Inquisitiveness is a primary trait of human beings. The human brain which processes millions of thoughts in a flash of time needs to know about everything and anything around it. Human well being or fitness is one such area that has grown by leaps and bound over centuries given to the human quest to stay healthy. Specific to it is the study of diseases, their cause and effect which comes under the broad spectrum of Pathology. It involves the study of diseases, what causes them and often describe or define tests and processes that need to be followed to ascertain a particular disease. As Louis Pasteur says, “Without Laboratories men of science are soldiers without arms”.
The origin of this science dates back to early civilization as discovered in their records, found in several ruins. India, the Middle East and China are credited with the initial development, and ancient Greece is where detailed and the present formal form of the science took shape. But the current situation of pathology and diagnostic services in India is no mirror to its ancient glory. While India has now become a highly appreciated medical tourism spot with many advanced and globally accredited diagnostic centres, the fact remains that the infrastructure at places is severely lacking.
India has around 100,000 plus diagnostic centres which include pathology and radiology. As per one market report, approx. 62% of the diagnostic market is shared by private sector while 38% is in Govt sector. Of the entire private diagnostic market approx. 68% is from pathology while 32% is from radiology. Also, approx. 51% of private diagnostic market is in hospital-based centres, 47% is in independent centres and remaining comes from small polyclinics. Only about 20% of them are a part of the organized pathology providers. The remaining 80% of the industry is highly fragmented, unregulated and unfortunately, most do not adhere to minimum standard requirements. Though there are few pathologists owned, standalone labs which are very well organized and high quality driven, but they form just a fraction of total pathology centres.
Midst all this commotion, there are a few pathology centres which outshine owing to their high skilled workforce, advance technology driven platforms, strong commitment to deliver with globally accepted quality standards and with a continuous zeal to excel.
Oncquest Laboratories Limited, Delhi is definitely one of them. Close to two decades of its establishment, the laboratory handles over 15000+ samples on a given day which are processed by a highly qualified team of pathologists, scientists, lab technicians with great precision. Oncquest Laboratories has earned its reputation for clinical excellence in the Indian market. Advance technologies and global quality systems at Oncquest have ensured that it stays ahead of the curve resulting in its association with some of the most advanced hospitals, super specialists, clinicians and research organizations in the country and abroad.
The Quest to Bring the Best
Oncquest lab, promoted by Aditya C Burman, started its journey as a part of Dabur Pharma in the year 2002, as an advanced molecular diagnostic laboratory with an incisive diagnosis in the field of oncology. In Year 2007, Mr Aditya Burman with his sharp strategic skill, high acumen and support from few highly skilled scientific and industry experts re-established its new independent identity i.e. Oncquest Laboratories Ltd and made cancer diagnostic business its main focus. Once Oncquest was fully stabilized, Mr Burman decided to go for the bigger market of general pathology. The company is looking to grow 25-30% year-on-year. Dr. Ravi Gaur, Chief Operating Officer of Oncquest laboratories, a post graduate in pathology, joined Mr Burman in 2009 from Piramal Diagnostics. Oncquest began expanding only in 2009, after Mr Burman and team decided to grow aggressively in the field of diagnostics.
“Rapid change is the defining feature of pathology! It will come as no surprise to those in the clinical laboratory and pathology field that the market is undergoing rapid change. In recent decades health expectations have risen globally, a lot being done to make diagnostics more affordable, accessible and accurate. The proper scaling of pathology services is key to this growth, as pathology is involved in 70% of all healthcare diagnoses. not just in India but globally. And the Oncquest management seems in no mood to let up. I am on an uphill track and I have to go up and grow. I have no options”, Says Dr. Gaur, who has served in the Indian Armed Forces for about 10 years and has over 25 years of experience in the field of Pathology and Health care management.
Aging population and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, the rise of universal healthcare & cancer and many other factors are driving change in the pathology market. Dr. Gaur says, “Just as demand for laboratory services is rising, there is downward pressure to use fewer resources. Industry consolidation is as prevalent in laboratories as in other areas of healthcare, with increased economies of scale expected to deliver more test results at a lower cost. The upside is the abundance of valuable information that flows from the life cycle of medical testing, real-time feedback to improve process and overall management. Pathology service providers have to adapt to these challenges in climate where the pace of change is likely to accelerate”.
