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Positive drug research outcomes are integral to accelerate the Make in India initiative in the lifesciences sector. The capability of India’s science talent pool and the advanced medical care infrastructure are the two key factors that will drive the country towards drug research and discovery, said Dr B S Ajaikumar, executive chairman, Healthcare Global Enterprises (HCG).
Following the successful mission of the recent Chandrayaan-3 which catapulted India into space research, the capability of expertise in the area of medicine research too is immense, he added.
The country’s healthcare is evolving to the challenges of diseases. Particularly in the area of new investigational drugs, India is proving its mettle even as HCG is looking to avert the recurrence and spread of head and neck cancer, he added.
For instance, our early success to receive a favorable result from the 12 out of the 100 patients who underwent an investigational drug study with a low-dose combination immunotherapy of Nivolumab and the TPF regimen comprising docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil has shown to improve the quality of life and longevity of patients suffering with locally advanced carcinoma of the buccal mucosa, Dr Kumar said.
Cancer remains a significant challenge for doctors to treat with access to few drugs. But HCG has been able to make pathway and we hope to revolutionize head and neck cancer treatment which in its next phase will rope in 100 patients for a clinical investigation across our hospital network in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Cuttack among others. The outcome of study has the potential to be a game-changer. We are in the process of recruiting patients within the next 4 to 6 months and our clinical teams are already appointed for this research project. HCG is known for its efforts in genomic and pathology expertise, he said.
Time has come for India to innovate. All along India, was never at the forefront of investigational drug studies. It was the western world that took the lead. Although we are still in the early stages of developing a value-based medicine for head and neck cancer which will have advantages of cost and benefit, our positive drug research outcomes can hopefully accelerate the Make in India initiative, said the HCG chief.
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