36 BioSpectrum | August 2011 | www.BioSpectrumAsia.

com | A CyberMedia Publication

Affordability is the key to increase access
As Joint managing director for Panacea
Biotec, Dr Rajesh Jain, is responsible for
innovation, business development, provid-
ing strategic, visionary leadership, man-
agement and guidance.
Dr Jain is amongst the Top 40 most in-
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internationally reputed organization World
Pharmaceutical Frontiers published in SPG
Media, London.
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a world where affordable
healthcare is not a distant
dream but an achievable
goal, Panacea Biotec
collaborates distinctive
innovation with excellence
in execution to deliver
portfolio of quality
products and services
A
ccording to World Bank
estimations, around 24
million people in India are
pushed into poverty each
year due to health expenditures. The
public healthcare infrastructure in the
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India has only 90 beds per 1,00,000
people as opposed to a world average
of 270 beds. There are only 60 doctors
and 130 nurses per 1,00,000 people
against the world average of 140 and
280 respectively. Around 80 percent
of Indians, pay their health bills from
their own pockets. With government
hospitals and clinics being poorly re-
sourced, the private healthcare sector
is crucial to providing medical facili-
ties to the masses.
There is a huge pressure on the cur-
rent healthcare system. India ac-
counts for 16 percent of the worlds
population, 18 percent of worldwide
mortality and 20 percent of the
worlds morbidly rate, only two per-
cent of the worlds GDP and less then
one percent of the worlds healthcare
spending.
The condition is not different in
other parts of the world. Around 47
million uninsured Americans cannot
afford private medical treatment in
their own country, while in the UK,
the National Health Service is under
immense stress to meet the demands
of an increasing population. This
scenario translated to over 250,000
foreigners visiting India for various
medical needs at affordable prices.
Transplants are available in India at
one-tenth of what it would be in the
US. Health insurance cost is less then
a dollar for an entire family, thanks
to technology, talent and creative
government programs. According to
a McKinsey report, the Indian health-
care sector will be worth a whooping
`1,200 billion by 2012.
The telecom and the IT sector besides
playing a major role in healthcare
management by providing enhanced
medical information for diagnosis
and treatment, are also a key to offer
affordable healthcare.
The government has also taken pro-
gressive steps with the department
of AYUSH, under MoHFW, promot-
ing cost effective alternative form of
medicines like ayurveda, homeopa-
thy and unani among others. Other
advances underway on several fronts
range from expanding health insur-
ance coverage for the poor, building
hospitals in smaller towns and using
technology for safer drinking water, to
reserving a portion of beds for people
below poverty line, as inspired by Na-
rayana Hrudayalaya and Vaatsalya.
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where affordable healthcare is not a
distant dream but an achievable goal,
Panacea Biotec collaborates dis-
tinctive innovation with excellence
in execution to deliver portfolio of
quality products and services for un-
met needs Innovation in Support of
Life.
Our four state-of-the-art R&D centers
are relentlessly working to develop af-
fordable innovative medicines (AIM)
for the developing world. Some of the
examples cited below demonstrate
our commitment in this respect.
Example 1: Way back in 1990 Pana-
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India to work with the Government
of India (GoI) in its mission to eradi-
ndustry Leader
N S I G H T I S
Dr Rajesh Jain
MD, Panacea Biotec Limited, India
BioSpecial
A CyberMedia Publication | www.BioSpectrumAsia.com | August 2011 | BioSpectrum 37
cate polio from India and the world.
Since then, Panacea Biotec has sup-
plied over eight billion doses of oral
polio vaccines at affordable prices to
various procurement agencies like
GoI and UN agencies.
Panacea Biotec has consistently risen
to global need which is evident by its
partnership with WHO for the devel-
opment of mOPV1, mOPV3, bOPV
and IPV as part of polio eradication
during end game scenario. Today, it
provides us a great amount of satis-
faction to be a part of such a noble
initiative, which would render world
free from polio, including the remain-
ing four countries in the near future.
