Date:17/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/17/stories/2006121714140700.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

AIDS management ecosystem on the cards

Staff Reporter

Management guru gets Anji Reddy Gold Medal Oration

CHENNAI: A complete HIV/AIDS management ecosystem could well be the next offering of the Indian healthcare industry, if it follows management guru C.K Prahalad's cues.

Delivering the Dr. Anji Reddy Gold Medal Oration on the topic, "India as a source of innovation: turning constraints into opportunities," Dr. Prahalad said that "commercial value is created at the intersection of multiple disciplines... [There is] a need for harmonising multiple solutions to create commercially viable solutions." He offered an example that has been demonstrated over the past year.

Flashback to a CEO forum in January 2006: Dr Prahalad proposed an innovative diabetes management eco-system, which would ultimately incorporate an array of diagnostic, medication and treatment services, affordable insurance, incentives and facilities for a compliant lifestyle, and a sound delivery infrastructure.

October 29, 2006: It took ICICI Prudential nine months to create commercial value from this intersection of disciplines with its "Diabetes Care" product, which it offers in partnership with a number of pharmaceutical, hospital and fitness institutions. Already, global players are eyeing the model, which includes a variable pricing system offering 30 per cent lower premiums to patients who stick to their diet and exercise regimens. Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente has reportedly expressed interest in taking the product to the U.S.

December 16, 2006: "If we can pull this off for diabetes, the next target is HIV," says Dr. Prahalad.

It remains to be seen how long it will take for someone to implement the idea.

"Global knowledge"

"Our opportunity in India is not necessarily being world-class in any one science, but stitching together a better [intellectual property] portfolio than anyone else... India needs to create capacity to tap global knowledge," says Dr. Prahalad.

This collaborative approach must be coupled with a focus on the individual. The global trend is that customers are turning away from mass-produced products to personalised offerings, he said.

The target is to reach ordinary consumers with cost-effective products. "When we focus on ordinary people, we know how to innovate. This is our strength. But when we focus on the top of the pyramid, we ape the West," said Dr. Prahalad.

That was the theme of his last book, "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits".

Coming up next year is a book on how to build IT infrastructure to make it all happen, especially through better predictive modeling techniques.

Dr. Prahalad is the fourth recipient of the Dr. Anji Reddy Gold Medal Oration Award, conferred by the Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation for innovative contributions by an Indian scientist. The centre's chairman V. Mohan, Dr Reddy's Laboratories chairman K. Anji Reddy, and Cavin Kare chairman C.K. Ranganathan participated in the awards function.