“Transasia’s mission and philosophy is to serve the doctors and patients worldwide by meeting their needs for reliable, affordable and innovative medical diagnostic systems. The spirit is the “spirit of India” where we want to make a mark in this very important diagnostic field and make Transasia a formidable force on the diagnostic world map.” Suresh Vazirani CMD, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd.

Total healthcare spending in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17% between 2007 and 2012. Added to this the large-scale prence of both infectious and lifestyle-related diseases has created a big opportunity for the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) market in India. The following article with inputs from Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. gives an overview of the importance and scope of technological advances in IVD.

India’s rapid growth has brought about a health transition in terms of shifting demographics, socio-economic transformations and changes in disease patterns.

Healthcare industry in India is booming. India produces the largest number of doctors, nurses and technicians in the world. This puts us in an ideal position to be the ideal healthcare providers to the whole world.

The major factors driving the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) market in India are an increase in healthcare awareness levels amongst the people, as well as an increase in disposable incomes and lifestyle diseases leading to higher frequency of testing. Penetration by the insurance sector in the medical field, corporatisation of health services and opening up of the rural sector are also playing important roles.

On the one hand, the Indian middle class, with its increasing purchasing power, is more willing than ever before to pay more for quality healthcare. On the other, the supply of healthcare services has grown steadily, as the private sector becomes more involved in owning and running hospitals.

The medical equipment market is the direct beneficiary of this boom in healthcare industry. There are many growth drivers for this industry like:

  • New laboratories and corporate hospitals coming up
  • The fully automated segment is continuously growing due to increase in sample workload
  • Path Labs are going for quality certification and accreditation
    Nearly 70% of patients are being treated on the basis of lab diagnostic tests

How critical is the laboratory?

The laboratory plays a central role in healthcare. By one estimate, 70% of all medical decisions are based on laboratory results. And now all the laboratories strive to use the latest in technology.

However, technology is a means to an end and not the end in itself. Optimising performance means that workflow and technology are integrated to yield an operation that best meets the clinical needs and financial goals of the organisation. High quality at low cost is another concern. Updates in technology must lower capital and operating costs and also improve turnaround time.

The measurement of samples using automated instrumentation has undergone an evolutionary process since early times. It began with a manual processing using basic techniques of colorimetry or manual slide preparation and moved on to single channel analyser using continuous flow analysis and measured one analyte on a batch of samples, i.e., one sample, one test. These samples were measured in a sequential fashion, i.e., one sample after another. The specimen throughput rates were also very low. It then evolved into multiple channel instruments. One major disadvantage to this type of instrument configuration was that all testing was performed in a parallel fashion. This resulted in the measurement of every analyte configured on the system for every sample. This inflexibility in testing led to the development of more evolved, fully-automated, random access analysers.

In recent years, the workload on laboratory personnel has increased two to two-and-a-half times. An increase in the capacity and directions of laboratory investigations should be reflected in the quality of the work, or in the accuracy and reliability of the acquired data. But this is possible only when laboratories are equipped with modern technology, permitting a sharp rise in production and in the reliability of investigation results.

Need for Automation of Labs

Experience has confirmed that full automation is a very gradual step toward efficiency in laboratory work and lab automation still continues to evolve. The drive or thrust for smaller, faster, and more-accessible devices is increasing. Emerging markets have different needs with respect to the test menus, technologies used and operating procedures. Thus, made-to-order solutions need to be developed for these markets.

Lab automation has also taken on a new level of importance in the ability to actually get instruments interfaced to various laboratory information systems (LIS). Information technology has taken a giant leap in the IVD industry, thereby reducing the dependence on a technically qualified individual to be present at all times during the analytical procedure without compromising on established levels of care.

Delivering the right data in a timely and cost effective manner while improving the sensitivity and specificity of the test is the need of the hour and the industry needs to gear up for single workstations that can carry multiple workloads.

Today the diagnostics business is mainly based on technology. The Indian companies with their state-of-the-art R&D facilities have developed a range of good quality products for the local market with fierce competitiveness.

Technology has stepped in to play facilitator to improve healthcare delivery. Issues such as systematised capture, storage and sharing of patient information, allowing faster but error free operations are now achievable.

Role of Transasia in the Diagnostic Value Chain

Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. offers ‘Total Solutions for Clinical Diagnosis’ whether it is Biochemistry, Haematology, Immunology, Critical Care, Coagulation, Urine Analysis, Liquid Handling systems or Blood Transfusion medicine. It has a complete suit of semi auto to fully automated instruments, which are indigenously manufactured at its state of the art manufacturing units or through its alliances with global leaders in the respective segments.

Partnerships

Biochemistry: Transasia is equipped to manufacture Instruments, Reagents and Consumables conforming to IVD Directives and it has manufacturing facilities at Daman, SEEPZ (Mumbai), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and Mannheim (Germany).

Haematology: Transasia and Sysmex, Japan have formed a joint venture, which is involved in conducting scientific activities like CME programmes, scientific seminars and quality control programmes. Sysmex is a world leader in Hematology and Hemostasis. They have a comprehensive range of instrumentation, lab automation and software to cover the entire portfolio of haematology testing. This company also manufactures reagents in India for the Indian market.

Immunology: Transasia is exclusively representing GRIFOLS, Spain for their product Triturus A 4 plate, multibatch, fully automated ELISA analyser.

Critical Care: Medica is a Boston, Massachussets based organisation involved in manufacturing of critical care products like electrolyte analysers and Blood gas analysers. Transasia has been representing them since 2000 for their range of electrolyte and blood gas analysers as well as their reagents and controls.

Liquid Handling: Transasia has an exclusive agreement with Biohit, Finland for their wide range of liquid handling systems. Transasia. also has a licensing agreement with Erba Biohit for assembling of PROLINE range of pipettes at its ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturing plant at Daman, India.

Conclusion

Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. is one of the leaders in the clinical diagnostics segment of the Indian healthcare sector. With an enviable 29-year track record in the Industry, the company is the largest Indian manufacturer and exporter of diagnostic instruments and reagents. The company has successfully developed and manufactured hi-tech In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) instruments and reagents and has become a name to reckon with, in India and about 55 countries across the world.

The company is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 13485:2003 certified and has also been rated as India’s largest In-vitro Diagnostics Company (2006) by McEvoy & Farmer, U.S.A. (International Experts on IVD Markets).

CLEARSTATE International, Singapore survey has revealed Transasia’s market leadership over international players specifically in the Clinical Chemistry and Haematology segments. It also mentions Transasia’s Erba Chem series as the most placed clinical chemistry (CC) analysers in all types of facilities.

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