellence Awards, 2020 made Dr Manchanda a natural choice when looking for a guest editor to lead our special issue on leadership.

We would like to thank him for his time and interest in the project. Despite his many commitments and busy schedule, Dr Manchanda worked effortlessly with our team to bring out an insightful issue on leadership during the pandemic.

IndiaMedToday expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in this publication. While we try to keep the information timely and accurate, we make no guarantees. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IndiaMedToday or the publication. Information on IndiaMedToday should not be used as a substitute for professional healthcare advice. Readers are advised to always seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication.

Never disregard professional medicaladvice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on IndiaMedToday. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing.

Featured experts in the issue: • Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics • Arpan Malhotra, India Business Head – Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare • Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD, Paras Healthcare • Gautam Khanna, CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC • Narendra Varde, MD, Roche Diagnostics India • Dr Ritu Garg, Zonal Director · Fortis Memorial Research Institute India • Sushant Kinra, COO, Suburban Diagnostics

Printed and published by M Neelam Kachhap, 301, Grazia, 1st main, 2nd Cross, Lingrajpuram, Bangalore 560084 on behalf of Neelam Publishing (OPC) Private Limited, Printed at Paradise Graphics, B-15, Mittal Tower, MG Road, Bangalore-1. and published at 301, Grazia, 1st main, 2nd Cross, Lingrajpuram, Bangalore 560084.

Editor M Neelam Kachhap

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JUNE 2021

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CONTENTS

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27

22

SPECIAL FEATURE

INTERVIEW

COVER STORY

Mucormycosis

Appropriately designed COVID19 vaccine trials are the need of the hour

An Era of Reimagining Healthcare Delivery

40 APPROACH

Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic

24 COVER STORY

Leadership During Pandemic

UPFRONT

03 Editorial 06 Letters 07 News Roundup www.indiamedtoday.com

CHECKIT OUT ONLINE

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5

LETTERS World No Tobacco Day

I

ndia’s death burden and the economic costs from tobacco usage are unacceptably high and it is critical that we address this issue. Studies indicate that over 55 per cent of tobacco users are willing to quit all forms of tobacco. However, quitting tobacco is a challenge, especially with the added social and economic stresses because of the pandemic. Our study of the

market led us to realise that a successful tobacco cessation initiative would require not just Nicotine replacement therapy but also patient education and support through the journey to quit smoking.

Nikhil Chopra, CEO & Whole Time Director, J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals ltd

It is the aware consumer who will decide what to consume and

which is predominant in the form of chewing tobacco, the

pandemic has worsened the situation, increasing vulnerabilities of smokers as well as its negative implications for others, as a result of them getting exposed to passive smoking. COVID-19 is a harsh reminder and a wakeup call to revisit India's stance around ENDS, and reassess the role of tobacco harm reduction alternatives. It is the time that we realise the need for a 'regulate not ban approach' and seriously consider the adoption of reduced-risk products built on the foundation of science and research.

government should give priority to regulating the unbranded and

Upendra Nath Sharma, Partner, J Sagar Associates

what not to consume. Till such time there is demand for tobacco products, the government has no right to deny customers the product as otherwise, they will find illegal ways to source the product. So, the government should focus on ensuring the availability of the right quality product to customers in an authentic manner. Given India’s tobacco consumption pattern,

illegal tobacco products. The thrust of its awareness programme should be in the villages and tier-3 towns instead of big cities where consumers are already aware.

Prof. Bejon Kumar Misra, Founder Director, PSAIIF and Founder Trustee, COF As per Global Adult Tobacco Survey-India (GATS2) India is home to over 270 million tobacco users making it the second-largest producer and consumer of tobacco products globally. Despite stringent regulations around tobacco/combustible smoking, the number of Indian smokers hasn’t significantly changed over the years; smoking still remains one of the single largest preventable cause of premature mortality and morbidity in India. The

Smoking is a major risk factor that threatens the health of people worldwide, but tobacco control is woefully insufficient in many countries around the world. Persistently high smoking prevalence among young people in many countries, along with the expansion of new tobacco and nicotine products, highlight an urgent need to double down on tobacco control. If a person does not become a regular smoker by age 25, they are very unlikely to become a smoker. This presents a critical window of opportunity for interventions that can prevent young people from starting smoking and improve their health for the rest of their lives Professor Emmanuela Gakidou, senior author, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Seattle, Washington.

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June 2021

NEWS ROUNDUP Ontario Medical Association appoints Dr Adam Kassam as President

wholly-owned subsidiary of Shalby.

Dr Adam Kassam became the 140th president

of

the

Ontario

Medical

Association, the youngest president in the association’s history, the first physiatrist and the first Ismaili Muslim.

Dr Kassam’s induction as president for a one-year term took place during the first Annual General Meeting following sweeping governance changes approved last fall.

Dr Kassam said the three priorities for his presidency were advocating for physicians, working with partners to rebuild the healthcare system after the pandemic, and modernising the OMA to make it an even more transparent, accountable and effective organisation for the province’s 43,000 physicians.

Shalby has also appointed Sushobhan Dasgupta as Vice Chairman and Global President of Shalby. He will be responsible for managing the hospital business and all business heads will be reporting directly to him.

Piramal Foundation partners with Niti Aayog Piramal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL), has launched significant initiatives to address the devastating impact of the second wave of Covid in India’s aspirational districts.

The Foundation will set up 100 Covid Care Centres in rural and tribal blocks across 25 of the worst affected aspirational districts and home care support to the tribal and rural population with poor access to health services in 112 aspirational districts across India in partnership with Niti Aayog. Piramal Foundation will invest Rs 100 crores towards Covid relief.

Avaya Innovation enables free medical consultations Avaya, a global leader in solutions to enhance

and

simplify

communications

and collaboration, has joined hands with a group of non-profit organisations and doctors to rapidly improve COVID-19 patients’ access to free healthcare while easing the stress on hospitals and clinics struggling with patient care. Created by Avaya and I-Novate in collaboration with MySenior Doctors, the platform acts as a Dr Adam Kassam

Shalby acquires assets of US-based Consensus Orthopedics Shalby has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets from Consensus Orthopedics (Consensus) a company headquartered in El Dorado Hills, Sacramento, California for a cash consideration of $11.45 million. The assets were acquired by Shalby Advanced Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mars Medical Devices, which in turn is a

virtual out-patient department, using the Avaya Spaces workstream collaboration solution to connect patients directly to doctors in private virtual rooms. The non-

consolidated financial results for Q4FY21 and FY21. The company has recorded consolidated revenue of Rs 292 crore in Q4FY21 registering a 42 per cent growth YoY. In Q4FY21, Profit after Tax (PAT) has been registered at Rs 61.3 crore as against Rs 15.5 crore in Q4FY20, resulting in a growth of 296 per cent YoY. The company posted a PAT at Rs 183.3 cr in FY21 as against Rs 127.5 crore in FY20, resulting in a growth of 44 per cent YoY.

70% of Southern Indians likely to purchase health, home security gadgets: Godrej study A recent study called the ‘Cocoon Effect on Home and Health Security by Godrej Security Solutions, a business of Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, has revealed that 70 per cent of citizens from Southern India are now prioritising the purchase of Health and Home Security gadgets. The study found 84 per cent of people agreed that post the pandemic and the subsequent national and state lockdowns, protecting their health and wellbeing has become a priority for them. This has further become the need of the hour since South India, and particularly its rural area has been severely impacted. The report further shows that respondents from Kochi unequivocally agree that staying at home, protecting their health and wellbeing is a priority in the current times. This was followed by Hyderabad (95.08 per cent) and Bengaluru (86.89 per cent).

Dr Binod P Shah bags recognition from Continental Who’s Who

profit organisations Rotary India, Arogya

Dr Binod P Shah, MD, is being recognised

Foundation of India, and the Manav Mitra

by Continental Who’s Who as a top doctor

Foundation also contribute to the initiative.

for his professional excellence in the

Metropolis Healthcare registers PAT at Rs 61.3 crore in Q4FY21

This recognition also acknowledges his

Diagnostic service provider Metropolis

Shah has led an exemplary career full of

Healthcare has announced its audited

service and leadership for over 20 years.

field of spinal pain rehab and medicine. commitment to Spinal Pain Rehab and Medicine PC and Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy, INC. With a humble beginning in a remote village of Nepal, Dr

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7

NEWS ROUNDUP Neuberg Diagnostics launches NCGM in US Neuberg Diagnostics announced the start of its clinical laboratory operations in the United States of America (US). The laboratory

in

North

Carolina,

known

as NCGM (Neuberg Centre for Genomic Medicine),

will

focus

on

genomic

and molecular testing based on new generation

sequencing

techniques.

It

runs an extensive network of labs in India, South Africa, and the UAE as well.

NCGM has introduced COVID-19 molecular testing to detect active SARS CoV-2 virus infections that is of immediate public health priority in North America, along with genome-scale testing, such as Exome

Dr Binod P Shah

Sequencing, which applies across a variety

He proudly serves his patients with Spinal Pain Rehab and Medicine PC in Yonkers, New York, and Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy INC. in Woodcliff Lake, NJ. In his current capacity, he utilises his extensive medical training and expertise in Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cell Therapy to provide the best possible care. Dr Shah demonstrates the highest level of moral obligation and compassion in every endeavour.

Serum Institute of India set to invest £240 million in UK The Serum Institute of India will invest GBP 240 million in the UK to expand its vaccine business and set up a new sales office creating a large number of jobs, Downing Street has announced as part of plans for a GBP 1 billion India-UK Enhanced

Trade

Partnership

creating

of Rare Genetic Disease Testing (Inherited Diseases) from Newborn Screening to Oncology to Pediatric Care Setting.

PharmEasy acquires Medlife

PharmEasy concluded its acquisition of Medlife. Medlife has discontinued its services and all its users will be migrated to PharmEasy. The acquisition which took place in January 2021, was aimed at creating a strong unified platform to accelerate the mission of providing quality healthcare to a larger population. With Medlife’s current reach across 465+ cities, it will further boost PharmEasy’s efforts to provide quality healthcare services in India. It will also ensure a focused approach towards the consumer’s needs through the ‘PharmEasy’platform. With this major consolidation in the fast-growing online pharmacy sector, PharmEasy has now become the largest healthcare delivery platform across the country, catering to more than two million families every single month.

around 6,500 jobs in Britain. The Punebased vaccine manufacturer is among a list of nearly 20 Indian companies across sectors such as healthcare, biotech and

Bal Pharma launches antiviral drug Favipiravir

software services to announce significant

Bal Pharma has launched the antiviral

investment plans in the UK. It was also

drug Favipiravir in the domestic market

revealed that the Serum Institute of India

under the brand name BALflu for the

(SII) has started phase one trials in the UK

treatment of COVID-19. The Bengaluru-

of a nasal vaccine against coronavirus.

based company said its formulation would be available in tablet form with 400 mg

8

June 2021

strength. Favipiravir is being used for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection as it inhibits and terminates viral protein synthesis and induces lethal metagenesis of the influenza virus.

BALflu is a broad spectrum formulation that can also be used in the treatment of 53 types of influenza viruses, including seasonal strains such as ebolavirus, arenavirus, bunyavirus, filovirus, West Nile virus and Lassa virus, Bal Pharma said in a regulatory filing. The company’s product is approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use for the treatment of COVID-19 with a recommended dosage of 1,800 mg on the first day, followed by 800 mg from Day 2 to 14, it added.