Example 2: Panacea Biotec in col-
laboration with CIGB, Cuba, devel-
oped hepatitis B vaccine. As
the vision was enlarged to
ensure protection of babies
across the world from all the
hve deudIy communIcubIe
vaccine preventable diseases
including diphtheria, tetanus, per-
tussis, hepatitis B and haemophillus
Inuenzu uL un uIIordubIe rIce und
not just hepatitis B. Panacea Biotec
pro-actively articulated the need of
cost effective, fully liquid combina-
tion vaccine which would result in
easy administration, better coverage
and reach, less cost on cold chain, de-
livery and immunization programs. A
fully liquid vaccine obviates the need
for reconstitution, resulting in faster
and easy usage by doctors and at the
same time causes less trauma to par-
ents and babies. Panacea Biotec was
Lhe hrsL comuny In Lhe worId Lo de-
velop the fully liquid pentavalent vac-
cIne, Eusyhve, In zoo, whIch Immu-
nIzes chIIdren uguInsL hve dreudIuI
diseases (diptheria+tetanus+whole
cell pertussis + hepatitis B + he-
mohIIus Inuenzu Lye b) oI eurIy
childhood.
Eusyhve Is Lhe onIy excIusIve en-
LuvuIenL vuccIne In re hIIed syrInges
with Luer Lok adaptor for robust
and consistent attachment of the
needle to syringe and plastic rigid tip
cap, which reduces risk of accidental
conLumInuLIon. or Lhe hrsL LIme In
India, the international standards of
pharmacovigilance were translated
In Eusyhve wILh eeI oII sLIckers
for recording vaccine administra-
tion details like batch number, ex-
piry date and manufacturer on the
vaccination card.
On June 8, 2011, we pledged to sup-
port childhood immunization in
graduating countries by extending
the commitment to support the cause
of GAVI alliance by reducing the cost
oI ILs enLuvuIenL vuccIne - Eusy-
Five, by 10 to 15 percent, thereby in-
creasing access of vaccines to more
children.
Example 3: It is estimated that ev-
ery eighth woman in the world and
one in 22 women in India are likely
to develop breast cancer. In 2010 the
estimated number was over 90,000
patients worldwide.
By taking inspiration of Indias
trust with medicine, Panacea Biotec
launched albumin bound Paclitaxel
nano particles formulation called
PacliALL, developed by Panacea
Biotecs state-of-the-art global re-
search and development (GRAND)
center, Navi Mumbai.
PacliALL offers the advantage of im-
proved safety over conventional for-
mulations of Paclitaxel and is a che-
motherapeutic agent of choice for the
treatment of breast cancer. Keeping
the affordability of cancer medicines
in mind, PacliALL has been made
available at a price point which is ap-
proximately 50 percent lower than
the competitive products in the do-
mestic and global markets.
Panacea Biotec in line with its phi-
losophy of creating happier and
heuILhIer socIeLy Iocuses on IuIhIIIng
its corporate social responsibility.
Health, education and patient relief
hus been IdenLIhed us Lhe ureus oI
priority. Panacea Biotec, on regular
basis, organizes diabetes, osteopo-
rosis, renal, piles and breast cancer
disease detection camp for spreading
disease awareness and facilitating
early management of the disease. For
doctors and healthcare support staff,
Panacea Biotec, conducts workshops
and symposia so that the medical fra-
ternity can keep pace with the rapidly
advancing diagnosis and treatment
options.
The backbone of every healthcare
programme rests on a hygiene
awareness building
campaign that cov-
ers water, sanitation
and hygiene. In In-
dia, people are more
vulnerable to diseases
because of unhygienic conditions
and lack of sanitation facilities. It
is therefore critical for everyone to
create awareness on health and hy-
gIene, und rovIde eIhcIenL sysLems
by leveraging the use of all the means
available, thus making it the ultimate
goal of every healthcare company to
help people move towards a better
quality of life.
I believe that in the future, India will
be among the powerful nations who
will provide the best of healthcare fa-
cilities to the entire population. We
are from the land of Charak, Shush-
tut and Atreya, who have contributed
u IoL Lo Lhe heId oI medIcIne. Toduy,
Indian doctors, hospitals, support
staff and medicines are practic-
ing and contributing globally. It is
a trust, which has guided the spirit
of brand India as the global medical
destination. I personally believe that
we are just few steps behind from re-
alizing our dream of Think Medicine
- ThInk ndIu.
ndustry Leader
N S I G H T I S
BioSpecial
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