Pharmabiz
 

Dabur OncQuest to open more centres in India and abroad

Gireesh P K, MumbaiThursday, July 19, 2007, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

Dabur OncQuest, pioneers in the Indian oncology medical testing market and a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur Pharma Ltd, is planning to open more specimen collection centres in India and abroad. The company also plans to launch five new products by next year. The Dabur OncQuest, which is already present in 42 locations across the country through a network of authorized collection centres, will open 50 more centres in India. At present the company has tie-up with over 100 hospitals in the country. The company, which has presence in Nepal and Sri Lanka, is planning to open ten centres in abroad this year. Talking to Pharmabiz Vivek Trikha, head, Diagnostics, Dabur Pharma Ltd, said, "Our mission is to improve the quality of life of cancer patients by providing scientifically advanced, cost-effective molecular diagnostics tests. It will help doctors and their patients to optimize cancer care. With a view to offer diagnostics tests to more people and the company will expand to more locations in India and abroad." Dabur OncQuest, also focuses on the development of new molecules and technologies for the cancer treatment and testing. Dabur OncQuest has introduced a number of techniques to evaluate the structure of DNA, RNA or proteins in cells in the recent years. The company has recently launched CML Quest (IRMA), an innovative test for the confirmation of drug resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) patients. This test is available only at the centres of Dabur OncQuest in India and Nepal. The company offers various tests at the price range of Rs 200 to Rs 25, 000. The new test will help the clinicians to make critical decision on therapeutic front. Once the BCR/abl Quantification indicates no response to Imatinib mesylate then patients can be quickly examined by CML Quest (IRMA) and switched to higher molecules that are now available in India, said, Trikha. This innovation will not only save the patient's precious time but also prevent them from incurring unnecessary expenditure on drugs that may not control disease progression.

 
[Close]