Driven by the imperative to drive positive change where it is needed most in the developing world, Syed S Ahmed, Director & CEO, Tech Invention Lifecare Pvt. Ltd. started his journey to make global health equity a reality.
Tech invention chooses to look to the future with hope rather than look away in despair. Their mission is to meet and triumph over the challenge of making health equity available to all.
They have successfully channelize their focus towards tackling a precise crisis – making essential vaccines and biopharmaceuticals acceptable, affordable, and accessible in the developing world.
The problem is ridden with complexities, but Tech invention is committed to chipping away at it piece by piece, with innovative strategies, one project at a time.
They offer expertise and support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, governments, and investors so that together they can make a difference in the shared world.
Syed S Ahmed, Director & CEO, of Techinvention Lifecare Pvt Ltd, comes with more than two decades of experience in leading strategic healthcare projects in the developing world.
During this tenure, he established a robust vaccine business infrastructure from scratch in over 30 countries across Latin America, Africa, CIS, the Middle East, & SouthEast Asia with innovative business models and strategic partnering.
In an exhilarating conversation with the Startup City Magazine, Syedenlightened us about his corporate ethos, plans, associations, beliefs, market scenario, and more;
Syed: Yes. Our focus is on vaccines for the developing world which means that we are uniquely positioned to confront a global problem head-on with prevention than treatment.
Vaccines are amongst the best tools to prevent disease in the first place, thereby negating e the need for expensive treatment, which more often than not is out of bounds, in terms of access and cost, for most people around the world. We have several firsts to our credit:
We paved the way for local vaccine development by enabling the first successful development of a contemporary recombinant vaccine in Turkey
We helped set up the first Vaccine manufacturing facility in Central America
We oversaw the first successful deployment of a high-end vaccine from East Asia into Saudi Arabia.
Our team is small but mighty in its shared vision for a more equitable future. We have been growing exponentially year on year since our inception in 2016.
Syed: Our clients are primarily those organizations in the developing world who are aspiring to develop and manufacture vaccines to protect their countries/regions from vaccine-preventable diseases. Depending on the country of origin, they include:
Public sector undertakings
Public-private partnerships
Private-Public academia partnerships
Private firms
Syed: Almost every project starts with a comprehensive feasibility study that includes prevailing vaccines preventable diseases, current and future immunization programs, the most appropriate model to pursue local development-manufacturing, staging, financials, etc.
The next step is securing funding after which the project gets initiated. The project is supported till the stage of successful commercialization. This aspect of "Concept to Commercialization' has become the core competence we are increasingly defining.
Syed: With Respect! Their presence encourages us to always stay two in terms of technology and innovation. We have even collaborated with competition for successful project outcomes on quite a few initiatives. We offer;
A 360-degree project perspective.
Support from Concept to Commercialization
Apropositionthat's Cost-effective yet highly compliant with the regulatory requirements and best of Quality aspects.
Syed: Since the projects are mostly in developing countries it's important to have an appropriate blend of cost and compliance dovetailed with contemporary technology and innovation.
Syed: The vaccine industry from developing countries has indeed transformed and today accounts for the largest share by volume of global vaccine supplies with India being ahead. Amongst the developing countries, priority is given:
To Middle-Income Countries that have no access to free vaccine supplies from the UN Healthcare organizations.
Also, progressive developing countries are likely to graduate from the free supplies in due course.
To countries where there is a birth cohort of more than 0.5 million babies.
To countries where there is a state policy that supports local vaccine development and manufacturing.
Syed: Yes, in most of the developing countries the procurement and supply of vaccines in the public immunization program are all managed by Governments.
Hence, Government policy matters to the localization projects on development and manufacture. Public-private partnerships can accelerate vaccinelocalization projects and can be considered.
Syed: We aspire to have a leadership position in supporting vaccinelocalization projects in the developing world from 'concept to commercialization' and are well on our way toward achieving our goals.
Syed: When we took up a mandate to support a vaccine localization project in Nicaragua, it just seemed impossible to achieve given the: distance, time zone, language, culture, availability of local talent, etc.
But with a differentiated strategy, an unconventional approach, and some out-of-the-box thinking we managed to complete the task to the satisfaction of the authorities and the client.
To this extent, this initiative features among the top state of art vaccine manufacturing projects in Latin America.
Syed: Securing a WHO (World Health Organization) Prequalification from the specific site for the targeted vaccines is central to and at the core of every project. This gets institutionalized into every aspect from the Basis of the design stage until the commercial manufacturing stage.
Syed: In line with the global recommendations to pursue the concept of 'OneHealth' (Protecting -Humans, animals, and the environment), we are gearing up to take on Animal vaccine projects in the developing world as a next step (without vaccine projects that protect animals)
Syed: Since our focus is on vaccines in the arena of preventive healthcare, every project that we undertake contributes significantly from a socio-economic perspective to the specific country, region, and the developing world at large. It further helps in building vaccine security to protect against diseases.
"Our purpose 'TowardsGreater Health Equity' fits in with our aspiration to contribute in whateverway possible to a future wherein' Access to high quality contemporarypreventive healthcare; does NOT remain the 'sole privilege of the affording few'"
Syed S Ahmed