Lincoln Pharma posts profit of Rs 11.85 crore in Q4FY21 Lincoln Pharmaceuticals has reported a net profit of Rs 11.85 crore in Q4FY21 as against a net profit of Rs 9.23 crore in the corresponding period last year, a growth of 28.33 per cent. Net revenue from operations in Q4FY21 was reported at Rs 77.54 crore, higher by 3.03 per cent over the previous fiscal’s same period net revenue from operations of Rs 75.26 crore. The company reported an EBITDA of Rs 16.74 crore in Q4FY21, a rise of 28.25 per cent as compared to Rs 13.05 crore in the corresponding period last year. EPS for Q4FY21 was at Rs 5.92 per share as compared to Rs 4.62 in the corresponding period last year. The company has recommended a dividend of 15 per cent – Rs 1.50 per share at the face value of Rs 10 per share.

BDR Pharma launches cancer drugs in India BDR Pharmaceutical has launched BDPARIB (Rucaparib) to treat advanced ovarian and prostate cancers. BDPARIB is available in the form of a tablet, with the cost of therapy less expensive than any existing drugs in the market. Rucaparib is an oral, small-molecule inhibitor of poly (ADPribose) polymerase (PARP)1, 2, and 3 used as a monotherapy and in conjunction with

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appointment of Brandon Rowberry, a global leader in corporate innovation and strategy, as Chief Executive Officer of its Digital Health business. Working closely with Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare, Rowberry would be driving the digital roadmap

India. It has also received a EUA in the US and several EU countries.

Dr D Nageshwar Reddy bestowed with Rudolf V Schindler Award

Leadership from Harvard Business School.

Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals has been bestowed with the renowned Rudolf V Schindler Award from The American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). The award was presented to Dr Reddy in ASGE’s annual Crystal Awards at a virtual ceremony.

Rudolf V Schindler Award is the highest category in the prestigious Crystal Awards named after Dr Schindler who is considered as ‘the father of gastroscopy.’

Digital therapeutics company Fitterfly has launched the Diabefly Digital Therapeutics platform to include an integrated ‘Post COVID Recovery’ module for the first few weeks of the programme, at no extra cost.

The enhanced programme takes care of diabetic people affected due to COVID – respiratory, musculoskeletal, nutritional and psychological. People can take advantage of the programme via calls, chat, virtual group sessions and webinars.

The programme has been designed by top doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Endocrinologists like Dr Sanjay Kalra and Dr Tejal Lathia have contributed as advisors to the structure and contents of the programme.

Brandon Rowberry

Dr D Nageshwar Reddy

Roche’s antibody cocktail to be available in India Roche India and Cipla announced that

DST-funded start-up’s ELISA test breakthrough in COVID-19 treatment

the first batch of the Antibody Cocktail

A Bengaluru-based start-up has developed

for the group and play a crucial role in developing digital capabilities across the organisation’s existing presence in seven countries and soon in Cayman Islands.

He holds a master’s degree from Brigham Young University, Utah and has completed Senior Executive Education in Design thinking, AI, Big Data and Organizational BDPARIB (Rucaparib) other anti-cancer agents in several tumour forms, including ovarian and prostate cancers. It has played a significant role in treating ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutation (germline or somatic) associated with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have been treated with two or more chemotherapy.

Fitterfly launches Diabefly Digital Therapeutics platform

(Casirivimab

and

Imdevimab)

is

now

a

novel,

point-of-care

Electrochemical

available in India while a second batch

ELISA

will be made available by mid-June. In

accurate estimation of total antibody

total they can potentially benefit 200,000

concentration

patients as each of the 100,000 packs

samples.

that will be available in India offers

start-up incubated at the Society for

treatment for two patients. Cipla will

Innovation and Development (SID), Indian

distribute

leveraging

Institute of Science (IISc), has made a

its strong distribution strengths across

very significant breakthrough to develop

the country. The drug will be available

the first of its kind, semi-quantitative

Brandon Rowberry joins Aster DM Healthcare as CEO – Digital Health

through

Aster DM Healthcare has announced the

the

by

hospitals

that of

enables COVID-19

PathShodh

fast in

and

clinical

Healthcare,

the

and

COVID

Electrochemical ELISA test for COVID-19

Central

Drugs

IgM and IgG antibodies. While qualitative

Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO)

analysis detects constituent elements in

had recently provided an Emergency

the sample, the semiquantitative analysis

Use Authorisation (EUA) for the antibody

gives an approximate estimation of their

cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) in

concentrations. PathShodh has received

treatment

leading

product

test

centres.

The

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9

NEWS ROUNDUP the license to manufacture for sale from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), after validation at Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, as per the requirements of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

DRDO develops COVID-19 antibody detection kit Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed an antibody detection-based kit ‘DIPCOVAN’, the DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance. The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spikes as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent.

The kit has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics, a development and manufacturing diagnostics company based in New Delhi. The DIPCOVAN kit was developed indigenously by the scientists, followed by extensive validation on more than 1,000 patient samples at various COVID designated hospitals in Delhi. Three batches of the product were validated during the last year.

The antibody detection kit is approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April 2021. The product received regulatory approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation

COVID-19 antibody detection kit

10

June 2021

(CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to manufacture for sale and distribution. DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens. It offers a significantly faster turn-around time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross-reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.

Goyal, Dr Bharat Choudhary, Biofi Medical

Healthcare start-ups win innovation challenge

YCombinator-backed MedPiper Technologies has launched MScribe, an online prescription builder tool for doctors, to improve their treatment methods during the time of the pandemic. Packed with all the essential inputs like patient history, unique patient IDs, and medicine consumption slots, MScribe will help to ensure that doctors provide the right treatment, clearing the confusion when it comes to the right medicine and dosage.

India-Sweden

Healthcare

Innovation

Centre virtually announced the winners of the Innovation Challenge, that aimed to

identify

and

support

innovative

solutions that can impact the treatment of non-communicable and communicable diseases and help regress critical problems in

the

healthcare

delivery

landscape

of India. These winning solutions were announced through a web conference

by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Representatives from the 14 winning startups were also present at the inaugural event to exchange their vision that could improve the healthcare ecosystem in the country. The innovation challenge included a rigorous evaluation process by a panel of

Healthcare India, Blackfrog Technologies, Dozee Dr

(Turtle

Gautam

Ram

Shell

Technologies),

Choudhary,

Janitri

Innovations, Jeevtronics, Qritive, Qure.ai Technologies, and ThermaiScanTechnology AB.

MedPiper Technologies launches MScribe

Automation of prescriptions will make it easier for doctors to keep a check on their patients, and eliminate manual records, which will be the shift to the newer, techsavvy generation of doctors. MScribe stores all the prescriptions in one place under a unique ID, thereby allowing the doctor to access the patient’s medical history and additional relevant data whenever they need to.

experts from AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, ICMR, The Swedish Trade Commissioners office to India, AstraZeneca, AIM, C-CAMP and

other

partners.

This

committee

had shortlisted 14 compelling solutions including that of Dr Aakash Kohli, Aarogya AI innovations, Adiuvo Diagnostics, Dr Amit

Cipla with Ubio Biotechnology Systems launch ‘ViraGen’ Cipla announced the commercialisation of a polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kit ‘ViraGen’ for COVID-19 in India, in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems. ViraGen is Cipla’s third offering in the Covid-19 testing segment. Cipla already has partnerships for antibody detection kits and antigen test kits. ViraGen is a real-time detection kit approved by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and is based on multiplex PCR technology. It helps to identify and detect SARS CoV-2 N Gene and ORF Lab Gene with a sensitivity of 98.6 per cent and a specificity of 98.8 per cent as compared to a standard ICMR test.

This test is designed for the qualitative

detection of nucleic acid from SARSCoV-2 in the upper and lower respiratory specimens from individuals suspected of COVID-19.

Mapmygenome launches Drive-Thru COVID-19 testing facility in Hyderabad Mapmygenome has launched a DriveThru COVID-19 testing facility at Cyient Foundation MP Primary & ZP High School in

Gachibowli,

Hyderabad.

There

are

standees with a barcode to the registration form, which can be filled online. Apart from names, contact details, and age, this form also requires an individual’s ID proof.

Sample collection executives approach the car and collect oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swab samples. Payment can be made online or to the executive.

At every step, all COVID protocols and precautions are being followed. Reports are sent online. Mapmygenome India has two COVID testing labs – one at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad

and one at their Corporate Headquarters in Madhapur. Both the labs operate 24/7.

They also have a Branch Office and COVID sample collection facility at Kukatpally.

People in Hyderabad can visit the lab in Madhapur, the collection facility at Kukatpally, or the new Drive-Thru facility at Gachibowli for COVID testing.

American India Foundation, Xerox come together for COVID-19 relief The American India Foundation (AIF) has shipped more than 30,000 singleuse, selfpowered ventilators and 13,000 monitors to India, an in-kind donation received from Xerox, in an immediate response to the government’s appeal for NGOs to aid ‘COVID-19 interventions in India, during this ‘once in a century crisis’.

Shipped by FedEx in collaboration with MetLife Foundation, the ventilators are disposable, hands-free devices that do not require power from electricity or batteries, making them versatile and appropriate, especially for usage in Tier III cities and

rural areas that may not have a steady power supply. Each single-use ventilator can be used for up to 30 days, while the monitors can be used multiple times.

Gamma Biosciences acquires controlling stake in Mirus Bio Gamma Biosciences has agreed to make a controlling investment in Mirus Bio, an innovator and developer of biomimetic, cell-adaptive lipid-polymer nanocomplexes (LPNCs) for nucleic acid delivery based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Current Mirus shareholders will retain a substantial equity ownership stake in the company. The transaction will support Mirus’ plans to expand good manufacturing practice (GMP) production and commercialization of its flagship product TransIT VirusGEN for large scale manufacturing of AAV and LV-based viral vectors for gene therapy, as well as further development and commercialisation of the platform for in vivo delivery applications.

SRIT partners with Simbo.ai Simbo.ai, a pioneer in explainable Artificial Intelligence (AI), is pleased to announce its partnership with SRIT, a market leader for the last 21 years in the field of clinical, radiological,

medical

imaging,

E.H.R.,

eHealth, mHealth, RCM, Insurance Contracts &

Claims

adjudication

management

software solution. This partnership aims to augment SRIT’s eHealth and mhealth solutions and enable them to deliver voicebased electronic medical records (EMR) documentation. SimboAlpha, a flagship product of simbo.ai, is a cloud-based application programming interface (API) platform. It is based on Artificial Neural Networks and is trained on 10 million+ recordings, it supports native and all Indian English accents. Trained on International and Indian clinical terms, SimboAlpha’s prescription digitisation is highly accurate even in noisy environments, with 2.58 per cent Word Error Rate (WER) and 3.16 per Mapmygenome's Drive-Thru COVID-19 testing facility

cent Sentence Error Rate.

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NEWS ROUNDUP WIMWIsure launches AI-enabled bot for vaccination slots and plasma donors Insurtech WIMWIsure has launched a messaging bot on the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. Citizens can simply drop a text on the number along with their pin code and age and be notified as soon as the slot is available at a nearby centre following which the user can book the slot on the COWIN website. The facility is also available for registration and instant notification on the availability of plasma donors in the respective pin code

area.

Considering

that

citizens

are experiencing several challenges in Nihaal Singh Adarsh with his mother

finding slots at inoculation centres as well as getting matching plasma donors,

Mumbai student innovator develops Cov-Tech Mumbai’s Nihaal Singh Adarsh has invented Cov-Tech, a compact ventilation system for PPE kits. A second-year student of KJ Somaiya College of Engineering explained the experiential difference CovTech makes to the Corona Warrior wearing the PPE and said, “Cov-Tech ventilation system is like you are sitting under the fan even while you are inside the PPE suit.

