After the grand success of 2010 India Healthcare Excellence Awards, Alexandria and Frost & Sullivan again announce the 2011 Edition of ‘India Healthcare Excellence Awards’ to be held on 23 September, 2011 in Mumbai.

India Healthcare Excellence Awards are presented to companies in lifescience/healthcare sectors, demonstrating best practices in a variety of regional and global markets. They recognize the superior planning and execution of product/services launches, strategic alliances, distribution strategies, technological innovations, customer service and mergers & acquisitions. A host of other crucial factors such as leadership, strategy, growth, service, innovation, integration, marketing, financial performance and development are also considered as part of the Award Methodology.

The companies that are commended as Excellence Award recipients are those with the diligence, perseverance and dedication required to develop a successful business plan and excel in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. The awards also recognize the achievements of many individuals, who work behind- the- scenes and who are carrying out groundbreaking work that is changing the face of healthcare in India. The 2011 edition of India Healthcare Excellence Awards with its twenty-four categories will recognize companies as well as individuals for their excellence and outstanding contribution to the industry.

Alexandria – Frost & Sullivan 2010 India Healthcare Excellence Awards was a huge success. It saw over 350 industry luminaries across the healthcare industry, right from pharma, biotech, medical technology, hospitals, healthcare IT, diagnostics to wellness and private equity sectors, interact and celebrate the success, all under one roof. Who’s-who of the industry, participated in the Awards ceremony. These included, Kewal Handa, managing director, Pfizer Limited; CSN Murthy, CEO, Aurigene; Dr. Sushil Shah, chairman, Metropolis Health Services (I) Ltd.; Sudhir Sethi, managing general partner, IDG Ventures India; Dr Narayan Gad, CEO, Panacea Biotech; Rahesh Singhal, managing partner, Milestone Religare Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd. The event was highly appreciated for its continuing role in honoring achievements of a diverse cross-section from the healthcare industry.

According to Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman, Apollo Group of Hospitals and the recipient of 'Frost & Sullivan’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the Healthcare Sector’, “It is such a wonderful thing to bring all the leading healthcare players together for this occasion. This stimulus should help us in the next reach in filling the huge demand-supply gap in health. It should also give us an opportunity to take this on into the national agenda, with the support of Frost and Sullivan. We should now focus our thoughts towards greater health opportunity for the nation.”

One of the greater challenges faced by the healthcare industry is, the slow growth of healthcare infrastructure vis-à-vis the pace of economic growth and capital availability. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., a company that is dedicated to investment in healthcare infrastructure projects across India has continued its partnership with Frost & Sullivan for this year’s edition too.

Speaking on the healthcare industry, Sandeep Sinha, director, Healthcare Practice, South Asia and Middle East, Frost & Sullivan, said, “The Indian healthcare Industry has already clocked in the 55 billion dollar figure and is poised for another fantastic year ahead in 2011. With a 1.2 billion population with 60 percent of the population poised to be in the working class category in the next coming decade, there can be no company whether be MNC or an Indian player, which can afford to neglect the Indian market from their growth plans. We at Frost & Sullivan truly salute the spirit of this growing Industry and support it by recognizing the excellent efforts deployed by a few of them who have the courage to excel in this multi-faceted environment.”

The Award methodology followed to determine best practices in the industry consists of interviews with market participants and extensive secondary research of proprietary data. Frost & Sullivan analysts’ track competitor revenue, market share and growth within the industry. The competitors are then compared and ranked. Specific criteria are used to ascertain the final competitor ranking in each industry. For the Technology Excellence Award, the technologies and research projects are compared using customer base demands. In addition, factors such as feasibility of product launch, likelihood of customer acceptance and acceptance rates, and estimated time to market are taken into consideration.