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Washington: Dr Mukesh
Hariawala, an award winning Indian-American artificial heart
surgeon, is set to introduce a unique low-cost "triple heart
therapy" in India to help patients with diabetes who cannot afford
expensive bypass operations.
Harvard trained Boston based Hariawala will receive "India's Most
Admired Surgeon 2012" award for pioneering work on angiogenesis or
growth of new blood vessels to aid healing, at the Pharmaceutical
Leadership Summit, organised by healthcare magazine Pharmaleaders,
in Mumbai on Sep 21.
"I am pleased that cutting edge Angiogenesis Therapy will help the
non affording poor patients with heart disease in my motherland
India and rest of the world, thus reducing the global economic
burden of healthcare," Hariawala told IANS.
"Hariawala is the first NRI Surgeon to be honoured with this
prestigious award for pioneering work on Angiogenesis that will
revolutionise treatment of heart disease globally and save
millions of lives," said award committee chairman Satya Brahma,
editor-in-chief of Pharmaleaders magazine.
Hariawala, who has done pioneering work in Angiogenesis research
at Harvard in Boston, said Triple Heart Therapy" involves
spontaneous development of new blood vessels in the heart by laser
stimulation and subsequent injection of patient's own stem cells
harvested from bone marrow.
This "would be the future treatment of heart disease which is
expected to save millions of lives worldwide," said Hariawala
calling "It a natural bypass to bypass surgery."
"I want to see a vibrant and aggressive government policy where
India's monetary resources are better utilised towards rural
development and raising the standards of living for all Indians,"
he said.
Hariawala, who holds a special honorary visiting cardiac surgeon
appointment at Mumbai's Jaslok Hospital, also plans to bring to
India next year the artificial Titanium Heart or Ventricular
Assist Device (VAD) implant that can play the role of a
supplementary heart.
Powered by lithium ion battery, it can play the role of a bridge
till a transplant heart is available as was in the case of former
US Vice President Dick Cheney.
Hariawala, who himself has not played any research role in
development of this device and is only responsible for taking the
technology to India, hopes to get regulatory approvals in India by
2013.
The current FDA approved devices in US and Europe cost about
$100,000, excluding expenses for surgery.
The price point for India is not established but is expected to be
high initially, he said. But competition is expected to reduce the
price in the long term as six US companies currently manufacture
the device.
In India it will be offered not as a bridge to transplantation but
a permanent solution also called "destination therapy," he said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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