It takes the surrounding air, filters it and pushes it into the PPE suit. Normally, due to lack of ventilation, it is hot and humid within the PPE suit; our solution offers a way out of this uncomfortable experience, by creating a steady airflow inside.” The design of the ventilation system ensures a complete air seal from the PPE kit. It provides a breeze of fresh air to the user in a gap of just 100 seconds.

Dozee launches MillionICU Initiative Dozee has launched MillionICU, an initiative to address the massive shortage of ICU beds and staff in public hospitals.

The initiative will raise funds to upgrade normal beds in government hospitals across India into Step-Down ICUs, using Dozee’s contactless sensor, in under five minutes and enable remote and central

12

June 2021

the start-up, which provides on-demand video inspection for insurable assets, has

integrated

its

conversational

AI

technology with available pen APIs, to trigger notifications through Whatsapp.

The team is also working on other areas of coordination for COVID-19 resources by mitigating the demand-supply gap for real-time availability.

Tata Memorial hospital floats tender for new hospital Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Hospital has floated a tender for the construction of a 550-bed oncology super-speciality hospital opposite its existing facility. The Dozee MillionICU monitoring of patients at the ward level.

The initiative will enable the hospitals to tide over the current COVID-19 crisis in the short term and bring about a rapid, long-term transformation in India’s public healthcare infrastructure. The company has set a goal of installing 50,000 stepdown ICU beds across India in the next six months and take it to one million in the next three years. The initiative has already benefited 25 such hospitals across 15 districts with more than 10,000 patients being monitored and having saved 25000+ nursing hours.

new facility will be known as ‘Platinum Jubilee Block’ and a tender was floated recently. Work for the same will start in six months. According to Dr Shailesh Shrikhande,

Deputy

Director

of

Tata

Memorial Hospital and lead coordinator on the new projects the new facility will cater to gastrointestinal, thoracic, head and neck, neuro, bone and soft tissue oncological problems. The new building will have 17 storeys, including three basements and 23 large operation theatres, large daycare, taxi and car park spread over 11.5 lakh sq ft. The new facility will be ready in three to four years.

GSK Consumer Healthcare to make over a billion toothpaste tubes recyclable by 2025 GSK Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) is partnering with two global packaging suppliers

to

launch

fully

recyclable

toothpaste tubes across its specialist and science-based oral health brands, including

Sensodyne,

Parodontax

and

Aquafresh. The first partnership, with strategic

packaging

supplier,

Albea,

which is one of the world’s largest tube manufacturers, will see GSKCH switch its toothpaste tubes from aluminium barrier laminates

COVID-19 dedicated hospital

Omega Seiki Mobility, Haryana govt opens COVID-19 hospital in Faridabad

help Virohan to augment its proprietary blended learning technology platform, with

Omega Seiki Mobility, part of the Anglian Omega Group, in collaboration with the Haryana Government announced the opening of a dedicated COVID-19 Oxygen Hospital at Sanjay Colony, Faridabad.

Present at the inauguration were Dr Randeep Singh Punia, CMO, Faridabad, Haryana, Jaiveer Khatana, Councillor (Ward Number 3), Faridabad and Uday Narang, Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility.

Omega Seiki Mobility airlifted oxygen concentrators from South Korea which can cater to 30 patients at a time in the oxygen hospital. The hospital is assisting in taking care of COVID-19 patients and strengthening to fight against the pandemic.

virtual

reality-based

training.

Virohan’s

platform

includes

blended

practical Learning

on-demand

online

training through bite-sized videos and real-time quizzes and gamification. This enables its partner colleges and students to switch seamlessly from in the classroom to online learning.

to

the

patented

Greenleaf

laminate. The switch-over will begin with Sensodyne Pronamel tubes, which will be available in fully recyclable alternatives in Europe this July. This will be bolstered by a second partnership with EPL Global to produce tubes in Platina laminate. Both laminates have passed recycling-readiness tests set by the US-based Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and by Europe’s RecyClass, meaning that the tubes will be recyclable and compatible with existing recycling

NephroPlus scales up operation across 120 centres in India

processes.

It

is

anticipated

that the combined moves will see over a billion toothpaste tubes per year become recyclable by 2025.

patients across 120+ centres in 90 cities.

Tech Mahindra appoints Meghna Hareendran as Wellness Officer

Through this initiative, NephroPlus aims

Tech Mahindra announced the appointment

to help dialysis patients with COVID-19,

of Meghna Hareendran as the ‘Wellness

to obtain timely dialysis care across

Healthcare edtech startup Virohan raises $3 million

Officer’, with immediate effect. The new

the centres through in-hospital dialysis

role has been created to institutionalise

Gurgaon-based ed-tech company Virohan

‘Dialysis on Call’ (DOC). The service is fully

has

from

functional across all the units as the brand

Rebright Partners to top up its Series A

has created dedicated facilities to provide

round to a total of $3 million. Virohan

dialysis service to COVID positive patients,

will use the funds to expand to over 160

either in isolation at the OPD units or in

new campuses pan India to strengthen the

the IP/ICUs. Apart from this, NephroPlus

Indian healthcare system by creating an

has made special provisions to offer

army of specially trained allied healthcare

dialysis services at the OPD units of the

relationships with Tech Mahindra partners

workforce which will help tackle the

hospitals during the night hours (third and

and vendors to ensure a comprehensive

ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The funding will

fourth shift).

suite of wellness offerings to them.

raised

additional

funding

NephroPlus has announced its continued commitment by scaling up its operations of providing dialysis to COVID positive

sessions

or

its

specialised

service

offerings ‘Dialysis on Wheel’ (DOW) and

holistic wellness of all associates and to ensure access to medicine, hospitals and other medical supplies while maintaining the

mental

well-being

of

the

Tech

Mahindra family. Hareendran will work as a central program manager to take care of the healthcare needs of the associates and will also be responsible for managing

www.indiamedtoday.com

13

NEWS ROUNDUP allowing users in India to easily find hospitals and care facilities in their area.

The directory is built right into the app and can be accessed from either the menu or the dialer, it said in a statement. According to a release, the directory includes telephone numbers and addresses of covid designated hospitals from multiple states across the country, sourced from official government databases.

SVKM’s NMIMS School of Design collaborates with Design Laboratory NMIMS School of Design (SOD), a leading institute

for

future-scoped

design

education, has partnered with Design Covid-care field hospital

Laboratory

JSW Group opens 1000bed covid-care field hospital in Karnataka JSW Group has launched a 1,000-bedded oxygenated

covid

care

district

field

hospital in Toranagallu, Ballari, Karnataka.

The

mega-hospital

was

inaugurated

virtually by Chief Minister of Karnataka BS

Yediyurappa

in

the

presence

of

Anand Singh, Minister for Infrastructure Development, Haj and Waft and Ballari District

In-charge

Minister,

Govt

of

Karnataka; Ballari, E Tukaram, Member of Legislative Assembly, Sandur, along with District Administration and JSW officials.

This is one of India’s biggest covid-care facilities with a dedicated 4.8 km oxygen pipeline originating from its steel factory and supplying medical oxygen directly to the hospital for treatment of ailing patients. This mega healthcare facility was constructed in a record period of

Columbia Pacific Communities and Fortis Healthcare launch mental health initiative

district administration of Ballari and is dedicated to the nation and the people of

of Public Health (HSPH) aimed at the application of design frameworks and methods to address the behavioural issues influencing public health, for Remember Now, a research project to gather data that

The objective of the 10-day social media led initiative is to provide senior citizens with free and easy access to experts who can provide them with counselling, therapy and no-judgement, confidential

data about how people are living, learning,

conversations. The objective of this initiative by Columbia Pacific Communities is to stand with India’s senior citizens during this difficult time and provide them with a safe space encouraging them to ask for help. ‘Fortis Stress Helpline’ by Fortis National Mental Health Program, is a free 24×7 helpline providing support, crisis intervention and guidance by psychologists.

insights. The research was undertaken

Truecaller launches Covid hospital directory in India Telephone search engine and caller ID

and administered by the Ballari District

service

Administration.

launched a COVID-19 Hospital Directory

June 2021

collaborative

can help individuals and organisations

Karnataka. The hospital will be managed

14

a

Senior living community operator Columbia Pacific Communities has partnered with Fortis Healthcare, one of India’s most reputed healthcare service providers to launch a mental wellness initiative titled #ReachOut.

15 days. JSW Group has created this mega-hospital in collaboration with the

(D-Lab),

initiative by Harvard TH Chan School

provider,

Truecaller

recently

prepare better for future pandemics. 14 students from SOD’s B. Des. (Humanising Technology) programme participated in the study as field researchers, applying remote ethnography methods to gather working, and playing while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify key barriers and drivers of behavioural change that could lead to meaningful with the guidance of Prof Manisha Phadke, Prof Sameer Tendulkar, and Dr Shreya Maulik, and in compliance with Harvard’s protocols.

IIT Madras, MIT scientists grow human brain tissues from 3D printed bioreactor Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Scientists have grown human brain tissues called ‘organoids’ with help of a 3D Printed Bioreactor that they developed.

The objective was to observe the brain

NABH is an institutional member of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) as well as a member of ISQua Accreditation Council. The dialysis centre in Hauz Khas is continuously working with passion, commitment and perseverance to implement quality standards set up by the NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers). Over the last many years DCDC has earned the reputation of being the most trusted in running kidney dialysis networks across India.

MSN Labs enters into licensing agreement with Lilly MSN Labs has entered into a royaltyfree, IIT Madras, MIT scientists tissues while they grow and develop, a technology that can potentially accelerate medical and therapeutic discoveries for diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Cell culture is one of the fundamental steps in invalidation of the human organ model, whether it may be a pre-clinical study for COVID-19, cancer medicine discovery or any medicine to be used on humans.

There is an open challenge in growing cells for long durations and studying them in real-time to gain a better understanding of the effects of the medicine. The present cell culture protocols involve separate chambers for incubation and imaging, requiring that cells are physically transferred to the imaging chamber.

However, this poses the risk of false results and chances for contamination.

IIT Madras and MIT Scientists came up with a novel solution, which let the cell grow uninterruptedly. In this invention, a 3D printed micro-incubator and imaging chamber was made into a single palmsized platform, which was successfully demonstrated for long-term human brain cell culture and real-time imaging.

non-exclusive,

voluntary

license

agreement with Eli Lilly and Company of USA for manufacturing and marketing upskilling platform and Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) to launch a programme to provide adequate skills training to healthcare professionals (medical students, nursing students, pharmacists, phlebotomists, etc.) in the administration of COVID-19 vaccination. Dr Thomas Davis, Director of Standards and Industry Engagement, Health Sector Skill Council said, “There is an urgent need to expand the pool of trained vaccinators in the country. Given the strain on our healthcare infrastructure, this initiative will help in training thousands of healthcare workers and preparing them in the fight against COVID-19.”

DCDC Nephrine Renal Care, Delhi bags NABH accreditation

of baricitinib for COVID-19 in India.

The drug baricitinib has been granted a

restricted

emergency

use

approval

in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization for emergency use in combination with remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or laboratoryconfirmed COVID-19 in hospitalised adults requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Boeing’s 200-bed ICU hospital to come up in Gorakhpur US-based

aircraft

maker

Boeing

has

proposed to construct a 200-bed ICU hospital at Vir Bahadur Singh Sports

DCDC Nephrine Renal Care in New Delhi

College in Gorakhpur, the Uttar Pradesh

has been recognised with prestigious

government

NABH

said.

