New Delhi, October 2: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda has called on India’s life sciences industry to make patient-centric innovation a central focus, stressing on the need to translate scientific discoveries into accessible and affordable healthcare.
Addressing the inaugural Bharat Life Sciences Award (BLSA), organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Vigyan Bhawan, Nadda said the success of scientific research should ultimately be measured by its impact on patients.
“True success is not just inventing in the lab, but taking discoveries from bench to bedside,” the ANI reported Nadda as saying in a video address.
He also highlighted India’s progress in pharmaceuticals, vaccines and the bioeconomy, citing the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya (PM-JAY) scheme, which provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh to all citizens aged 70 and above.
The inaugural BLSA received more than 500 applications and provided Rs 70 million in grant support. The awards recognised researchers and organisations across various areas of life sciences and healthcare, the ANI reported.
Dr Vamsee Mallajosyula of the National Centre for Biological Sciences received the Ramanujan Arogya Udaan Samman, while Pacify Medical Technologies was awarded the Charaka Arogya Samman for addressing unmet patient needs. Bharat Serums and Vaccines received the Sushruta Arogya Samman, while BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics won the Nalanda Arogya Vigyan Samman. Sciverse Solutions and Dr Ratnesh Jain received the Gaurav recognitions, the ANI reported.
Industry leaders at the event called for greater investment in research and stronger collaboration between industry and academia.
Pankaj Patel, former President of FICCI and Chairman of Zydus Lifesciences, said India accounted for 15 per cent of the global disease burden but conducted only around 4 per cent of global clinical trials. He called for a shift from being the “pharmacy of the world” to becoming the “lab of the world” and urged companies to increase research expenditure to 8-10 per cent.
Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General of India, emphasized on the need to integrate regulatory strategy with core development planning, while Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Manoj Joshi said the Biopharma Shakti scheme would support the sector’s value chain and help reduce dependence on imported raw materials, the ANI reported.
Prof Gobardhan Das, a member of NITI Aayog, urged the deeper industry-academia linkages to integrate laboratory research into real-world applications. David A. Ricks, chair and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, highlighted India's scientific talent and its role in translating lab discoveries into real-world impact, ANI reported.
The summit was attended by more than 1,200 delegates, including industry executives and senior government officials. (ANI)
