Time to fix healthcare

This is in reference to the article “The future belongs to biologics” (December 27). Kanchana TK makes an empathic case for stepping up investments in biomedical research. She is right about the innovations in medicine but wants government intervention for biologics. She quotes how China has made significant advancements in the same sphere. These are multi-pronged issues and cannot be generalised.

While personalised medicine is the holy grail, cost structures to justify the same are prohibitive. Indian pharma companies have been under cloud for several irregularities in making generics and censures from US-FDA for their good manufacturing practises. They are engaged in copying existing biologics. 

While the premise of biologics is good in theory, existing evidence needs more robust scrutiny about their efficacy. Universal insurance, a shift towards electronic medical records, reliable tracking of patents and identifying the root cause of disease pathogenesis in Indian patients are more pressing concerns. The link to academia and a robust clinical trial designs will pave the way for better investments in biologicals at a later date. The Chinese system suffers from more institutional challenges than the projections listed in the write up. It’s a long haul but we have an urgent need to fix our healthcare. 

Abhishek Puri  Mohali

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