India Health Fund announces winners of its RFP 2.0

Now in its second year, this collaboration between Tata Trusts and The Global Fund aims to discover solutions for crucial health challenges in India

Monday, 12th November, Mumbai: The Indian Health Fund (IHF) today announced that it had chosen four innovators, three related to TB and one related to malaria, in its goal of supporting national efforts to effectively tackle these diseases.

The winners were selected out of the proposals received for IHF’s second Request for Proposals (RFP) on 1st November 2018. The selected proposals aim to leverage technology for improving early detection and prompt treatment along with promoting robust molecular diagnostics feasible for primary health care in low resource settings for expediting diagnosis; developing platform and improving adherence to drugs.

IHF was launched in 2016 by the Tata Trusts in collaboration with The Global Fund, to drive innovations towards key infectious disease challenges in India.

The winners in the field of Tuberculosis are:

• Tuberculosis Monitoring Encouragement Adherence Drive (TMEAD):
  • Proposal: Treatment adherence for TB by SenseDose technologies.
  • About: TMEAD provides a technology solution to address the lack of adherence to RNTCP regimes. The device is a smart IoT (Internet Of Things) based technology that reminds, dispenses and senses the adherence of a patient to the RNTCP regime.
• Valetude Primus Healthcare (VPH) Pvt. Ltd.:
  • Proposal: Highly sensitive novel platform technology for tuberculosis detection with last mile connectivity.
  • About: A technology spinoff from IIT Delhi formed in 2015, to address the healthcare challenges prevalent in developing nations using innovative technologies made in India. VPH aims to transform the diagnostic ecosystem in India through their work.
• Centre for Health Research and Innovation (CHRI):
  • Proposal: Creating an ecosystem of faster diagnosis and treatment initiation for TB patients through TruNat.
  • About: CHRI is a PATH affiliate positioned to create valuable impact in the public health space in India, focusing on system and service innovation. CHRI focuses on four program verticals which include Tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (TB/HIV), Maternal Newborn Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN), Neglected Tropical Diseases and Malaria (NTDs + M) and vaccines.

The winners in the field of Malaria are:

• Hemex Health:
  • Proposal: Impact of new, one-minute, sensitive diagnostic with innovative malaria elimination plan.
  • About: A start-up that aims to create affordable, life-changing medical diagnostics for under-served people everywhere. Their diagnostic platform is designed to reach populations at risk for malaria and sickle cell disease.

India contributes to 27% of the global TB burden and 68% of all malaria cases in the Southeast Asia region. TB account for over 4.1 lakh confirmed deaths and around 28.7 lakh reported cases respectively on an annual basis in India. Given the gaps in identification and reporting of patients, the true burden of both the diseases in terms of number of patients as well as number of deaths, is estimated to be much higher.

The Government of India has set a target of eliminating TB by 2025 and malaria by 2030, thus giving a clarion call for unprecedented and synergistic efforts by government as well as non-governmental agencies.

IHF is committed to this goal, by bringing together various partners and stakeholders, pooling expertise and resource, fostering innovations and translating these from “lab to last mile”. The RFP 2.0 cycle is a step toward identifying and supporting product and process innovations that have the potential to impact the landscape of TB and malaria, from detection, diagnosis to adherence and operations.

About Tata Trusts
Since inception in 1892, the Tata Trusts, India’s oldest philanthropic organization, have played a pioneering role in bringing about an enduring difference in the lives of the communities they serve. Guided by the principles and the vision of proactive philanthropy of the Founder, Jamsetji Tata, the Trusts’ purpose is to catalyse development in the areas of healthcare and nutrition, water and sanitation, education, energy, rural upliftment, urban poverty alleviation, and arts, craft and culture. The Tata Trusts’ programmes, achieved through direct implementation, partnerships and grant making, are marked by innovations, relevant to the country. For more information, please visit http://tatatrusts.org/

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About The Global Fund:
The Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries. By challenging barriers and embracing innovative approaches, we are working together to better serve people affected by the diseases.

For further Information, please contact:
Nayantara Dutta
Tata Trusts
Email: ndutta@tatatrusts.org
Mobile: 9819052768

Nikita Crasta
Adfactors PR
Email: Nikita.crasta@adfactorspr.com
Mobile: +91 9821071527