Chief

Minister

Yogi

Board

Adityanath inspected the site of the

for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers)

proposed hospital, it said. The chief

Accreditation. The centre has become the

minister also inspected the integrated

first and only standalone centre in India to

COVID command centre through which

receive NABH accreditation in the kidney

work like sending COVID patients to

1mg collaborates with HSSC and Seekify

dialysis network. The accreditation has

hospitals, providing medical counselling

been awarded based on an evaluation

to them in home isolation and distributing

of the DCDC centre against numerous

medical kits etc., is carried out, the

1mg has partnered with Seekify, an

standards

government said.

(National

and

Accreditation

objective

elements.

www.indiamedtoday.com

15

NEWS ROUNDUP Qure.ai, the AI will analyse X-ray images to detect abnormal findings within seconds.

Fujifilm’s portable X-ray FDR Xair system is equipped with a new image processing box called Expansion Unit EX-Mobile2 enabling it to connect with qXR software.

It will assist clinicians and technicians by flagging abnormal findings at the point of care.

Multiples to buy out Zydus Cadila’s India focussed animal health business

Ludhiana’s Deep Hospital's paediatric ward

Ludhiana’s Deep Hospital launch initiative for neonatal babies Ludhiana-based Deep Hospital has announced an initiative to help out with the ongoing covid crisis. Under this initiative, if the parents of a newborn baby are diagnosed covid positive and the baby doesn’t show any symptoms of the infection, the hospital will take care of and nurture the infant, until the parents recover from the infection. The idea is to minimise the risk of exposure to the newborns and protect them by keeping them in Deep Hospital’s NICU. These infants will be given expert physiological and even medical care, as necessary, during their stay at Deep Hospital while the parents recover.

Voxtur Bio unveils panIndia plan to expand IVD kit distribution network

the-art manufacturing facility in Vasai on the outskirts of Mumbai with a production capacity of 12 million tests per month.

As the IVD market in India is growing at a rapid pace, Voxtur Bio aims to capture a larger market share with its affordable world-class IVD test kits and reagents.

In line with the government’s Make In India mission, the company is bolstering its manufacturing and distribution wherewithal to reduce dependence on imports from countries like China.

Fujifilm partners with Qure.a Fujifilm India announced that FUJIFILM Corporation has introduced X-ray solutions augmented with qXR1, Qure.ai’s computed aided radiology software application designed with deep-learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. According to

Mumbai-based In-vitro diagnostics (IVD) company Voxtur Bio has rolled out a panIndia plan to expand its IVD kit distribution network. As a part of the strategy, the company will onboard more than 100 marketing professionals across key metros and cities in India to strengthen its order procurement and supply capability. To ramp up its manufacturing strength, the company has set up a 40,000 sq ft state-of-

16

June 2021

FUJIFILM - X-ray solutions

Multiples Alternate Asset Management (Multiples) led consortium, through an SPV controlled by them, have signed a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) and other Ancillary Agreements (Definitive Agreements) to acquire Animal Healthcare Established Markets Undertaking (Undertaking or Zydus AH). The consortium including Multiples, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and RARE Enterprises (RARE), is buying the animal health business of Zydus AH focussed on India and certain other countries on a going concern basis via a slump sale from Zydus Animal Health and Investments (ZAHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare (Cadila).

HealthPlix hires senior leaders HealthPlix, a provider of EMR health technology

in

India

has

appointed

Prashant Parmar as Head of Growth and Burhanuddin Pithawala as Growth Marketing

Lead

in

India.

These

two

hospital in Bengaluru. The 120-bed Covid treatment centre has been developed by converting the school hostel into a

healthcare

facility.

While

Canadian

International School offered its hostel facilities for setting up the centre, the city-based NGO – Humanist Centre for Medicine and the Bengaluru chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization helped with the fundraising for the initiative. The centre was opened in the presence of SR Vishwanath – MLA, Yelahanka and CK Baba – Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East Division, Bengaluru. The Cytecare step-down hospital will treat moderately ill

Covid

patients

requiring

oxygen

support, given that they form a substantial percentage of all hospital admissions. Each bed has a dedicated oxygen concentrator, in addition to other healthcare facilities and nursing care.

(L-R) Prashant Parmar and Burhanuddin Pithawala appointments are a step forward for HealthPlix, as it prepares for its next phase of growth bringing leadership that has deep expertise in scale-up in strong Indian start-ups. The company believes that these core capabilities along with its superior EMR Product would continue to help it serve more doctors, and lead as India’s largest Electronic Medical Records Platform.

Mangla Dembi joins Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital as Head and Senior VP Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital has appointed Mangla Dembi as the Head and Senior Vice President. Dembi will spearhead the P&L and operational responsibilities of the hospital. She has experience in business development, patient care and hospital operations span over two decades. Dembi graduated in science from Delhi University and postgraduated in marketing from MNIT, Jaipur.

Dembi joined Max Healthcare as Vice President, Patient Experience in 2020.

Before her notable tenure at Max, she was associated for over a decade at Fortis Healthcare where she led a multitude of projects around patient centricity,

operational excellence and business development. In her last assignment at Fortis, Dembi was Facility Director at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj handling the P&L and operational responsibilities.

Cytecare Hospitals collaborates with Cloudphysician Cytecare Hospitals in collaboration with Cloudphysician – a health-tech company, announced the opening of a step-down

UnivLabs develops 4K Endoscope Tower India’s 4K Endoscope Tower has been launched in Gurgaon, Haryana. UnivLabs Technologies has indigenously designed and manufactured a full-fledged 4K Endoscope Tower, whose performance is at par with the tower that India imports from global giants and it has been built at three fourth the cost of the competitors’ product. All the individual components of the Tower like the Body Cavity Illuminator, Co2 insufflator, hysteroscopy pump,

Cytecare's covid treatment centre

www.indiamedtoday.com

17

NEWS ROUNDUP has been set up in Kerala as part of the COVID-19 defence. The field hospital is equipped with a 50-bed ventilator, bi-pop and oxygen facilities exclusively for COVID-19 patients. The most notable feature is that the facility was built in just five days with the first 25 beds that were made operational, today. It is located in the car parking ground near the previously established Makeshift ICU.

HMI Group and Siemens Healthineers enter into strategic partnership Health Management International (HMI Group) and Siemens Healthineers entered into a five-year strategic partnership to advance healthcare delivery in Southeast 4K Endoscope Tower

Rohit Saini

Asia. As part of this first-of-its-kind

laparoscopy pump have been conceived and manufactured by the company in India and the most advanced 4K camera has been developed under an MoU with a Japanese imaging company. The individual components have widely been used in the local and international market for the last five years and now the entire tower is available at a very affordable rate with many new useful features which are not there in the existing towers.

360 degree integrated marketing approach for Omron Healthcare. Saini brings over 19 years of experience. He has also served Coca Cola, Barry Callebaut, a Swiss Multinational and Ferrero India.

partnership in the region, HMI Group

Dr Trust appoints Rohit Saini as VP of Sales and Marketing Nureca,

the

owner

of

the

education and further develop Centres of of cancer, neuroscience and cardiovascular

Aster MIMS Hospital at Kozhikode constructed a field hospital within five days and commenced operations. The makeshift hospital is exclusive to COVID-19 patients.

This is the first time a field hospital

StarMed Specialist Centre in Singapore and

leading

of Rohit Saini as its new Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Saini brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and an array of experiences in the consumer healthcare industry. Before his current role, Saini was the General Manager Sales and Marketing (India and Sri Lanka) at Omron Healthcare India. During his tenure, Saini successfully led a team of sales and marketing professionals across the Indian market. He was responsible for India Subcontinent P&L growth strategy with the distribution of the KPIs. He also devised ‘Above the Line’ and ‘Below the

June 2021

digitalisation platforms, enhance clinical

Aster MIMS launches field hospital for COVID-19 patients in Kozhikode

is pleased to announce the appointment

18

out innovative medical technologies and

Excellence (CoEs) in the key clinical areas

healthcare and wellness brand Dr Trust,

Line’ marketing strategies along with a

will invest over SGD 32 million to roll

Aster MIMS field hospital

diseases.

This

investment

is

a

key

component of the HMI Group’s ongoing expansion initiatives across

tertiary hospitals in Malaysia — Mahkota Medical Centre (Mahkota) in Melaka and Regency Specialist Hospital (Regency) in Johor.

Anant National University sets up covid centres in interior Maharashtra Anant National University along with its coalition of partners has set up two more COVID care facilities in the interior regions of Maharashtra. These two centres are set up in collaboration with Sustain Labs and Nitish Rane, an MLA from Mumbai. It may be noted that Anant National University has set up 13 COVID care facilities across five states in India. Led by Dr Miniya Chatterji, CEO, Sustain Labs and Director of the Anant Centre for Sustainability, the two new facilities are in Devgad and Vaibhavwadi in Maharashtra. Funded by MLA Nitish Rane, these facilities have 20

Lihquan Lee

beds each, taking the total count of COVID

Taiwan-based artist donates six oxygen concentrators to India Chennai-based VS Hospitals has received six oxygen concentrators from the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Taiwan. These six oxygen concentrators were sent as part of Lihquan Lee’s charity project for raising fund. Prof Dr S Sundar, Sr Consultant Joint Replacement & Tumour Surgeon and Medical Director, VS Group of Hospitals and Muthu Subramanian, Executive Director, VS Group of Hospitals received these concentrators at VS Hospitals Covid Care Center at Chennai.

Mankind Pharma collaborates with Accenture Mankind

Pharma

has

collaborated

with Accenture to accelerate its digital transformation journey to become an intelligent enterprise, improving business agility,

performance,

and

operational

efficiency. Accenture has redesigned the pharma major’s business processes across key functions such as finance, supply chain, sales and procurement for better inventory optimisation, demand planning, workforce productivity and product availability. As part of the project, Accenture deployed a digital platform based on SAP S/4HANA,

a Microsoft Azure cloud-based data lake and Tableau dashboards, providing cloudbased analytics to help Mankind Pharma get deeper insights into its global business operations and performance. The platform integrates data in real-time from multiple sources across the supply chain, workforce and sales to provide a consolidated view of market insights. This can help the management team make informed decisions around business strategy, planning and product development.

beds set up by AnantU in India to 1700.

Ujala Cygnus Hospital Group collaborates with GCPL Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals has joined hands with Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL). Under the initiative, the GPCL has handed over relief supply of over 200,000 units of Godrej Protekt sanitisers and handwash products to Ujala

Amrita Hospitals introduces radiosynovectomy procedure in Kerala for haemophilia patients

Cygnus Hospitals. The supply includes

Amrita Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, in collaboration with the Department of Clinical Hematology, Amrita Hospitals has launched the breakthrough ‘Radio-Synovectomy’ (RS) procedure to treat haemophilia patients suffering from chronic synovitis. Yttrium-90, a necessary element required for the treatment is being procured from France, especially for this procedure. The hospital is the only one to have introduced it for the first-ever time in Kerala and this is the second such centre in the whole of India. The only other hospital to be conducting this procedure in the country is CMC Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Godrej Protekt sanitisers which will be used for patients and healthcare workers, who are at the frontlines in this pandemic.

The donation will be utilised across 13 hospitals of the Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals spread over Delhi, Haryana,

SCHILLER India installs portable CT Scanner at AIIMS Patna SCHILLER India has installed an OmniTomPortable Head & Neck CT Scanner at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna.

