Mazumdar-Shaw, Strand to set up translational lab

Lab will work towards providing personalised treatment to cancer patients

City-based Strand Life Sciences, a global life sciences and clinical genomics company, has partnered Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Foundation to set up the Strand at Mazumdar-Shaw (SAMS) translational lab here. The lab will be located on the Mazumdar-Shaw Centre for Translational Research campus.

Translational research is engineering research to make findings from basic science useful for practical applications enhancing health.

The lab is aimed at bringing down costs of genomics-based diagnostics to make it accessible for people in India, Strand Life Sciences said.

According to the latest World Cancer Report from the World Health Organization, a little over 477,000 men and 537,000 women were diagnosed with cancer in the country in 2012.

“With evolving health care systems, it is imperative that we are constantly innovating and developing capabilities that will provide personalised treatment and quality care to the people of India. We believe this collaboration will help us foster innovation and encourage in-depth research in the genomics space and provide better care for patients with cancer and other genetic diseases,” Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon, said.

Strand will offer genomic testing for cancer and other germline/hereditary conditions at lower costs.

The collaboration will also entail promoting research in genomics, conducting medical and non-medical programmes, seminars and talk shows, assisting clinicians and scientists in research and making genomics research resources and data available to scientists.

Commenting on the partnership, Vijay Chandru, chairman and chief executive, Strand Life Sciences, said, “As part of the vision laid out in the partnership, Strand has developed a hereditary breast cancer diagnostic test that will cost less than comparable ones available in the West and India. This is the first of many innovations that we will develop at the SAMS translational lab.”