The BioAsia 2015 concluded successfully with a number of agreements and Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed between government and national and international organisations on the final day in Hyderabad on February 4.  Partnership between Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) and China Medical city, Federation of Asian Biotechnology Association and Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences were among major MoUs and agreements signed during the 3-day BioAsia event.

With about 1,350 registered delegates and thousands of visitors attending the event from India and across 50 countries, BioAsia 2015 had become an apt platform for all the stakeholders of biotech, healthcare, pharma and IT industry and regulatory bodies, who all shared views, valuable suggestions and actively took part in thought provoking discussions on various aspects concerning pharma and lifesciences industry in the country.  

The last day of the event started with the inauguration of the healthcare conferences by Pradeep Chandra, special chief secretary, Government of Telangana and keynote address by Prof D Prabhakaran, vice president of Public Health Foundation of India.

The concluding session also witnessed participation of medical practitioners, IT experts and technologists for the digital health & healthcare-IT conference which was organised on the topic Do you think India is ready for the rapid technological changes shaping healthcare globally? The eminent dignitaries who shared their insightful thoughts with the audience included Sangita Reddy, Joint MD, Apollo Hospitals, India, BVR Mohan Reddy, founder and executive chairman, Cyient and vice-chairman of NASSCOM, India and TSY Aravindakshan, National Manager (Industry Solutions) – Health, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. “Healthcare is transformed by 3 Bs i.e. biology, bytes and bandwidth. Healthcare is also getting less invasive and more pervasive,” says Sangita Reddy, Joint MD of Apollo Hospitals while taking part in a discussion.

The speakers for the session on medical fraternity and usage of technology and analytics driven insight for improving healthcare effectiveness included Srinivas Prasad, ?CEO, Philips Innovation Campus, India, Dr Prem Kishore V, Global Head Healthcare & Medical Device Practice, Tech Mahindra, India,  Ameera Shah, MD Promoter & CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd., India to name a few. Martin Kelly, CEO, HealthXL, Ireland also addressed the delegates.

The sessions under public health & access track covered important topics like the efforts to prevent & control NCDs from Government of India, preventing blindness due to diabetes & hypertension, role of corporate in management and prevention of NCDs, bringing clinical research into the next decade: Innovations & global strategies, role of information technology to help clinicians and patients for better management of NCDs & DSS in the new healthcare landscape. The eminent experts who shared their thoughts on the topic were Prof. D. Prabhakaran, vice president of PHFI, and Dr Damodar Bachani, deputy commissioner (NCDs) of ministry of health & family welfare, Govt. of India, Dr Nikhil Tandon Professor & Head of the department of endocrinology & metabolism at AIIMS in New Delhi.

Speaking on this occasion, Shakthi Nagappan, CEO of BioAsia says, “This edition of BioAsia has been instrumental in bringing together the stakeholders of biotech, healthcare, pharma and IT industry. Partnerships like TSIIC & China Medical City and FABA & Thailand Centre of Excellanace for Life Sciences would help each of them resulting better medical facilities for people. Around 1,350 delegates registered at BioAsia 2015 during these 3 days representing 50 countries. The buyer-seller meets organized at BioAsia 2015 would also help the Indian smaller manufacturers to learn and understand the technological inventions in medical devices making it cheaper for local consumers.”

Under the clinical research track, a panel discussion was done on the topic of Indian regulatory landscape. The discuss points included role for lower cost innovation from Asia/India, Industry’s expectations from the Indian regulatory, key developments in the Indian regulatory landscape in the last few months, simplifying clinical trial approval process at the center. The panelists included Solomon Yimam, Assistant Country Director, US FDA India Office, India, Maggie Massam, Head of Business Development, Clinical Practices Resource Datalink (CPRD), MHRA, UK, etc.

The session on Indian biosimilar guidelines and the global alignment discussed about the need to have a view on the approach to the biosimilars, comparison and contrast between Indian biosimilar guidelines and the global alignment and a roundtable discussion on if India can be considered as a preferred destination for the conduct of biosimilar clinical trials.

The session on bioequivalence studies in India focused on the challenges and solutions for BA-BE studies in India, volunteer safety and compensation, sharing of volunteer database between CROs and import & export of biological samples.

The last session on the challenges and solutions for conducting clinical trial in India deliberated on challenges and solutions for conducting clinical trials in India, restriction of 3 studies per investigator, certifications of investigators/institutions, video recording of the informed consent process and Protocol development and site management to comply with Indian regulators. The speakers who shared their views on the topic included Dr. Kiran Marthak, Director, Lambda Therapeutic Research Limited, India, Dr. Jeroze Dalal, general manager, Clinical Operations, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, India and Dr. Shariq Anwar, Head Operations, Max Neeman Medical International Limited, India.