This is the first-ever OmniTom installed in the Middle East and Asia. OmniTom- A Point-of-care 16 Slice CT Scanner is the world’s first medical device with an OmniWheel for 360-degree movement with

www.indiamedtoday.com

19

NEWS ROUNDUP Transcell’s innovative stem cell technology with the advanced augmented intelligence capabilities of Wipro HOLMES to improve the safety of global vaccine immunisation programmes. Using Wipro HOLMES instead, researchers

and

biopharmaceutical

companies have a new and fully viable solution and alternative. Wipro HOLMES can also be integrated into any existing workflow, including quality control tests in vaccine production, batch-wise release and other safety evaluation assays.

OmniTom-Portable Head & Neck CT Scanner an intuitive interface.The point-of-care 16-slice CT scanner is a highly advanced N-DAS detector and the electronic noise is lower than photonic noise. N-DAS has been combined with a 24-bit processing chain that never compresses the data leading to clearer images with ultimately low artificial noise.

Mahindra rolls out ‘Oxygen on Wheels’ The Mahindra Group has rolled out a free service initiative, ‘Oxygen on Wheels’ (O2W), which will strengthen the availability of oxygen by connecting oxygen producers with the hospitals and medical centres in dire need of it. O2W is launched in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Pimpri-

Mahindra's ‘Oxygen on Wheels’

20

June 2021

Chinchwad, Chakan, Nasik and Nagpur with over 100 Mahindra vehicles ferrying oxygen, at the present. Discussions are ongoing with the civic administration and government departments to extend this free service to other cities as well, most importantly to Delhi, which is facing an acute shortage. Given the overwhelming response in the past 48 hours, extending this initiative to deliver oxygen cylinders directly to patients’ homes is also under consideration.

announced

a

partnership

Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ola, announced its partnership with GiveIndia to provide consumers with oxygen concentrators for free through the Ola app. The service will start rolling out in Bengaluru from this week with an initial set of 500 oxygen concentrators. Ola and GiveIndia will scale it up across the country with up to 10,000 concentrators in the coming weeks. Consumers will be able to log into the la app and request an

Wipro partners with Transcell Oncologics Wipro

Ola Foundation partners with GiveIndia

oxygen concentrator by providing a few basic details. Once submitted, the request with

will be validated and Ola will then pick up

Transcell Oncologics to transform vaccine

the concentrator via one of its cabs with a

safety

specially trained driver and bring it to the

assessment

using

augmented

intelligence (AI). This partnership combines

consumer’s doorstep.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Mucormycosis Experience at a Multi-speciality Hospital

Mucormycosis becomes severe when it starts spreading into various parts of the body at a rather rapid pace.

It is therefore recommended not to ignore the slightest of the symptoms, especially in case of those, who are either active Covid patients or those, who have recovered.

While oxygen support is necessary for people suffering from COVID-19, maintaining a proper hygiene during the process of oxygenation is equally important. that

Experts

have

indiscriminate

observed

supplementation

of oxygen in COVID-19 cases can put a patient at risk of developing Looking into the future, there will be no surprises, if we have to evaluate life in general, as life during the PreCovid Era and life in the post Covid Era.

Notwithstanding

the

fact

that

the global population still continues to bear the brunt of COVID-19 at regular intervals, doctors and scientists involved in medical research, are facing new challenges every day.

One such

complicated medical condition that has got everyone thinking, is Mucormycosis, better known as Black Fungus.

compared to last year.

There are three main symptoms which need to be carefully looked at in the case of Mucormycosis.

treatment

for

Mucormycosis

includes receiving intravenous fungal for removal of the infected tissue.

• Facial swelling

Self-care

measures

are

extremely

• Diminished/Blurred Vision and one

important to prevent Mucormycosis,

eye popping out

especially when COVID-19 is at its

In addition to these, the patient may experience pain in the head, face, cheek, eyes, bleeding from the nose, black

from uncontrolled and high diabetes or

discharge from the nose and partial or

weakened immunity due to prolonged

complete loss of vision. Mucormycosis

illness. However, these days, it is

is diagnosed by taking a look at a tissue

observed in patients, who have tested

sample in the lab. In case the patient has

positive for COVID-19 or even recovered

a sinus infection, the doctor will collect

from the disease. The possible reasons

a sample of phlegm and nasal discharge.

attributed

re-

This disease is not contagious and there

emergence of Mucormycosis, are the

is remote chance of it spreading through

mutated strains of Covid, as seen during

an infected person like in the case of

its unprecedented surge this year,when

COVID-19.

the

The

medications and surgical intervention

tooth, pain behind the eye, redness of

for

of surfaces to reduce the risk.

neurological pain, affecting sleep.

which is observed in people suffering

doctors

cleaning of humidifiers and disinfection

• One sided pain, which is a severe

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection

by

Mucormycosis. It is important to ensure

peak. It is vital to follow all medical safety

guidelines

laid

down

for

COVID-19 which includes, wearing a mask, maintaining social distance and practicing regular hand hygiene. For Farmers and Gardeners, who spend long hours in the field, it will be a safe practice to wear shoes, long shirts and gloves, especially while handling soil and manure. It is equally important not to ignore any additional symptom as explained earlier. A stich in time saves nine.

Source: Sagar Hospitals, Bengaluru

www.indiamedtoday.com

21

INTERVIEW

Appropriately Designed COVID19 Vaccine Trials are the need of the Hour Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick, Director Clinical Research & Academics, Peerless Hospital Kolkata-based Peerless Hospital has been a part of the pan-India trials of two versions of the Sputnik V vaccine, one manufactured in India and the other in Russia. Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick, Director Clinical Research & Academics, Peerless Hospital, under whose guidance the trials are being undertaken, gives an idea about the trials being undertaken, the challenges being faced during the lockdown etc, in interaction with IndiaMed Today.

Excerpts from the interview.

Two versions of the Sputnik V vaccine — one made in Russia and the other manufactured in India are undergoing trials at Peerless Hospital. Why has Peerless Hospital undertaken the trials?

Apart from Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, the Drug Control General of India has allowed other companies to market the Sputnik V vaccine in India. These companies comparative

have

to

do

therapeutic

a

head-on

equivalence

trial to prove that Dr Reddy’s vaccine (Sputnik V vaccine from Russia) and the Indian version of the vaccine has the same efficacy rate as the Russian vaccine.

Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick, Director Clinical Research & Academics, Peerless Hospital company because I had worked as the

With lockdowns what

principal investigator for the initial

challenges did you face

Sputnik V vaccine trial in Eastern India.

I readily agreed as I believe that single-

conducting the trials especially

handedly Dr Reddy’s Laboratory cannot

when it comes to looking out

cope with the huge demand of 130

for volunteers?

crore Indians and we need many more

For doing that they need to do a phase

suppliers of Sputnik V vaccine to be

There is a challenge to lockdown as

III clinical trial. I was approached by

based within the country so that the

people cannot move out and people

the Hyderabad based pharmaceutical

Sputnik vaccine demand can be fulfilled.

cannot travel for trials. We have issued

22

June 2021

them letters from our hospital. We have

Govt of India has come up with strict

vaccines from different manufacturers,

counselled the volunteers that they

guidelines where in case of any adverse

a single manufacturer can’t satisfy

can inform the police that they can be

events,

compensation

the

needs

allowed to travel. They are doing this

should be provided to the volunteers

The

infrastructure

or their nominees in case of death.

and not feasible within the supply

The ethics committee plays a vital

chain management. Clinical trials are

role in monitoring the serious adverse

appropriately designed and conducted

event and as well as deciding on the

to bring an end to the shortage of

compensation amount.

vaccines in the country.

Even during the trials, if the patients

What do you have to say about the third wave which is looming large?

for vaccine development in the country.

Sponsors are playing a great role in clinical trials. Apart from paying for the travel cost of the volunteers, sponsors are supporting the hospital in bringing in volunteers for the screening process.

I expect the government to put in place an efficient courier system where blood samples of the volunteers can reach the central laboratory without any hurdles when lockdown restrictions are in place.

What type of patient safety protocols are followed while conducting the trials?

Patient safety protocols start from the

ethics

committee

review.

The

ethics review the trials on their utility and the simple dictum is that what

appropriate

or volunteers suffer from any adverse events they are free to approach principal investigators like me or any

of

130 is

crore not

Indians. in

place

of the ethics committee members so

COVID-19 have been characterised by

that their voice about a concern can be

different waves where a large number

addressed.

of patients get affected at a time. The

India is currently facing a vaccine shortage. Will this trial somehow bring an end to the shortage?

third wave is expected in this country as a large number of Indians will be infected at a single point in time. A larger population consisting of children below 18 years of age is likely to get infected in the third wave. I fear that the

Yes. Vaccine trials are the only hope to

third wave will affect the unvaccinated

end the pandemic. If we bring in new

children population.

is not scientifically valid can never be ethically valid. Scientifically valid protocols ensure that patient safety is kept in place. There are experts within the ethics committee like say, clinicians, medical pharmacologists to ensure that the study design is proper and the right check mechanism is in place.

Once the study starts then active monitoring of the treatment-emergent adverse

events

gets

captured

and

appropriate ---analysis is performed to identify the side effects which are related to the drugs in the clinical trials.

Appropriate serious adverse event (SAE) capturing and serious adverse event management also needs to be looked into. A serious adverse event may lead to the death of a volunteer, permanent injury, or

disability,

prolonged

hospitalisation

hospitalisation

and

congenital anomaly in pregnant ladies.

Even if one of the above events takes place it is reported as a serious adverse event.

www.indiamedtoday.com

23

COVERSTORY

Leadership During Pandemic

I

nfluential

healthcare

leaders

share COVID-19 management strategies and the impact of the pandemic on healthcare delivery in India. This collection

of articles highlights the most urgent issues

health

workers

are

facing,

and present crisis management best practices that are being implemented across the board. The articles provide insights on how we can manage the pandemic with the resources we have and in future what are the investments and initiatives we should be prepared with.

24

June 2021

Leading with a Sense of Purpose There is a need to quickly invent/discover, experiment, apply and recalibrate Dr Om Manchanda, Managing Director, Dr Lal Pathlabs

It has been nearly one and half years since the time pandemic started. An unusual time, no one has experienced such time ever in living history. All of us went through strict lockdowns starting March last year and then tried to bring back life on tracks as much as possible over the next 12 months. Then comes Bolt from the Blue – Wave II. COVID-19 Wave II has been sudden, brutal and has taken all of us by surprise. It has thrown the entire demand-supply equation in healthcare completely off-balance. On one hand, demand

multiplied

manifold

in

a

matter of hours and days giving no reaction time for supply ramp-up, on the other no one clear solution in sight for the problem faced by our country.

All leaders in healthcare organisations have been facing unique challenges never experienced before. I share some of the insights that I have gathered along especially during Wave II that Dr Om Manchanda, Managing Director, Dr Lal Pathlabs

started early April 2021 onwards.

Leadership during a pandemic is not a ‘Business as Usual’ but is all about a ‘Business in Crisis’ Crisis

usually

has

some

unique

characteristics: I It throws up unfamiliar challenges II Depletes resources at a rapid pace and doesn’t give time to plan

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25

COVERSTORY III Drains everyone strength due to fear, anxiety and stress IV Takes away the ability to think on one’s feet Pandemic has done all of the above.

When it’s ‘business as usual’, we tend to project situations as being better than what the reality is. However, during a crisis, one has to confront reality. One is suddenly thrown from a ‘KnownKnown’ into an ‘Unknown-Unknown’ zone. The skills required in ‘Unknown-

arduous.

a pandemic requires each person in the

• He realised that the mission had changed

–

from

‘exploration’

to

‘survival’.

