Page 9 - Healthcare Sector

McKinsey agrees to $78 mn settlement with insurers over opioids crisis

Consulting firm McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay USD 78 million to settle claims from insurers and health care funds that its work with drug companies helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis. The agreement was revealed late Friday in documents filed in federal court in San Francisco. The settlement must still be approved by a judge. Under the agreement, McKinsey would establish a fund to reimburse insurers, private benefit plans and others for some or all of their prescription opioid costs. The insurers argued that McKinsey worked with Purdue Pharma the maker of OxyContin to create and employ aggressive marketing and sales tactics to overcome doctors' reservations about the highly addictive drugs. Insurers said that forced them to pay for prescription opioids rather than safer, non-addictive and lower-cost drugs, including over-the-counter pain medication. They also had to pay for the opioid addiction treatment that followed. From 1999 to 2021, nearly 280,000 people in the US di

Nephrocare India raises Rs 8.08 crore in pre IPO round, eyes 300 clinics

Founded in 2014, Nephrocare India operates three kidney care clinics in West Bengal and a flagship holistic healthcare facility in Salt Lake, Kolkata

Kolkata-based Nephrocare India secures Rs 8.08cr in pre-IPO funding

Nephrocare India, a Kolkata-based comprehensive renal care institution, has raised Rs 8.08 crore in its pre-IPO round paving the way for its expansion plans, the company said on Friday. The funding saw participation from marquee investors, who include former HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, HDFC Securities chairman Bharat Shah, and founder and MD of Macleods Pharmaceuticals Rajendra Agarwal, it said. The fresh infusion of capital will fuel Nephrocare India's target of establishing 22 high-end kidney care facilities across India by March 2026. Four centres are expected to be operational by the end of the current fiscal, the company said in a statement. Its long-term vision is to establish 300 Nephrocare centres across the country within the next 8-10 years. Highlighting the critical need for such expansion, company officials pointed out the vast demand for kidney care units in India, the statement said. With an estimated seven crore patients struggling with chronic kidney diseases and

Fresh capacity, investments may drive gains for Laurus Labs by FY25

Despite these cuts, the brokerage maintains a buy rating on the stock

Increase budget allocation on health to 2.5 pc of GDP: NATHEALTH

NATHEALTH-Healthcare Federation of India on Tuesday asked the government to increase budget allocation on health to 2.5 per cent of GDP while also calling for a restructuring of the healthcare GST framework. In its pre-Budget recommendations, NATHEALTH underlined the need for the government to embark on transformative measures that prioritise bolstering healthcare infrastructure and making strategic investments to overcome supply side constraints. "India's public healthcare spending remains low, at only around 1.6-1.8 per cent of GDP. These allocations are insufficient to tackle the magnitude of healthcare challenges," NATHEALTH said in a statement. It recommended "increasing budget allocation to 2.5 per cent of GDP to augment the social insurance schemes, boosting healthcare reforms and infrastructure and fast-tracking digital health services across India." On the need for rationalisation of GST for the healthcare sector, it said, "Although increased budget allocation has been a .

Reliance General Insurance launches new policy for overseas treatment

Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd (RGICL) on Saturday said it has launched a new policy to make global healthcare accessible to Indians. The policy, Reliance Health Global, provides comprehensive cover not only within the borders of India but across the world, RGICL said in a statement. The policy will cover expenses for overseas treatment, including critical illnesses like cancer and bypass surgery, it added. It also encompasses travel, accommodation, and end-to-end Visa and assistance services, addressing emergencies like lost passports or emergency cash, apart from sum-insured coverage of up to USD 1 million, the company said. The new product also offers benefits ranging from air ambulance to organ donor expenses with no restrictions on room rent. "As India globalises and a lot of Indians keep travelling abroad for work or leisure it's imperative to remove their pain of buying multiple policies separately for India and overseas," Reliance General Insurance CEO Rakesh Jain

Max Healthcare up 9% in one week post Lucknow-based Sahara Hospital buyout

On December 8, Max Healthcare said it entered into a share purchase agreement for acquisition of 550 bedded Sahara Hospital, Lucknow.

Max Healthcare Institute acquires Starlit Medical Centre for Rs 940 crore

Within its current network, it has 3,533 beds, and following this acquisition, the total bed count would approximately touch around 4,083 beds

Margin gains likely to further boost Aster DM Healthcare stock price

The company had been keen to sell the stake in the GCC business for some time now given a hypercompetitive environment, lower growth (a third of the India business) and lower margins

Out of pocket expenditure projected to fall to 35% by FY26: Health secy

"Government interventions such as increase in expenditure via schemes has led to people saving more than Rs 5 trillion", he added

Aster DM Healthcare soars 15%; hits new high on stake sale plan in Gulf biz

The company announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary would sell its stake in Aster DM Healthcare FZC to Alpha GCC for $1.01 billion (Rs 8,125 crore).