Dr. Gaur is a strong believer of setting up advanced platform & quality driven technologies and making them available in the Indian market at affordable cost, a vision that he shares with Mr Aditya Burman.
There is an upsurge of new testing methods to support initiatives such as personalised or precision medicine, also known as genomic medicine, and point-of-care testing. Dr Gaur and his team is currently working in the area of developing diagnostic assays to support personalized and precision medicine with genomics as a base, new point of care or near-patient testing technologies, intending to deliver the quality and precise diagnostic facilities at all levels and for all sectors of the healthcare industry. He has a strong vision to develop India specific assays and technologies catering to India specific needs.
Today, Oncquest Laboratories have a State –of- The-Art, NABL & CAP (College of American Pathology) accredited Laboratory at New Delhi, is fully equipped with advance molecular diagnostic technologies, sequencing, and work on pharmacogenomics, companion diagnostics, bioinformatics, biomarker studies and provide a comprehensive menu of super specialised pathology , incl surgical and haemto -pathology, general pathology, microbiology & various specialty laboratory assays with unparalleled service . Oncquest’ s early adoption and utilization of genetic sequencing technologies has resulted in many “first to market” assays, which have subsequently been adopted in several treatment and monitoring protocols. Innovation is an essential part of its DNA.
Best in Class Services
Oncquest has one of the widest test portfolio, especially in exploratory & end-point biomarkers, genomics, molecular biology, surgical histology, incl IHC, haemato-pathology and microbiology. Initially dealing with cancer diagnosis and introducing the Clinical Face of Cancer Diagnostics in India, today it caters to general pathology too and now offers a varying range of customized assays, diagnostic solutions and packages for different segments of healthcare industry.
At present, Oncquest predominantly operates as a diagnostic chain for ‘business-to-business model’ that caters to hospitals and clinics, who refer patients to it for tests. The business has seen strong growth in patient volumes in the past few years. As it grows, it is moving ahead to ‘direct to patient model’ specially when it comes to preventive healthcare. Its comprehensive health check-up program is thoughtfully structured to include all the necessary tests for all age groups and occupation. Oncquest offers more than 500 assays spanning across the entire diagnostic field – predictive, preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, monitoring and prognostic – from Oncology to Infectious diseases to lifestyle to genetic disorders.
Apart from its super-specialized lab in Delhi, Oncquest has 40+ labs across India with over 1500 service associates and few centers overseas too. Its hospital lab operation & management vertical has been widely accepted. Oncquest expertise in providing customized lab solutions to super specialty or single specialty hospitals is widely appreciated.
Oncquest is the preferred partner for major pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking committed service providers for “Clinical Trials” (Phase I-IV) and Patient Support Programs. Currently, it is working with almost all Pharmaceutical companies spl with Oncology portfolios.
It has in-house qualified and well trained R&D, management team which actively assist the companies with clinical study-specific kits, packaging and labelling, seamless logistics, regulatory support and project management tools to enhance process efficiencies. The key members of the clinical trial team are ICH -GCP trained with an average experience of 8-10 years.
Dr Gaur says, “Oncquest’ s strength lies in the quality of the highly trained , renowned experts and skilled staff who validate, perform, interpret and generate reports which are as per Quality guidelines of NABL and College of American Pathologists (CAP) and are globally accepted. Quality is our essence, Oncquest follows best-in-class Quality Management Systems and adheres to stringent quality norms of NABL and CAP.”
For the People
Oncquest’s mission, “Discover, Diagnose and Defend,” speaks high about its focus on service and strength. It believes in making healthcare and early diagnosis as primary focus and priority instead of secondary. Dr Gaur points out, “If people can’t afford diagnosis and primary healthcare what is the need of the huge advancement and development that is taking place. At Oncquest we develop assays and ensure that they become affordable and have a mission to ensure that no patient returns without a diagnosis for the lack of funds or affordability.” Mr Burman is also a promoter of Dabur India, which has a huge mass connect. Thus, the humane angle is inbuilt in its DNA. Oncquest and the team makes sure that quality tests are developed in such a way that it fits every budget and reaches the masses.
