Start-ups, doctors come together to bridge digital divide in diabetes care

These are among the few start-ups that stirred many conversations in Ahmedabad this weekend on the sidelines of DiaCare Con 2022

Mumbai An insulin pump, a life-saver, usually costs a little over ₹3 lakh. However, a technological innovation by Bengaluru-based Utsaah Lab can bring this down to ₹30,000. Ahmedabad-based Diahappy has been able to reverse the harms of diabetes among people who have been dealing with the disease for over a decade. MedTel Healthcare employs Internet of Things (IOT) to monitor various health parameters of people with chronic diseases.

The “sharks” in this diabetes “Shark Tank” included Aman Mehta from Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Ganesh Nayak of Zydus group, Nirav Mehta of Corona Remedies and Jaxay Shah of Savvy Infrastructures among many more (Shutterstock)

These are among the few start-ups that stirred many conversations in Ahmedabad this weekend on the sidelines of DiaCare Con 2022. A national-level business competition, where startups working towards innovations that improve the lives of diabetic patients, was also held during the event.

The “sharks” in this diabetes “Shark Tank” included Aman Mehta from Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Ganesh Nayak of Zydus group, Nirav Mehta of Corona Remedies and Jaxay Shah of Savvy Infrastructures among many more venture capitalists, investors, business executives, doctors and representatives of various industry bodies. Over 40 start-ups had applied to the competition, of which nine were shortlisted.

Considering the high and ever-growing prevalence of diabetes in India, diabetologists felt the need for a platform. This is what gave birth to DTech Accelerator last year. “A few of us doctors came together with the realisation that a lot of start-ups in the country are working on medical devices and bringing technological innovations that could be useful to us. However, since they don’t always have access to the doctors or patients, their products sometimes lack practicality,” explained Dr Amit Gupta, one of the founding members of DTech.

Doctors also felt that these innovations could help make diabetes care in the country more affordable and accessible. “Even today, there are lots of diabetics in India who are unable to access good diabetes care. Technology can help bridge this gap. The pandemic has made people more tech savvy so this is just the right time for all of us the technocrats, the start-ups, the doctors and other stakeholders to come together,” said Dr Banshi Saboo, former president of Research Society of Diabetes in India (RSDI) who was the organising chairman for the event. He also spearheaded the formation of the Diabetes Technology Network under the society.

City-based Dr Shashank Joshi who is the chairperson of the Southeast Asia region for the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) was one of the panellists as well. He was concerned with the explosive increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the Indian subcontinent. “Other than affordability and accessibility, we also need to focus on providing good quality diabetes care to our people. Specialist medical care is not easy to come by in India, especially in the rural and interior areas,” he informed. DTech, he says, is a way to encourage and accelerate the growth of startups that would enable the digitalisation of healthcare and awareness as well as bridge the gap between the private and public sectors.

A serial entrepreneur from Mumbai who was also a part of the event, Naitik Vyas, feels excited by the integration of the healthcare industry. “Digital adoption in the healthcare sector in India would grow many times if the entire ecosystem works together. This event is a very good beginning,” he said, hoping that the government agencies also participate in similar events in the future.