Medgate Today, January 2022:

Q1. Your key innovative business approach which has been helping you to stay afloat or mitigate risk during the year 2021?

While companies were hoping for some respite after a challenging 2020, India was hit by a disastrous second wave of the pandemic. Most organizations, who were struggling to be back in business and start routine operations, were hit hard. On our part, we used this challenging time to find newer ways to serve our country by helping our 40,000 customers, who are labs and hospitals, take better care of COVID patients. Some of these initiatives were:

Seamless service- At the Transasia-Erba group, we recognize our responsibility towards doctors, to aid in providing the best patient care. Our global teams, have been working through the pandemic to ensure we provide uninterrupted services in manufacturing, assistance for installing new instruments and after-sales service to minimize downtime in a laboratory.

Digitization- Integration of AI technologies with our fully automated analyzers have facilitated remote monitoring for preventive maintenance of the instruments. Developing customized plug-in modules for labs have helped in faster generation of patient reports and optimizing lab efficiencies.

Scaling up the manufacturing capability- In order to meet the demands from the labs across India, Transasia further expanded its manufacturing capability at the AMTZ, Vizag plant by rolling out the first batch of Erba EM 200, fully automated clinical chemistry analyzer at the facility.

Meeting the government needs for diagnostic instruments- Transasia partners with various central and state government institutes on an on-going basis to meet their need for diagnostic instrument and test kits.

Strengthening the leadership position- As a part of its business strategy, Transasia has focused on transforming the human dimension of the enterprise and strengthening its leadership portfolio with expert talent from the industry.

Q2. Economics is on a recovery path…what are points of reference for business planning and forecast?
The pandemic has highlighted the critical role of diagnostics in disease prevention. Access to diagnostics will deepen beyond the tier I and II cities.

As the market leader in India, we consider it our duty to provide all that a pathology lab requires for providing affordable diagnostic services. Our goal is to become a Total Solutions provider to Indian labs.

We have a renewed focus on innovation and improving access to high medical value diagnostic tests. We are looking forward to launching exciting new products by 2023. Our R&D labs in France, UK, USA, Austria and India will launch over 10 state-of-the-art analyzers in CLIA, molecular, high-end hematology, AI and LIS. We are looking at deploying digital innovations to enable more affordable and equitable health care beyond the pandemic. Our focus will also be on introducing testing kits for infectious diseases. Also in the offing is a ‘Total Lab Automation’ solution aimed at mid- and large size laboratories. All these will make Transasia-Erba among the top-five companies globally to have ‘Total solutions in Laboratory Diagnostics.’

Q3. Diagnostics is the first step in the treatment journey not just during a pandemic but also for NCDs and other infectious diseases. But countries like India lack funding to process affordable access to quality diagnostics. How does Transasia play a role in bridging this gap?

In the last two years, Transasia has strengthened India’s diagnostic capacity by introducing kits for COVID-19 testing and surveillance. We first launched the ErbaLisa COVID-19 IgG ELISA kit, followed by the Erba MDx COVID-19 RT PCR kit and recently the ErbaQik COVID-19 Ag test kit for rapid screening of all variants including Omicron.

Besides this, we also increased the availability of test kits for significant vital parameters such as D Dimer, CRP and Ferritin to monitor disease severity.

We strongly believe in embracing a future-ready mindset and designing offerings to address the future needs of customers. Going forward, the focus will be back on infectious diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis, malaria and dengue, among others.

Transasia already offers affordable, ELISA and rapid test kits for these infections. We recently introduced ErbaLisa HCV Gen 4 Ag+Ab, India’s first and only indigenously developed 4th generation ELISA assay for early detection of Hepatitis C Virus. Transasia also introduced the ErbaQik rapid test kit for four critical infections namely HIV, HBsAg, HCV and Syphilis.

These kits offer high quality at an affordable cost and are being made available to labs in metros and rural towns across the country, through Transasia’s wide network.

Q4. How do you see 2022 as a new ray of hope in healthcare and diagnostics in particular?

The pandemic brought a strong realization to every country about the crucial Importance of diagnostics in a country's healthcare system. There can be no healthcare system without diagnostics.

The diagnostic industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country at the moment and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% over the next five years. A shift in mind set towards disease awareness and early detection is creating opportunities for innovation to meet the high demands.

2022 will see an increasing number of labs being equipped to do more in less time. The focus will be on digitization and lab automation to create an ecosystem where patient data can transit seamlessly between pathologists and specialists.

Advanced testing methods such as molecular testing will be adopted for infectious diseases and made accessible and affordable to a larger population. The year will also see an exponential growth in the use of mobile-based health monitoring systems and small hand-held devices. Point-of-care testing continues to gain popularity for being convenient and cost-effective and giving faster results.

The entry of pharmaceutical companies and large corporate chain hospitals in the diagnostic arena as laboratory service providers, is already enabling greater accessibility.

Now more than ever before, the role of the government is getting highlighted for the urgent need to increase its spending on free diagnostics for all Indians. Public-private partnerships are gaining ground and scaling up screening and diagnostic opportunities. Transasia already collaborates with various state and central government institutes to offer superior products to optimize workflow and expedite clinical decision making.

Transasia with its five global R&D centres and manufacturing facilities in India, Europe and USA is today well prepared to support the 1,00,000 pathology labs in India for providing innovative and affordable diagnostic services to our fellow Indians.