2017 saw the 9th edition of Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) come to a close. The theme ‘Future of Medicine: New frontiers for reaching and meeting patient needs’ was a topic that was engaging for both participants and speakers. Introducing the program was Jawed Zia, Country President, Novartis India who encouraged the students to push their learning limits and visualize a future that has far reaching impact
The keynote address ‘Recombinant Innovation and Precision Medicine in Emerging Economies – the case for India’ by Vijay Chandru, co-founder and Chairman, Strand Life Sciences set the tone for the sessions that followed. Each topic had a specific role assigned to it. Subodh Deshmukh, Head, Development, Novartis India, spoke on the role of science while the role of innovation and entrepreneurship was covered by Ashutosh Richhariya, Associate Director, Engineering Group Srujana Innovation Centre, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI). Amitabh Dube, Head, Oncology BU, Novartis India took up the evolving commercial operations in the Future of Medicines, while the role of digital was delivered by Ambuj Chaturvedi, Associate Director Medical Affairs & Head, Covidien Center of Innovation, Medtronics. Next was the role of data by Mohan Raghavan, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. The patient perspective by Dr Ratna Devi, CEO & co-founder, DakshamA Health and Education, offered a different viewpoint. The valedictory address by Dr. Alok Srivastava, Professor – Hematology, CMC Vellore and Head - Center for stem cell research, inStem, which focused on ‘Enhancing healthcare with technology – the future is here!’ was truly inspirational. The future that the speakers highlighted is both, intriguing and complex, yet something that participants are looking forward to.