• He

kept

his

men

believing

in

• He was constantly vigilant for any break in his team’s morale. celebrated

his

team’s

achievements.

Many of the above lessons are relevant

experiment, apply and recalibrate. The

for leadership during the pandemic.

management skills while in ‘UnknownUnknown’ tests and builds leadership skills The current situation of healthcare leaders reminds me of the inspiring story of Ernest Shackleton, a polar explorer, and how he led his crew to survival once their ship got stuck in ice.

26

June 2021

and each leader has to lead their

Leadership during a pandemic is all about staying in problemsolving mode Any leader needs to stay focussed only on one thing – What is the problem we are trying to solve?

in most cases a huge part of solving the

an abundance of things money can’t

problem. True leaders have to keep the

buy, empathy is one of them. There is so much pain around us, pandemic leadership requires us to feel the pain of others, and lend that helping hand that can make difference to people’s

Most

titles

or

money,

leadership

is

a

responsibility – Owning the problem is

focus on solving the problem at hand.

Leadership during a pandemic is all about human connections It is important to quickly get into

Leadership during a pandemic is all about leading with purpose

• He realised that the path is long and

large at the same time. It is a time when

As they say, true wealth is having

in a crisis.

emotionally and physically.

investors,

Leadership is not rank or privileges,

lives.

• He managed himself well: mentally,

like

Leadership during a pandemic is all about empathy and compassion

It is a story about a test of leadership

A few lessons from his story are :

stakeholders

organisation with a sense of purpose.

inner fears.

is a need to quickly invent/discover,

Being in a ‘Known-Known’ position tests

all

the balance is tilted towards purpose

themselves and their ability.

Unknown’ are quite different – there

luxury of time doesn’t exist.

of

customers, employees and society at

• He never let his team know of his

• He

organisation to balance the interests

organisations

have

a

Vision,

Mission and Values. Leadership during

planning and execution mode. Arrange all the required resources. But this is all about hardware. Don’t forget to leverage a very important resource i.e. human software

i.e.

passion

and

humility.

These can beat all the resources.

An Era of Reimagining Healthcare Delivery The future of the industry will include taking diagnostics to people and empowering them with tools and information while focusing on building diagnostic capabilities for labs and healthcare facilities Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics

Impact of COVID-19 on Indian healthcare sector and the way forward The struggle against COVID-19 has proved to be an uphill task for countries across the globe. While India was able to contain the spread effectively last year, the rapid spread of the virus since early March has kept the healthcare sector on its toes. Crossing the four lakh mark of new infections per day the pandemic has had a massive impact on healthcare delivery in general and diagnostics in particular. Nevertheless, things are improving now as there has been a significant dip in the number of cases last month.

Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics

The pandemic has drastically altered the perception of diagnostics. From being on the side-lines of the healthcare segment to gaining the centre stage, the segment is getting its due. Medical diagnostics has become the first line of defence for disease containment as it reveals the prevalence and spread of disease. It has become the pillar around which COVID management policies are being framed in India and across the world. WHO’s T3: Test, Treat and Track model cannot sustain without diagnostics playing its role.

www.indiamedtoday.com

27

COVERSTORY Impact of the second wave on healthcare The

healthcare

sector

came

under

acute pressure as the second wave spread across the nation. With the evergrowing number of patients seeking hospitalisation, doctors and healthcare support staff were forced to work multiple shifts. The low doctor to patient ratio, a limited number of ICU beds and the scarcity of oxygen at certain places made it a nightmarish experience for the healthcare professionals and the patients.

wave of COVID-19 exposed that a lot

carry out large-scale testing, identify

more needs to be done.

possible

The sector increased the number of tests per day yet the unprecedented demand made it impossible to conduct

hotspots,

and

contain

the

proliferation and protect the strained healthcare

system

from

further

pressure.

tests and deliver reports on time.

Managing a contagion of this scale

The lack of manpower in the sector

requires continuous concerted efforts.

became evident. From phlebotomists

We need to monitor the spread of mutant

to lab technicians to doctors the limited

strains, sequencing of the virus to

number of skilled professionals could

identify troublesome variants, increase

not cater to the massive requirements.

RT-PCR testing while monitoring the

The way forward Credible information is the key to multiple woes; only verified information

levels of antibodies in the population.

We need a multi-pronged strategy to restrain this new wave from spreading further.

Our

healthcare

system

is

evolving rapidly with the integration

The diagnostics sector was not left

should be disseminated to reduce panic.

untouched. The segment had undergone

Misinformation during a crisis can have

a rapid development after the pandemic

a catastrophic impact. While testing

knocked our doors and laboratories

and other healthcare measures need

capable of conducting COVID-19 tests

to be escalated, it is pertinent that

increased to 2552 in May 2021 from

the populace strictly adheres to COVID

Ever

a meagre 14 labs in February 2020.

appropriate behaviour. Mutant strains

pandemic,

Though this growth in the number of

may or may not affect the inoculated

stepping out of their homes to visit

laboratories is encouraging, the second

individuals; hence it would be wise to

even diagnostic labs or hospitals, hence

of

digital

technology,

modern-day

application and innovative practices that will drive the delivery of healthcare services. since

the people

emergence are

of

hesitant

the of

leading to an increased demand for home collection and teleconsultation.

More and more, consumers are opting for digital platforms to book tests and access their reports, which has also led to the strengthening of digital functionalities in the domain.

The pandemic has drastically changed consumer behaviour; it has turned them cautious and more informed. They try to find accredited, safe and hygienic facilities. Further, there has been an upward tick in preventive testing that would continue as people are becoming aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The future of the industry will include taking diagnostics to people and empowering them with tools and information while focusing on building diagnostic capabilities for labs and healthcare facilities. It will be an era of high-end personalised diagnostics co-existing with highly efficient pointof-care

devices

keeping

real-time

monitoring of vital parameters – An era of reimagining healthcare delivery.

28

June 2021

Healthcare Leadership During Pandemic Arpan Malhotra, India Business Head – Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare ‘Diagnostics’ happens to be the starting point in the healthcare value-chain, and the entire diagnostic industry has been put to test in the ongoing pandemic, courtesy ‘COVID Wave 2’. I take this opportunity to share what worked, and equally important, what didn’t, as I reflect. At the same time, some key realisations on the way forward • Come to

change

crisis, from

context

needs

‘Completion’

to

‘Maximisation’: ‘Priority is a function of

Context – Stephen R. Covey’. Motivation levels get impacted by an anticipation of likely result in context of the end objective, which in turn is habituated for most of us as ‘Completion’. When in crisis, a nagging feeling of not being 100 per cent complete can inhibit the ability to achieve ‘maximum’ possible output under given circumstances. There’s a need to make the team feel “It’s okay!”.

•

Be ready, stress can bring along

‘Finger pointing’: What does a parent do when one child gets angry on the other? Probably it’s more important here as to what the parent should NOT do, and that’s not to get angry herself/ himself in the first place. Expecting this as a normal fallout of extreme stress will enable the leader to respond better.

Most team members will start seeing it differently, once the leader shows them a ‘larger picture’.

• Allow

experimentation

and

let

certain norms take the back seat for a while: When there’s little to lose, agility in trying out newer technologies and Arpan Malhotra, India Business Head – Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare

even newer ways of doing the same old tasks can open up unexplored avenues.

Leaders need to allow the next level

www.indiamedtoday.com

29

COVERSTORY

managers to experiment, with little

something new. And to respond to that,

fear of being penalised. This obviously

our solution also probably needs to be

warrants caution towards quality, but

new. There’s been an unprecedented

many a times there are routines that

pace at which the R&D teams have

never get challenged only because

worked round the clock and never

there was never a need to. Plus, those

before we saw such a portfolio of new

were never designed in the first place

assays getting launched in such a short

to address a crisis.

period of time. RT-PCR testing, Rapid antigen

•

tests,

neutralizing

antibody

Need to create intervals of ‘Re-

tests, lab based antigen tests, COVID

energising distractions’: Even when fully

care assays like IL-6 and the list goes

loaded, a routine that allows the team

on. This increased focus will need to

an opportunity to 'Stop-Detach-Start

continue as the new normal.

again' helps create higher efficiency peaks. Howsoever small it may be, and whatever form it may take (music, exercise, reading), it helps.

•

capacity’

and

As a leading player in diagnostics, we are adding a manufacturing line for

utilisation’: The industry has now woken

molecular RT-PCR kits at our factory

up to a different balance between

in

the warranted ‘spare capacity’ and

existing lines for the manufacturing of

acceptable ‘Investment utilization’. The

biochemistry reagents and Urine-strips.

that

post-crisis,

realisation

on

this

shifted balance stays.

•

Staying connected, sharing stories

Vadodara,

Gujarat,

besides

the

• At the sametime, it’s back to the

basics

Lab

automation

of

mass-scale and

testing:

AI-enabled

IT

infrastructure will be a must in the

extraordinary:

new normal. The diagnostic industry

When people are performing under

will have to gear up to a much higher

extreme stress, one aspect that needs

level of test volumes, which is likely to

to be put to rest is 'Is someone even

bring in a need to have a fragmented

watching, and does someone even

presence

care?'

advanced logistics infrastructure; and

and

recognising

• Pamper

the

nearer

to

the

patients;

total lab automation. Preventive testing the

R&D

folks,

they

deserve it: What we’ve been hit with is

June 2021

of local manufacturing will continue

‘Optimum

nature of work we do is such. I hope

30

Local manufacturing to compliment

global portfolio: In the IVD space, role to gain momentum in coming times.

A shift in the balance between

‘Spare

•

is likely to see an all-new level going forward.

Need Policies to Overcome the Shock Healthcare professionals are working tirelessly to develop and implement effective strategies for patient treatment, organisational management and public health measure Dr Dharminder Nagar, Managing Director, Paras Healthcare the need for overhauling the current health policies and investing liberally in healthcare, thereby establishing robust healthcare systems. The public and private sector have joined hands and are working in a close partnership today to defeat their common foe, coronavirus. But at the same time healthcare providers are undergoing financial stress. Therefore, we need policies that will help us overcome the shock. The challenge right now is to plan in a manner that economic stability can be restored.

