ICICI Bank commits ₹1,200 crore to Tata Memorial Centre

ICICI Bank has pledged INR12bn ($160m) to the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) to establish three cancer care facilities in India. The bank's contribution, which comes from its corporate social responsibility fund, will create new buildings with a combined area of 7.5 lakh square feet at centres in Navi Mumbai, Mullanpur and Visakhapatnam. These will double the number of patients TMC is able to treat annually to 25,000. ICICI Foundation will also set up an 'ICICI Radiation Oncology Block' at TMC's Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer in Navi Mumbai.

Mumbai: ICICI Bank Ltd on Friday announced a ₹1,200-crore contribution towards further advancement of Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), widely known for its world-class medical and healthcare services for cancer patients.

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The contribution from the bank’s CSR fund will be utilised to set up three new buildings with a combined area of 7.5 lakh square feet at TMC’s centres in Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mullanpur in Punjab and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Equipped with state-of-the-art machines, these facilities will be set up by 2027.

In a statement, the country’s third largest bank said the amount is meant to help Tata Memorial provide advanced and evidenced-based therapies to nearly 25,000 patients every year, doubling the present capacity.

Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, Chairman, ICICI Bank, said, “As part of our commitment towards promoting healthcare, this initiative will enhance comprehensive cancer care services in different regions of the country by providing patients access to advanced and latest cancer therapies. These new buildings will also serve as regional referral centres and mitigate the need for patients to travel long distances to visit Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel in Mumbai.”

The infrastructure being added at the three TMCs will provide timely and high-quality treatment at “highly subsidised” costs.

RA Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Centre, said, “It is critical that advanced cancer care is delivered closer to home so that more people benefit from accessing such therapies.”

The bank said that its subsidiary, ICICI Foundation, will set up an ‘ICICI Radiation Oncology Block’ at TMC’s Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Navi Mumbai.

“The radiation therapy block at ACTREC will not only provide timely radiotherapy, but also deliver it with the most advanced techniques, both of which are critical for a successful outcome,” Badwe said.

The ACTREC will be equipped with state-of-the-art radiology facilities including CT scanner and MRT, new facility for outdoor patients, laboratories and radiotherapy facility for in-patients. “All these together under one roof will help reduce waiting time significantly for investigations and hence enhance the quality of treatment,” the release read.

ICICI Foundation will set up two ‘ICICI Paediatric and Haematological Oncology Block’ at TMC’s Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Mullanpur and Visakhapatnam.

“Childhood and adult blood cancers are highly curable but require very intense therapies. The ICICI centres being established at Visakhapatnam and Mullanpur are dedicated children and blood cancer centres and will provide state-of-the-art multidisciplinary care. These centres will soon become regional hubs offering advanced therapies such as bone marrow transplant and cellular therapies to patients from the region,” Badwe added.

The facilities will include intense chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, radiation therapy and newer immunotherapies like CAR-T cell, which are available only at super-specialised centres currently.

“For the convenience of in-patient care, the centres will also have dedicated beds, day care units, ICUs, MRI and CT-PET Scan facility as well as laboratories for advanced testing, including genetics, which are critical for treating paediatric and haematological cancers,” the release added.