India needs additional 2.4 mn hospital beds for recommended ratio: Report

India needs an additional 2.4 million (24 lakh) hospital beds to reach the recommended ratio of 3 beds per 1,000 people, fuelling the demand for healthcare-related real estate space, according to Knight Frank. Currently, India has an estimated 70,000 hospitals, of which 63 per cent are from the private sector, global real estate consultant Knight Frank and US-based Berkadia said in their report released on Thursday. "India is facing a deficit of 2 billion sq ft of healthcare space to cater to its current population base of 1.42 billion people," Knight Frank India said in a statement. India has a considerable gap between the number of hospital beds available in the country and the number of hospital beds required. "India's existing bed-to-population ratio is 1.3/1000 population (both private and public hospitals included), and there is a deficit of 1.7/1000 population. To cater to the existing population, there is an additional requirement of 2.4 million beds," the consultant ...

Baby showers to photoshoots, boutique hospitals redefine maternity care

The niche - and growing - segment within the healthcare industry targets an affluent clientele

Apollo Hospitals posts July-Sept standalone profit after tax of Rs 295 cr

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd has recorded a standalone profit after tax of Rs 294.8 crore for the three months ended September 30, 2023, the healthcare major said on Friday. Apollo Hospitals reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 279.1 crore during the corresponding quarter last year. For the half-year period ended September 30, 2023, the standalone profit after tax stood at Rs 508.9 crore, as against Rs 612.3 crore registered in the same period last year, the company said on Friday. Total income on a standalone basis during the quarter under review grew to Rs 1,931.1 crore from Rs 1,758.5 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. For the six-month period ended September 30, 2023, the standalone total income grew to Rs 3,637.3 crore against Rs 3,298.7 crore registered in the same period last year. In a statement, Apollo Hospitals said the board, based on the recommendations of the investment committee, has evaluated and approved an expansion plan for th

Dabur India looking for acquisitions with Rs 7,000 cr cash reserve: CEO

Homegrown FMCG maker Dabur India, armed with a cash reserve of Rs 7,000 crore, is scouting for acquisition opportunities in healthcare and home & personal care segments, according to its CEO Mohit Malhotra. Besides, Dabur is looking for acquisition opportunities in the online space, and with several D2C (Direct to Consumer) brands operating in it, it finds the valuation "more reasonable" now and will pursue it if it finds a suitable one for growth, he said. The company is scaling its presence in the online space, which includes e-commerce channels and D2C business, where it plans to introduce more innovations under existing brands and through inorganic opportunities. "We are introducing innovations there. Those innovations are coming on the back of existing brands and these innovations will come on the back of some new brands that we might launch or we are looking at an acquisition for a new brand," Malhotra told PTI. The company would pursue organic growth with new brand launches

India pitches for equitable access to essential healthcare products

India on Tuesday called for equitable access to essential healthcare products and their last-mile delivery to ensure innovations reach those who need the most. Addressing a meeting of the second World Local Production Forum (WLPF) at Hague in the Netherlands, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwant Khuba urged the Forum to focus on "last-mile delivery of healthcare products to ensure that the benefits of innovations reach those who need them most and guarantee equitable access to essential healthcare products.". WLPF is an initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The minister also said that the Forum must focus on marketing, upscaling regional manufacturing, efficient procurement and delivery systems, and repurposing existing infrastructure for efficient coordination during health emergencies, an official statement quoted Khuba as saying. He said this meeting provides a crucial opportunity to share experiences, challenges and successes in the development

Dr Lal PathLabs Q2 results: Profit jumps 54.8%, revenue rises 12.63%

Dr Lal PathLab's share price rose to 3.30 per cent, ending the day's trade at Rs 2,455 apiece on the BSE

India's healthcare ecosystem undergoing change: KPMG India co-head

KPMG-FICCI study suggests more than 20 new healthcare models emerging in India

Govt addressing lack of human resource supply in hospitals, says V K Paul

Paul highlights major infra push given in healthcare sector

Aster DM Healthcare's India unit draws suitors valuing business at $1.5 bn

Aster shares have soared about 40% this year, valuing the Mumbai-listed company at about $1.9 billion