Healthcare startups will now be able to take lead – Amit Mookim, Service Head, South Asia, IMS Health

Bengaluru, March 19, 2016:“We were hoping to hear some clear-cut policies and an amended act with a separate ministry for the healthcare ecosystem. The current Drugs and Cosmetics Act treats medical devices and equipments at par with pharmaceuticals. This implies that the act is not sensitive to certain nuances specific to devices and equipment which pose a huge market opportunity for healthcare players. The amended policies would have been the right step in creating clear ownership within the Government to push various components of the healthcare value chain.

API is another area which needed immediate prioritization by the government as it is one of the new growth drivers within the healthcare domestic market. As per the current policy, we have a framework to regulate the drug pricing to guarantee availability of required essential medicines at reasonable prices for masses. However, APIs does not fully reflect in the essentiality of the actual drug formulation as per the policy. This may impact production, availability and prices which eventually will affect the access to healthcare scenario in India.

Said that, the government’s announcement to launch dialysis service program and open 3000 medical stores is a welcome move making basic healthcare more available to masses living beyond metros and tier 1 cities.

Also, the government’s plan to provide tax holiday to startups will propel growth in the healthcare ecosystem by driving innovation amongst new-age entrepreneurs. Healthcare startups will now be able to take lead in breaking the archaic mode of providing services to the end customers making the entire healthcare experience to be easy and simple.”

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)