Experts to deliberate on key issues at BioAsia 2023

As the 20th edition of Asia’s Largest Lifesciences and Healthcare forum BioAsia 2023 is scheduled to happen on February 24-26 in Hyderabad, the organising team has developed a well-thought-out agenda for the event.

The topics for each plenary session, keynote, and panel discussion are crafted considering the current healthcare scenario across the globe, learning from the past, and equipping the industry to be ready to handle future challenges.

Day 1 of the event

The delegates will witness a panel discussion on the topic Operationalising the "One Health" approach: Nexus of science, indigenous knowledge, and policy. The discussion will examine the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration by discussing the contributions each ecosystem member could offer and their potential outcomes.

The session chair is Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog and the panelists include, Dr Richard Hatchett (CEO, CEPI, UK), Dr Samit Hirawat (Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Global Drug Development, Bristol Myers Squibb, USA), Dr VK Paul (Member, NITI Aayog), Cynthia McCaffrey (UNICEF Representative to India), Dr Mahender Nayak (Senior VP, Head of Asia Pacific, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Singapore), Dr Sai D Prasad (Executive Director, Bharat Biotech International Limited) and moderated by Dr Gagandeep Kang (Virologist and Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, CMC Vellore).

Another inquisitive session in the afternoon will be focussed on Universal Healthcare for all: Successes, challenges, and what next? This will evaluate the journey of achieving Universal Healthcare, the role of digital/ technology and data, and innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms.

The panelists for this session include Dr Basant Garg, (Additional CEO, National Health Authority (NHA)), Dr Shyam Bishen, Head (Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, Member of Executive Committee, World Economic Forum),Prof K Srinath Reddy (Honorary Distinguished Professor and Goodwill Ambassador, PHFI for Public Health Partnerships), Annaswamy Vaidheesh (CEO, North star Asia LLP), Dr Prem Pavoor, (Senior Partner, Head of India & Healthcare Investments, Eight Roads Ventures), and Uday Bose (Head of Human Pharma Global Go-To-Market and Business Steering, Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany) and the session will be moderated by Vikas Dandekar, Editor - Pharma and Life Sciences, ET Prime.

Meanwhile, the evening session will discuss healthcare possibilities in the Metaverse. On the topic of Healthcare reimagined: Telemedicine, wearables, and healthcare in the Metaverse, the experts will deliberate on the changes in patient’s journey/healthcare experience due to digital technology, Next-gen remote healthcare models, and the possibilities and realities under the Metaverse. The eminent panel includes Agam Upadhyay (SVP, Chief Technology Officer, GSK, USA) and Philippe Houben (Head of GTM and Digital Transformation - IMETA, Boehringer Ingelheim, UAE) moderated by Ram Deshpande (Partner, Digital Transformation, EY).

The highlight of the first day will be the concluding session - CEO Conclave Panel Discussion on the topic of Future growth drivers: What's next for India? The discussion will be led by the session chair KT Rama Rao (Minister of I&C, Govt of Telangana) along with the distinguished panelists, Satish Reddy (Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories), Ajay Piramal (Chairman, Piramal Group), Dilip Shanghvi (MD, Sun Pharma), Mahima Datla (MD, Biological E Ltd), Glenn Saldanha (MD and CEO, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals) and Hari S Bhartia (Founder and Co-Chairman, Jubilant Bhartia Group).

The session will be moderated by Shereen Bhan, (Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18) This session will address what could propel future growth for the Indian pharma industry, the impact of China, the uncertainty of global markets, and conducive policies to enable innovation and self-sustenance in KSMs and APIs.

Day 2 of the event

The morning session of Day 2 will commence with a panel discussion on Data, analytics, and technology to transform drug R&D: Redefining innovation. The discussion will mainly focus on the capabilities of new technologies, triumphs, and dares from the Indian industry. It will also focus on the various opportunities that can be foreseen by the Indian pharma industry.

The panelists for the session include Dr S Chandrasekhar (Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science & Technology), Sauri Gudlavalleti (COO, Sai Life Sciences), Dr Christine Durinx (MD, VIB, Belgium), Bhalgat (COO, Syngene), Dr Arun Anand (COO, Immuneel Therapeutics), Prof Rahul Purwar, (Associate Prof – IIT Bombay, CEO & Founder, ImmunoACT) which will be moderated by Dr Narendra Chirmule (Founder-director, SymphonyTech Biologics) and co-moderated by Anju Ghangurde, (Executive Editor, SCRIP).

The following session will focus on the quality of drugs produced in India. It will explore the challenges faced by Indian manufacturers regarding the perception of drug and device quality, the factors driving this perception, as well as methods to resolve it, and the benefits of digital advancement.

The panelists for the session include Mark Abdoo (Associate Commissioner for Global Policy and Strategy, US FDA), Dr Carmelo Rosa (Acting Director, Division of International Drug Policy, US FDA),Dr Sarah McMullen (Country Director - India, FDA), Prof Sarfaraz K Niazi (Adj Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA), Ian White, (Executive Director, NSF Health Sciences and Former GMDP Inspector, MHRA UK), Pavan Kumar Mocherla, EVP & President Greater Asia, BD) and Michael Cutter (Chief Quality Officer, Biocon Biologics Ltd). The session will be moderated by Ekta Batra, (Anchor & Associate Editor Research, CNBC-TV18).

In the afternoon session, the focus will be on Med-tech penetration, which eventually will take a look at how India will continue to bolster its strengths and abilities in frugal innovation, digital therapeutics, and India's tactics in fighting an approaching complex and innovative medical device.

Meanwhile, the panelists are Michael Blackwell (Vice President & MD – India, Medtronic), Bhargav Kotadia (MD, Sahajanand Medical Technologies Ltd.), Dr Girish Krishnamurthy (CEO TATA Medical and Diagnostics Ltd), Shishir Agarwal (MD, Terumo India Pvt Ltd), Rajiv Nath (Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry [AiMeD]) and Nikhil Srivastava (MD, PAG).

Henceforth, the evening session will be on integrated healthcare where the expected contributions of tech industries towards healthcare will be discussed. It is also known that technology can influence in numerous ways how healthcare services are provided in the hinterland.

This includes the panelists Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Telangana, Dr Ramesh Byrapaneni, (MD, Endiya Partners), Dr Harish Iyer, Deputy Director, Digital and Health Innovation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jason Mitakidis (Founder, Cyclica and HealthWorks, Canada), Max Narr, CEO, Endosane Pharmaceuticals GmbH and Chief Investment Officer, Sanity Group, Germany, Alok Joshi, CEO, Pharmarack Technologies, and the session will be moderated by Suresh Subramanian, Partner and National Life Sciences Leader, EY.

The final panel discussion of the day will be organized on ‘Global Supply chain transformation’ which will discuss where India will be in the next two years in the wake of Covid, the benefits from the China Plus One strategy, and also how further investments are to be done.

The panelists for the session include Parameswaran Iyer (CEO, NITI Aayog), S Aparna (Secretary to the Govt of India, Dept. of Pharmaceuticals), Manni Kantipudi (CEO, Aragen Life Sciences), Sanjiv Navangul (MD & CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd), Suresh Pattathil, President OPPI and MD Abbvie, India, Narendra Otsawal, MD, Warburg Pincus and moderated by Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

(This is the fifth article of WTC Shamshabad- BioAsia 2023 Series, a collaborative effort of World Trade Center - Shamshabad and BioAsia, Asia’s largest life-sciences and healthcare forum, to highlight the achievements and accelerate growth in the Life

Sciences industry)