Preventive diagnostics will define the Indian healthcare industry in the post COVID era

The ongoing pandemic has led to people becoming more aware of the need to take care of their health and prevent disease by proper and early diagnosis. However, it has also exposed the limitations of our current healthcare system which is not only inadequate but is predominantly designed to treat and not prevent diseases. This is highly undesirable and unviable for the second largest country in the world. Learning from the crisis, we must re-invent and build a robust healthcare ecosystem to cater to the future needs of all Indians in cities and villages. The country’s USD 9 billion, diagnostic industry, is slated to grow at a CAGR of ~15 percent over the next 10 years.

Preventive diagnostics and the important role it plays. Prevention is better than cure, an age-old adage, has become the mantra for healthy living, especially post the pandemic. As a country we need to shift focus from tertiary to preventive care, as it is not just better, but also cheaper to prevent, than to cure.

In India, we need a disease prevention programme so that diseases can be controlled early and reversed. Almost 70 percent Indians have not gone for a blood test, so we do not know how many million people already have or are going to get diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disorders or hepatitis.

For that every Indian should get tested at least once a year. This would mean providing affordable and accessible diagnostic solutions.

Transasia is fully aligned to developing solutions for early diagnosis. Our teams in India and globally, are collaborating to introduce easy-to-use, high quality ELISA and rapid panels for hormonal, infectious, and vector-borne diseases.

Adoption of technological advancements for enhanced patient care. The COVID pandemic has given rise to the need for superior diagnostic technologies. Molecular diagnostics and nex-gen sequencing are witnessing fast-paced growth for detecting infectious diseases. We have already stepped forth in this domain with our RT-PCR kit for COVID-19, HIV, hepatitis,TB, etc.

Transasia is working on developing point-of-care diagnostic tests that utilize other body fluids like saliva, making it convenient for the end-user.

Augmenting the manufacturing capacity. Transasia was the first company to offer Made in India sophisticated diagnostic equipment, way back in 1991. Today, Transasia is not only the largest manufacturer in India but is also exporting to over 100 countries. The setting up of Transasia’s most recent 35,000 sq. feet world-class manufacturing facility for COVID-19 products at AMTZ, Vishakhapatnam, is an answer to this foresight. In the future, it will serve as the global hub for all infectious tests such as TB, malaria, HIV, hepatitis etc.

We have already announced the setting up of another production facility for high technology and advanced analyzers in biochemistry, hematology, immunology, molecular tests besides COVID, HIV, dengue, and TB for both domestic and export markets.

Getting future-ready. Our growth strategy for the next few years is designed to propel us to a new level of performance and customer satisfaction. We have the largest team of sales and service experts in the Indian IVD industry and seamlessly cater to almost every part of the country. We intend to expand our distributor network and further strengthen our regional penetration to ensure easy access to lab solutions.

A great customer experience is a result of products that are viable and sustainable, a strong supply chain network and robust technical support systems. We will continue to innovate, re-invent and evolve our products and strengthen our supply chain network. Enhancing our digital capabilities has led us to connect more effectively with customers and we plan to further leverage digitization in our products and marketing strategies.

Between now and 2023, Transasia’s R&D labs in France, UK, US, Austria, and India will launch over 10 exciting, state of-the-art instruments in the fields of CLIA, molecular testing, high-end hematology, AI, and LIS, etc. Also in the offing is a Total Lab Automation solution aimed at mid- and large size laboratories. All these will make Erba-Transasia among the top-five companies globally to have Total solutions in Laboratory Diagnostics.