Financial crisis: The biggest impact IMF has predicted that the impact of the coronavirus will leave India with

Dr Dharminder Nagar, Managing Director, Paras Healthcare

a mere 1.9 per cent GDP growth in suddenly

FY21. Then a report by FICCI and EY

came into the shoulders of healthcare

estimated for the healthcare sector an

professionals ever since the coronavirus

operating loss to the tune of Rs 14,000

pandemic engulfed the world. Within

to 24,000 crores for the first quarter. It

no time, they become real heroes who

also estimated that the revenue for the

have been saving millions of lives

sector in FY21 would be lower by 20-35

without thinking about their own. They

per cent compared to FY20 resulting in

are the ones leading the battle of this

early single-digit or negative earnings

unprecedented crisis from the forefront.

for the year. This is a Capex intensive

A

lot

of

responsibilities

If we could draw one positive from the calamitous tragedy, it would be we breaking the myth that healthcare was a profit-making entity and rather, getting the much-needed respect from

industry where 1.5-2 per cent of annual revenues goes back to the refurbishment of technology and infrastructure and new Capex costs more than Rs 1 crore/ bed. Coming at a time when the sector

the various section of the society.

was already reeling under an economic

It has also made governments realise

devastating financially.

slowdown, the COVID crisis has been

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31

COVERSTORY Researches and non-covid hospitals come to a halt Since the treatment of COVID-19 became such a priority in hospitals and medical colleges, all the important research priorities and other essential ongoing research were stalled. The subsequent lockdown and strict curfews to control the spread of the virus have affected the services of non-COVID hospitals

First, if the government gives full support through policy, tax reduction and other financial benefits to the healthcare industry at this juncture, we can get back on track. The government must immediately waive off customs duty and GST on essential medical inputs such as ventilators, medicines and

other

equipment

needed

for

COVID-19 treatment.

and halted some projects that are due

At the same time, giving long-term tax

to start. Unfortunately, COVID-19 PCR

concessions to the healthcare sector

tests are cumbersome and required advanced laboratory facilities that are only available in few centres. The need of the hour is to have rapid antibody or antigen tests, which are currently unavailable or less reliable. In addition,

such as exemptions on the purchase of

diagnostic

equipment,

medical

devices and other essential hospital infrastructure will help medical entities recover from this slump.

recruitment into trials is more difficult

There should be the availability of

because of reduced mobility due to

kits, ventilators, oxygen concentrators,

lockdown

interventions,

and essential drugs to treat COVID

and the general fear of contracting

patients and non-COVID patients both

COVID-19.

as with this pandemic the demand

What do we need to do?

for

Planning is key in any national crisis and

There should be proper training of our

especially in a pandemic that affects

doctors/practitioners as well as nurses,

every element in society; effective

attendants and other healthcare staff in

coordination is therefore essential.

these technologies and their usage.

32

June 2021

and

other

beds,

medicines,

ICU,

Oxygen,

all medical devices have increased.

Relooking at the Way We Work The ‘new normal’ is as applicable to the way we work, as to the way we live Gautam Khanna, CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC

Our lives

changed

overnight

when

the pandemic hit the country and the lockdown was announced in March 2020. We faced a continuous stream of challenges - devising and updating medical treatment protocols for covid, developing safety protocols for patients and staff, treating and engaging our noncovid patients, changing government protocols, managing media relations, and keeping up the employee morale, to list a few. We had to quickly change the way we functioned. This was navigating in the dark for most of us.

Change in approach From

a

traditional

rigid

top-down

departmentalised approach, we evolved into

a

structure

contemporary of

multiple

organisational departments

collaborating as a team on various tasks.

Cross-functional groups were formed to work on critical projects. Daily review meetings were introduced in March ’20, and continue to date. All decisionmakers were involved so that issues are resolved and decisions are taken on the spot. Teams are encouraged to take risks and think outside the box to provide solutions.

Employee engagement Gautam Khanna, CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC

There was tremendous pressure on the staff - long working hours despite the lockdown, fear of infection for self and family and severe physical, emotional,

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33

COVERSTORY mental and spiritual stress. It was

a nursing helpline for answering any

are critical at all times, at all levels. It is

critical to keep the employees engaged

queries, launched tele/video consulting

equally important to listen- to your staff

and keep their morale high.

so that they could reach the doctor

(regardless of hierarchy) and patients

SAMPARK, an employee engagement programme was launched in July 2020 through

which

online

events,

talk

sessions, contests were held, focusing

from home, ensuring continuity of care.

As the lockdown eased, we launched a

5. Delegation and empowerment with

campaign to get patients back to the

accountability

hospital, assuring them of their safety.

in people. However, in crisis times,

brings

out

the

best

continuous monitoring is essential for

on various facets like communication,

Despite it being the toughest year, it

health

and

at

was indeed heartening to see the team

work.

Open

called

rise to tackle all challenges, with grit

6. Stakeholder management is critical

SAMVAAD were conducted, wherein

and determination like never before. We

but not easy. You need to gain the

our leadership team shared updates,

converted the crisis into an opportunity.

confidence and trust of your staff,

answered employee queries and spread

What made this happen?

doctors, patients, government, industry

wellness house

and

fun

sessions

words of gratitude and appreciation to all the front line staff. Regular email updates on covid related initiatives were from my office to all employees.

Our employees had 24/7 on-call access to our psychologists and psychiatrists in case of any counselling and therapy required.

Our

weekly

twin

Here are some of my learnings on leadership during a crisis.

1.

Integrity

and

ethics

are

non-

negotiable, they are foundations of good

to survival, be it the organisation

The

undoubtedly turned the paradigms of

or our approach to talent management

work culture overnight. The new work

and employee motivation.

3. Ignorance is not an excuse; external expertise can be built quickly. We

during the lockdown. Covid care centres

learnt to adopt new protocols for safe

with ambulance services were made

treatment, set up and launch covid

operational, for employees who were

testing facilities etc.

by staff and dependents for COVID-19 treatment outside the hospital were reimbursed. Residential accommodation was

arranged

for

staff

who

were

staying far away from the hospital and could not travel. Special leaves with pay were given to employees who were quarantined.

Engaging patients Throughout the lockdown, we kept communicating through

SMS,

with email

our and

patients, telephone

calls. We gave them updates about the hospital covid safety protocols, started

34

June 2021

front.

new technology for better efficiencies,

arranged to enable the staff to commute

facilities. Medical expenses incurred

the day to ensure one can lead from the

architecture/design or adopting digital/

employees. Transport facilities were

daily call from HR and other medical

available 24X7 on phone and emails

are imperative every day, throughout

open to all.

detected COVID-19 positive with a

was working long hours in the office and

8. Self-discipline and self-motivation

2. Change and adaptability is the key

display empathy and compassion to our

7. Do the right thing and walk the talk. I

They are tested in times of crisis.

meditation and prayer sessions were

There has been no better time to

peers, and the company board.

leadership and sustainable businesses.

heart

Demonstrating empathy

execution.

4. Communication and transparency

coronavirus

environments

and

pandemic

principles

has

have

taught us to be open, agile, decisive, empathetic, get rid of departmental silos,

adopt

new

technologies

and

be prepared for unexpected tougher challenges. The ‘new normal’ is as applicable to the way we work, as to the way we live.

‘Agility’ will Lead Leaders above Rising Waters of the Pandemic In times of turmoil, leaders must think and act in unconventional ways, while remaining calm and mindful Narendra Varde, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics India

times

Unprecedented

necessitate

unprecedented leadership. While we saw many leaders setting examples in maintaining business continuity and employee

safety,

many

others

are

struggling to weather the crisis while preparing their organizations for the uncertain future.

What is needed to navigate the rising waters of the pandemic and emerge as a force? In my view, it is not about a reactive or proactive approach and taking everything upon oneself. Rather, it involves changing the mindset of organisations from past processes to an agile approach.

Being ‘Agile’ was the driving force behind Roche’s diagnostics. We were purpose-driven and approached each day with speed and flexibility in actions and stability in thoughts, to improve the situation and help each other amidst an unprecedented global pandemic.

In times of turmoil, leaders must think and act in unconventional ways, while remaining Narendra Varde, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics India

calm

and

mindful.

They

should acknowledge the facts of the situation and allow space for what is still unfolding. Our leadership at Roche Diagnostics

India

began

assessing

their strategy and the severity of the pandemic, even before the first case

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35

COVERSTORY of the virus was reported in India on January 27, 2020. By staying connected to our network globally, we could evaluate the situation, though not to this extent. For leaders, this significant uncertainty exacerbates the challenges associated with decision-making. Such ambiguity requires an agile mindset for a rapid coping response that is not typically associated with leadership in normal times.

mental and physical health support

for the cobas SARS CoV-2 diagnostic

for all employees and their families

tests by mid-March 2020. It ensured

and extended insurance coverage for

that patient testing could begin at the

COVID-19.

earliest. Our commitment to supporting

During the time of the pandemic, the biggest strengths of the organisation are its culture – which should demonstrate trust, agility and willingness of its people to take ownership. These creative dimensions contribute towards transforming and sustaining the future.

We kept employee engagement and wellbeing as our priority.

those who had to step out were well

The digital way of working during the pandemic led to employees feeling disconnected, insecure, and uncertain about their future. Many of our employees had to step out to support our covid installations, putting themselves at a health risk. We sensed these situations early through manager check-ins and mini pulse surveys.

Our people and culture team initiated collaboration with 1to1 Health for

Dedicated town halls were organised, where hobbies and fun topics were discussed

between

employees,

to

bust stress. The safety, health and environment team ensured that all employees were regularly informed on the pandemic situation and safety rules; equipped with safety gear to support our labs and hospitals. It was important for the employees to feel safe and have faith in the organisation and its leadership.

patients in India led us to secure two million test kits for RT PCR test along with critical parameters such as Interleukin 6, D Dimer, LDH, CRP and Ferritin. This could not have been achieved without an agile mindset and willingness to collaborate to support the end stakeholders. We also partnered with corporates from manufacturing, consulting and healthcare to provide them COVID-19 management solutions to re-establish safer workplaces. Our ardent efforts bore fruit only due to the support we received from government

We focussed on providing access to

organisations, customers and partner

diagnostic testing solutions to help

organisations, bearing in mind the

control the outbreak of COVID-19 in

gravity of the situation. Moreover, we

India. Our biggest challenge was to

managed to work out supply through

rapidly build testing capacity in India,

various freight carriers to multiple

for high quality, fast and automated

ports to de-risk cancellation of flights,

RT PCR testing. We not only received

delays in clearance or any unforeseen

immense support from our global teams

situations

but also repurposed instruments within

frequency of supplies in India.

India to employ them for SARS CoV-2 testing.

We

speedily

COVID-19

that

could

continues

impact

to

evolve

the

in

its trajectory. We continue to work govt

courageously and remain available 24/7

authorities to obtain the import license

worked

with

to ensure that patients and healthcare workers receive our diagnostic solutions as quickly as possible. This is an unknown territory with many challenges, but we are committed to continuing to provide health care systems, communities and individuals with the tools they need to help facilitate the unlocking of the country. As we prepare for the ‘next normal,’ the focus of the leadership must continue to build the agile and resilient organisations needed to deliver both short-term goals and adapt their longterm vision to address the inevitable challenges to come.

In my perspective, a great way to rise above the pandemic is to remember: we are stronger together.

Views express are personal.

36

June 2021

Senior Leaders Need to Show Up Leadership during a pandemic is about building a culture and leading from the front Dr Ritu Garg, Zonal Director · Fortis Memorial Research Institute India

COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented devastating event of the century that has adversely impacted almost every household across the world in some way or the other. It caught everyone unawares, unprepared and most of all healthcare facilities where this war is being fought- every day for almost 18 months now.

The past year has been a lot about collaboration, teamwork, agility, and inherent strength to deal with the crisis.

The

recent

wave

has

been

most catastrophic with a virulence that was not seen before. Almost every healthcare worker has a tale of helplessness, grief and loss within their family, friends or patients they got emotionally attached to during illness. Yet there are stories of bravery, empathy, leadership, and ownership that unfolded on the ground daily- be it a nurse holding hands of patients in the covid ward, a biomedical engineer working 24/7 optimising equipment Dr Ritu Garg, Zonal Director · Fortis Memorial Research Institute India

usage, administrative teams tracking tankers of oxygen in the middle of the night to ensure we live the promise we made to our patients, supply chain teams ensuring uninterrupted supply of essentials, of course, doctors battling in the forefront and many more unsung heroes.

Leadership in these times is about building a culture and leading from the

front.

