Confederation of Indian Industry and US India Business Council enter health care partnership

The Confederation of Indian Industry and the US-India Business Council have announced a major new advance in health care collaboration, partnering under the banner of the USIBC-led 'Coalition for Healthy India'. The partnership was announced on the sidelines of CII's 6th Annual Healthcare Summit, which was attended by a delegation of senior health care executives from the headquarters of several USIBC member companies.

The Coalition for Healthy India, managed by the US India Business Council, is dedicated to ensuring that Indian patients have access to the latest and most effective treatments and cures. It was created in 2007 to bring together like-minded members of the US and Indian business communities, non-governmental organizations, patient advocacy organizations and health professionals to coordinate and support improved access to healthcare in India.

According to Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry: 'The Confederation of Indian Industry and the US-India Business Council have long collaborated to support health care improvements in India. Today, we're proud to announce an exclusive partnership between USIBC and CII in the form of a joint CII-USIBC Healthcare Task Force'.

Sharing the dais was Petra Laux, head of global public affairs at Swiss drug major Novartis,  said: 'At Novartis, we're driven every day by a commitment to research and development that brings innovative new products to the communities we serve. This aligns seamlessly with the number one goal of the Coalition for Healthy India -  ensuring that Indian patients have access to the latest and best treatments and cures. The partnership announced with CII today will lift the Coalition for Healthy India to new heights'.

The Coalition for Healthy India focuses on five key pillars: raising the standard of care; developing new treatments and cures; ensuring access and affordability; getting medicine to patients; and corporate social responsibility. All of these efforts are channeled with a particular emphasis on improving the situation in rural areas where more than 60% of Indians live and work, it pointed out in a statement.

The Coalition for Healthy India Healthcare Task Force will serve as an advisory council which guides and coordinates USIBC and CII efforts towards improving healthcare in India. The Task Force will be chaired on the Indian side by Prathap Reddy and, on the US side by Vas Narasimhan, head, Vaccines North America, president, Vaccines USA, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, and board member of the US-India Business Council.

John Ayres, director, product health risk assessments at Eli Lilly, stated: 'The Coalition for Healthy India is poised to have a major impact on issues that are important to patients. This collaboration between USIBC and CII means that health care innovators in the USA and India will now have a permanent forum in which to share and generate new ideas and ultimately help implement solutions to the healthcare challenges facing all of us.'