Oncquest regularly organizes disease specific and preventive health screening camps at highly discounted rates and conducts awareness drives to educate people about the good health practices. It also gives due emphasis to early diagnosis which the team feels is the key to a healthy life. Diseases like cancer and most lifestyle disease can be prevented and even cured when detected early on. Dr. Gaur says, “Its an era of Precision medicine which works on the fundamental principle that a particular disease gives rise to different physical symptoms in different individuals, based on their genome structure, lifestyle, biochemical and environmental conditions. The two people of different ethnicity may not respond in the same way to a drug treatment”. As they say, the ‘medical model’ of precision medicine aims to customize the treatment based on the three above mentioned governing factors, which characterizes an individual’s response to the disease. The use of system biology and panomics aids this process by diagnosing the illness at a molecular level. Once the cause is determined, customized medication could be prescribed to them. Such personalized medicine moves from the ‘one-size-fits-all’ model that doctors have previously adhered to.
While it might be expensive to customize medicine for each individual, gathering the genetic makeup of individuals could be useful in classifying them into groups. Such groups, then, will have their own customized treatment. Collecting genomic information of the population will also aid population health studies in the future, which can help prevent diseases at an early stage. Precision medicine can also reduce the cost of treatment by decreasing repetitive administration of medicine and mitigating the side-effects associated with them. Treating an ailment on a molecular level will help biologists understand the underlying cause behind their occurrence and correspondingly develop medicine to eradicate them completely. Genetic targeting can drive the development of drugs rather than the long and arduous trial and error procedure.
Time to Tighten the Noose
Dr. Gaur says, “There can never be any compromise on quality, after all pathology sample is a life. We support and provide high of quality diagnosis. Having done so much work for the wellbeing of the society, it hurts the team to see the spurious growth of unaccredited diagnostic centers, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities”. While the Government has developed stringent laws to curb them, a lot still needs to be done when it comes to implementation. Dr Gaur explains that, “diagnostic tests form the base of treatment. One wrong diagnosis doesn’t only send the treatment off the track but also causes a setback in the form of lost samples, precious time and even life”. While the onus lies on the authorities and pathology centers, the general public too should be aware of the dangers that such unauthorized centers pose to their health. The patients should not hesitate in asking questions about quality norms, sample handlers and platforms for being used for testing their samples.
There’s More to Diagnosis
Oncquest is focused on bringing early diagnosis and even molecular diagnosis based on world-class technology within the reach of the masses. Mr Burman, is a true advocate and staunch adapter of highly advanced technologies. He ensures that best technology platforms are available at Oncquest and the R&D team is focused on adapting these latest technologies to suit the Indian palette. It helps to make the diagnosis, better, faster, finer and more precise or specific. Faster turn-around -time for assays is crucial to correct and timely diagnosis and therapy. It needs a strong mix of biotech and infotech. Oncquest’ s core mission is to develop, perform and deliver tests that give results within stipulated timeline.
Dr Gaur says, “It is high time the pathologists and scientists, now redefine themselves as Clinical Solution Providers and not just Diagnosis Providers. It is time now to come to the forefront and increase the usage of communication channels with the test prescribers, treating doctors & clinicians, as well as patients to reach a conclusive, final ,finer ,precise diagnosis, which can help in arriving and defining target therapy ,resulting in better treatment outcome. With so much advancement in automation and diagnosis now being redefined by molecular biology and genomics, pathologists shouldn’t just be seen behind the microscope but come forward and integrate with the treating clinicians, support doctors, patients and emerge as real clinical solution provider. We at Oncquest ensure that’s its done. Integration, analytics is must for accurate, precise diagnosis and perfect healthcare delivery. In this new wave of technology, you can’t do it all yourself, you have to form alliances and have discussion”.
Dr Gaur adds, Pathology lab is one of the largest sources of clinical information. It is critical that laboratory professionals have the capability to dissect and analyze, the information to optimise their role in today’s healthcare delivery model, and transform to lead the pathology of the future. Laboratories vital role in the science of medicine is now at the tipping point. The opportunities for pathology services perhaps have never been greater – for care collaboration, the adoption of point-of-care testing, and driving the evolution of medicine with genomic testing. Yet they must survive the demands of supporting an ever-changing population and pragmatic economic pressures. This calls for a new generation of health informatics systems that meet the needs of a modern pathology environment. Armed with such systems, laboratory professionals and the pathology services they provide will stop being the victims of market disruption – instead they will become the key enablers of changes that will herald a new age of medicine.
Oncquest Laboratories: Pioneering Solutions for a Healthier World
