Apollo to invest Rs.1,200 cr in cancer care tech

Sharath Chowdary

Apollo Hospitals is consistently investing in the latest technology to offer the best cancer care to its patients. Asia’s largest healthcare provider is going to invest Rs.1,200 crore in its oncology segment in the next two-three years, Apollo Group Chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy said.

He spoke to the media in Hyderabad on Wednesday after launching Apollo Cancer Institute as an independent functional entity by amalgamating the nine cancer institutes across the country including Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bilaspur, Bengaluru and Madurai. They are soon going to start new cancer institutes in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneshwar.

Out of the total investment, Rs.650 crore will be invested in bringing new proton therapy for the first time in South East Asia, while the rest of the funds will be used in upgrading the centres with latest equipment and beds. Proton therapy treatment facilities will be available in Chennai Apollo Cancer Institute by 2018, Apollo Hospitals Executive Vice-Chairperson, Preetha Reddy told The Dollar Business Bureau.

Currently, photon beam therapy is used for cancer treatment in India. Proton therapy is an advanced radiation treatment, which may result in less side effects and better quality treatment. This is not available in some developed countries also. Once this technology is ready, cancer patients from across the world may come here for advanced precision oncology care, she further said.

“We have a team of over 600 oncologists to deliver precision oncology care across the nine centres of the country. We are going to offer proton therapy treatment at a cost of Rs.15-20 lakh, while the same therapy may cost around Rs.2-3 crore in countries like US. At present, 20-22% of our revenues comes from oncology segment. We are expecting a minimum of 12% hike over a period of one year after introducing this therapy,” she added.

One of the oncologists from Chennai Apollo Cancer Institute, Dr T Raja said, “Cancer patients from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and other South Asian countries come to Apollo Hospitals. With the introduction of this new technology, we are expecting patients from African and European countries to also have better quality treatment here.”

According to Prathap Reddy, more than $30 trillion will be spent on cancer treatment globally, while India may spend over $5 trillion by 2030. A large share of productive people may get affected by this dreaded disease. Prevention, early detection and quality treatment can save millions of such individuals. Precision oncology at Apollo Cancer Institutes deliver personalised care to each and every patient, he said.