Senior

leaders

need

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to

37

COVERSTORY show

stakeholders

a large number of patients effectively.

and put together an action plan while

up,

involve

all

Digital mode of transactions, PACS and

supporting execution by channelising

communication among teams and with

all resources towards that plan. Keeping

patients helped cross barriers of time

up the morale of the team, motivating

and minimise physical interaction and

them, ensuring their wellbeing and

contain further spread of infection.

assuring them of all possible support in case of any eventuality is extremely important in this situation. At Fortis, we started with daily wellbeing sessions three times a day where people could log in for a session with psychologists and

experts.

Besides

this,

sharing

appreciation, accolades with warriors, sending Thank you letters to their families, just being there to hear them out and support their needs builds that

culture

of

trust,

purpose-led

workplace and empathy. In the end, it’s all about people who deliver care, not beds, neither medicines, oxygen or ventilators alone. The most precious resource to tackle pandemic is a trained workforce on the ground and they need to be looked after very well.

external

stakeholders

be

it

government officials, involved industry bodies or task forces. At the time of the oxygen crisis, we did manage to get timely support from some industrial organisations that helped augment the constrained supplies. Similarly keeping authorities informed in real-time about the situation on the ground helped avert the major crisis at times. Sharing our own experiences, validated data, learning with wider forums, academic and otherwise is important to dispel myths and misinformation floating in social media.

Technology has played an important role in this crisis. We started video consults very early last year that enabled patients to remain connected with doctors for both covid and noncovid ailments. Similarly, innovative solutions

like

e-ICU

and

real-time

remote monitoring of patients in ICU by critical care specialists helped manage

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June 2021

fast

to

incorporate

learnings

from

each wave. Infrastructure was quickly upgraded to the extent possible, clinical protocols got streamlined, staff got trained and learnt to live behind masks, donned in PPEs and worked relentlessly.

“Adapting fast” is the key. We reinforced core clinical teams managing a large number of covid in patients by creating training modules for other medical super specialities who are anyway trained in Internal medicine. That allowed setting up covid helplines for the patient who could now get access to immediate expert help. Our emergency rooms were stepped up with the entire ICU back up to be able to handle patients waiting for ICU beds. Expert Emergency physicians

It is equally important to work closely with

Teams have been resilient and adapted

were well versed in taking care of these patients till they could get shifted to ICU- sometimes it extended up to 2/3 days.

The pandemic is still ongoing, and we need to brace ourselves for potentially third

or

subsequent

waves.

There

could be other pandemics as well and the learning we had, needs to be

sustained and become part of how we deliver patient care. As a healthcare leader, we need to be agile and invest in infrastructure which can cater to clinical needs as they arise. It would mean being able to convert any ward to HDU/speciality ward, create space in hospitals for makeshift ICUs or have a multi trained basic workforce who can manage adults and children. We also need to have a central repository of resources that can be deployed across regions. ECMO machine is one such example where availability is limited, and few hospitals have a programme to deploy these machines. If idle machines could be channelised to these centres, it would help save lives. We need to capture our learning through data analysis and publications. Our next frontier should be to reduce mortality further and understand the disease better, anticipate the virulence just as the first few cases come up and activate levers to save as many lives as possible The pandemic is far from over but the past year has made us stronger and prepared us to fight these challenges head-on. Our learnings and experiences have helped us navigate this new normal together. As we try to help one another in the best ways we can, our vast world suddenly feels a little smaller and a lot more connected to fight the pandemic together.

Demand Forecasting has Become more of an Art than Science Testing will play a very important part in managing this crisis Sushant Kinra, COO, Suburban Diagnostics

supplies, enhancing testing capabilities,

information

arranging public

Selection and creation of crises task

health

system

and

officials, of

force remain critical and high-frequency

employees, employee motivation and

engagement is the key to successfully

changing operational dynamics almost

manage such crises.

management,

the

safety

challenges we are facing during this pandemic. Almost no one was prepared

has become the five most common alphabets on the planet and this is the first time a common man understands the words like antibodies and antigen. I have never seen this in my 27+ years of experience in the diagnostics industry.

and

is the key to making better decisions.

training

managing cash flow are few of many

limelight like never before. RT PCR

ground

manpower,

and

on an hourly basis, Price changes and

COVID-19 has put the industry in the

the

managing customer’s anxiety, managing data

Sushant Kinra, COO, Suburban Diagnostics

from

collective evaluation of alternatives

Channelling:

Channelling

the

conversation to the task at hand avoids ‘drowning’ in problems.

for this massive explosion of demand

Accepting: Accepting the fact that “we

stretching everyone to their limits. There

are not prepared” helps people to find

were instances of being covid heroes

a solution. Remember that everyone is

to covid zeroes and back to heroes in

stretched – not only you. From “What’s

a matter of minutes. We also saw the

wrong” to “what can we do about it” is

changing dynamics of human behaviour

the key to collective creativity.

and many of us are still recovering from the loss of loved ones and trying

Engagement with the key stakeholders

to move forward. Demand forecasting

at all levels

has become more of an art than science and political uncertainty adds further complexity to this dimension. There is

Patience:

Remember

everyone

is

stretched to their limits, not only you.

however still a method to this madness

Communications:

Communication

and a few of the attributes mentioned

being tested across the planet, more

is

and

below can help manage the crises of

so in India which is ranked 128th

communication is the best –Zoom Calls

this scale.

and Whatsapp groups are an amazing

The entire healthcare ecosystem is

in the world in terms of healthcare Inclusive

infrastructure.

and

leadership:

complex

In

a

organisation,

large crises

never

enough

informal

way to reach people quickly.

This crisis is by no means is over and

Testing has and will play an important

management

of

the entire nation and the entire world

part

and

information processing and may not

is still learning. We believe covid has

has put the entire industry at the

be visible in data. The involvement of

taught us a lot and still, it feels like we

forefront

teams in decision making, collecting

know nothing.

in

managing of

this

this crises.

crisis

Managing

requires

a

lot

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39

APPROACH

Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, International Monetary Fund Ruchir Agarwal, Economist, International Monetary Fund

diagnostics, and therapeutics, and poorer countries still struggling to inoculate frontline healthcare workers.

As of the end of April 2021, less than two per cent of Africa’s population had been vaccinated. By contrast, over 40 per cent of the population in the US and over 20 per cent in Europe had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

It is well understood that there can be no lasting end to the economic crisis without an end to the health crisis. The pandemic policy is thus economic policy.

It is critical for global macroeconomic and financial stability, which makes it of fundamental importance to the IMF and other economic institutions. Ending the pandemic is a solvable problem but requires further coordinated global action.

Many countries have stepped up in the global fight against the pandemic, as have institutions such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Gavi (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization), the African Union, and others.

Yet, more than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, new cases worldwide are higher than ever. Urgent action is needed to arrest the rising human toll and economic strain.

As the IMF has warned, economic recoveries are diverging dangerously.

The disparities will widen further between wealthy countries that have widespread access to vaccines,

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June 2021

The latest research by IMF staff analyzes multiple dimensions of the fight against the pandemic and proposes realistic targets to bring the pandemic substantially under control everywhere—and the means to achieve them. Building on the work of other agencies, the proposal aims to: • vaccinate at least 40 per cent of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 and at least 60 per cent by the first half of 2022, • track and insure against downside risks, and • ensure widespread testing and tracing, maintain adequate stocks of therapeutics, and enforce public health measures in places where the vaccine coverage is low.

Importantly, the strategy requires not just commitments but upfront financing, upfront vaccine donations, and “atrisk” investment for the world to insure against downside scenarios.

The proposal’s total cost of around $50 billion would include grants, national government resources, and concessional financing.

There is a strong case for grant financing of at least $35 billion. The good news is G20 governments have already identified as important to address the $22 billion grant funding gap noted by the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. This leaves an estimated $13 billion in additional grant contributions needed.

The remainder of the overall financing plan—around $15 billion—could come from national governments, potentially supported by COVID-19 financing facilities created by multilateral development banks.

Saving lives and livelihoods should need no justification, but a faster end to the pandemic could also inject the equivalent of $9 trillion into the global economy by 2025 due to a faster resumption of economic activity.

Advanced economies, likely to spend the most in this effort, would see the highest return on public investment in modern history—capturing 40 per cent of the cumulative $9 trillion in global GDP gains and roughly $1 trillion in additional tax revenues.

Recommendations for action The key proposed steps include:

Achieving the vaccination targets 1. Provide additional upfront grants to COVAX of at least $4 billion. This financing will help finalize orders and activate unused vaccine capacity.

2. Ensure free cross-border flows of raw materials and finished vaccines: Such restrictions are jeopardizing access to vaccines for billions of people in the developing world.

3. Immediately donate surplus vaccines: We project at least 500 million vaccines courses (equivalent to around 1 billion doses) can be donated in 2021, even if countries give preference to their own populations. Donations, including for delivery costs, should be done through COVAX so vaccines are shared on equitable and public health principles.

We project the measures identified in steps 1–3 may be sufficient to achieve the 40 per cent vaccination target by the end of 2021 and the 60 per cent target by the first half of 2022, if no downside risks materialise.

Insuring against downside risks 4. Make at-risk investments to diversify and increase vaccine production capacity by 1 billion doses in early 2022 to handle downside risks in 91 low- and middle-income countries, including from new variants that may require booster shots. [$8 billion] 5. Scale up genomic surveillance and systemic supply chain surveillance with concrete contingency plans in place to handle possible mutations or shocks to the supply chain. These plans should be prepared with the participation of multilateral agencies, vaccine developers and manufacturers, and key national governments. [$3 billion]

Managing the interim period when vaccine supply is limited 6. Ensure widespread testing, sufficient therapeutics, public health measures, and prepare for vaccine deployment. [$30 billion]

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APPROACH

7. Urgently evaluate and implement (where

approved)

dose

stretching

strategies to expand effective supply. [$2 billion] Additional needed measures account for $3 billion. Steps 4–7 are needed to insure against downside risks, and to mitigate the health consequences of the pandemic in the interim period.

The proposal complements the work of the G20 High Level Independent Panel, the G7 Pandemic Preparedness Partnership group, and the Report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which primarily focus on addressing future pandemics. This proposal focuses on what is needed to bring the current pandemic under control. To make

it effective, countries need to work together.

The world does not have to live through the pain of another record surge of COVID-19 cases. With strong global action now and with very little in terms of financing relative to the outsized benefits, we can durably exit this health crisis.

First published in IMF blog

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June 2021

The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape Remote working has increased cyberthreats.

But even after the global pandemic is over, it’s going to be important to take actionable steps to combat the sizable security risks.

Customized MVISION Device-to-Cloud Suites MVISION Advanced

|

MVISION Premium

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MVISION Complete

We Recommend:

Implement a cloud-based secure web gateway

1 2 3 4 5 6

Require multi-factor authentication to reduce risks of credential theft

Set policy in the cloud for routine device checks

https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/restricted/rp-carr-wfh.pdf https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/restricted/rp-carr-wfh.pd Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/as-cloud-adoption-grows-dlp-remains-key-challenge/d/d-id/1335000 https://newsroom.ibm.com/2020-07-29-IBM-Report-Compromised-Employee-Accounts-Led-to-Most-Expensive-Data-Breaches-Over-Past-Year https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/is-the-cloud-secure/ https://media.nominet.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/12130924/Nominet-Cyber_CISO-report_FINAL-130219.pdf

8 https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/rp-cloud-adoption-and-risk-report-work-from-home-edition.pdf McAfee and the McAfee logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of McAfee, LLC or its subsidiaries in the US and other countries. Other marks and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright © 2020 McAfee, LLC. 4619_0920 SEPTEMBER 2020

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