Apollo Hospitals Group collaborates with Lanka’s Credence Genomics in milestone venture

• President officiate at launch of Beyond Biotec 2018 first ever medical industry event  

Beyond Biotec 2018, the first ever medical industry event highlighting successful commercial innovations in the private sector biotechnology space, along with opportunities in the research arena was declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena along with the Minister of Health, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne on 25 January at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. 

The Vice-Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Preetha Reddy was also present representing the Apollo Hospitals Group. This is a first for the nation where policy makers, scientific, medical community and technical service providers came together for synergistic collaboration at the highest level.

Beyond Biotec 2018 also marks the collaboration between the Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s largest integrated healthcare provider and Sri Lanka’s Credence Genomics in a milestone venture whereby a portfolio of cutting edge diagnostic services for infectious diseases will be offered to patients in India starting with Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The new line of tests is being offered in partnership with Credence Genomics, a collaboration which is the first of its kind nationally, and is based on a specialised DNA diagnostics platform offering faster and more precise diagnosis. This is a landmark achievement for Sri Lanka and augers well for the future prospects of Sri Lanka’s medical fraternity as well as medical tourism.

Beyond Biotec 2018 is sponsored by Credence Genomics, Sri Lanka’s pioneering clinical genomics company and its Indian subsidiary Micro Genomics (India), along with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science. Conceived by Dr. Vaz Gnanam in 2011, Credence Genomics is a Sri Lankan establishment pioneering in the development of leading-edge innovations on specialised DNA diagnostics based on the next generation sequencing (NGS) platform with intensive research infrastructure and capabilities. The company launched its first set of products in 2015. An entrepreneur at heart, Dr. Gnanam, who qualified in India as a medical doctor, thereafter went to the United Kingdom to work in the NHS. Dr. Gnanam has an ingrained passion for computers and parallelly taught himself to code and work on distributed systems. Beyond Biotech 2018 and the collaboration with Apollo Hospitals India is a part realisation of Dr. Gnanam’s vision for the future of healthcare for all people universally.

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s participation is in keeping with its promise to expand on its global initiatives and its research capabilities, along with their capacity to deliver in the healthcare space. Thermo Fisher initiatives allow innovative and novel research to be deployed quickly and cost effectively. Its vast range of products caters to every researchers need. A regional team along with various industry experts would also walk through the present landscape and the future of biotechnology highlighting the potential from an academic, research and commercial perspective.

Apart from the President and Minister for Health, other speakers included Dr. Preetha Reddy, Professor Jennifer Perera, Dr. Deepthi C de Silva, Dr. V.N. Chandrashekharan, Dr. Gayathri N. Silva and Dr. Vaz Gnanam. A video presentation by Thermo Fisher Scientific was also part of the program.

“Credence Genomics has truly highlighted Sri Lanka’s capacity for science, medicine, information technology and innovation. We are a 100% Sri Lankan team and we are happy to be able to highlight our capabilities along with our representation of the country,” said Dr. Gnanam. Beyond Biotec 2018 is a landmark event bringing together the areas of healthcare, biotechnology and research. Our collaboration with the Apollo Group is yet another feather in Sri Lanka’s cap as it is a major step for Sri Lanka and the local medical profession as well as the country’s economy. Our achievements transcend individuals and countries and will benefit the world society.”

Beyond Biotec 2018 caters to new breakthrough innovations in the biotechnology space and the healthcare vertical. The products revealed at the event are unique and the first of its kind along with potential application benefits.