The point-of-care bet. In conversation with Molbio’s founders

Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics recently announced an $85mn fund raise from Singapore’s Temasek at an enterprise value of $1.5 bn reportedly making it India’s first ‘unicorn’ in the medical  devices sector. Its flagship Truenat is a relatively low-cost, portable and miniaturised polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology platform or micro PCR. The platform takes molecular biology testing for life-threatening …

The promise and perils of exhaled breath for early diagnosis and precision medicine

My lead story for the latest issue of science and technology magazine Shaastra is on the potential of exhaled breath in the early detection of killer diseases and to aid precision medicine. You can access it here. I interviewed researchers from India, China, Israel and the US and was amazed at how far the science …

Start-up interest gives boost to development of #point-of-care solutions #medtech

The pandemic has underscored the need for rapid, accurate and affordable screening and diagnostic tools that are as close to the patient as possible. In the latest issue of Shaastra, I have profiled a clutch of companies that are using a wide range of technologies to come up with solutions. You can read the story …

Indian drug discovery : an ecosystem. And green shoots.

It's been a while since I put those long-form writing skills to work, and whatever you may think about the result, I really enjoyed myself. A few weeks ago, Shaastra, a new science and technology magazine by IIT Madras published my piece on emerging new drug discovery start-ups in India in the May-June issue, their …

#FDC ban fiasco: Regulatory weakness and business opportunism brew dangerous cocktail

The government appears to have prevailed in its bid to ban over 300 Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs). But in the most inefficient way possible. It has let the problem get out of hand, then fought the industry in more than one court, constituted two different committees to weigh in on the issue and culminated with a …

Stent price control: 5 reasons why ‘high-end stent’ companies might still hope

As the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) gets down to revisiting the prices of stents and discussing their makers' grievances in February, here are five reasons why multinational stent companies selling relatively high-end products can still hope. 'All stents made equal' argument reopened to debate? According to a Mint newspaper report, the NPPA  requested a …

Is self-regulation in #medtech doomed to fail?

The offer by needle and syringe manufacturers to voluntarily cap trade margins at 75 per cent after meeting with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority apparently validates the view that without the actionable threat of price control, the healthcare sector cannot be trusted to self-regulate. “The NPPA advised manufacturers to consider regulating price themselves; otherwise, the …

My #pharma #GST story : A study in customer satisfaction

I don't usually get too personal in my blogposts but this, I had to write.  A month ago, my chemist suddenly stopped supplying my preferred brand of iron pills. Each time I asked, the reply would be, "Supply nahin aa raha hai." Now, I am very particular about my brand of iron for two reasons. …

Is India Pharma turning to exports because of price control?

The Financial Express published an infographic today that showed that the Indian pharma industry's turnover from exports was up to 65.8 per cent in FY16 from 57.1 per cent in FY11. The newspaper was quick to lay this at the door of enhanced government price controls though the graphic itself proved no such thing. The …

#FDCban : No consolation prizes being awarded here

The Dehi High Court has quashed the ban of over 300 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) announced by the Indian government in March this year. This has left health activists and other drug safety proponents sorely disappointed. The Union Ministry of Health's decision to ban what it termed "irrational" drug combinations - drugs that either need …