Background and Scope
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation engaged Sathguru to conduct a comprehensive landscaping study of Point-of-Care (PoC) diagnostics research and product development efforts in India, targeting select infectious and non-infectious diseases. The initiative aimed to assess India’s innovation ecosystem, identify promising technologies, and map stakeholders contributing to the PoC diagnostics space.
The scope encompassed:
- Identification of potential partners in academia, research institutions, startups, and industry for collaboration with the Gates Foundation.
- Evaluation of the existing and emerging pipeline of rapid diagnostic tests, focusing on products with applicability in public health markets across Africa and Asia.
- Development of an intended product portfolio aligned with public health needs, emphasizing infectious diseases of high burden.
- Mapping opportunities to expand grant funding for accelerating development and commercialization of impactful PoC diagnostics.
Our Approach
SMC performed extensive primary & secondary research to assess clinical need, health economics and developed product development & stakeholder engagement strategy for product validation and advocacy for adoption in public & private markets
Desk Research & Secondary Analysis
- Reviewed existing databases, scientific literature, patent filings, funding records, and market reports to map active R&D initiatives.
- Benchmarked global PoC diagnostics trends to contextualize India’s capabilities and gaps.
Primary Stakeholder Engagement
- Conducted in-depth interviews and consultations with researchers, diagnostic companies, technology incubators, public health agencies, and investors.
- Assessed technical feasibility, regulatory readiness, manufacturing capacity, and scalability potential for identified products.
Pipeline Prioritization Framework
- Applied weighted scoring criteria considering disease burden, time-to-market, cost-effectiveness, ease-of-use in low-resource settings, and alignment with African and Asian public health priorities.
Partner Mapping and Engagement Models
- Identified entities with complementary capabilities for co-development, manufacturing, distribution, and field validation.
- Designed partnership models ranging from joint development agreements to public-private consortia for scaling access.
Study Output
The engagement culminated in a detailed report for the Gates Foundation that included:
Pipeline Mapping: Comprehensive database of PoC diagnostics in India across target diseases, segmented by stage of development and technology platform.
Near-term Commercialization Opportunities: Shortlist of products with readiness for market launch within the next 2–3 years, supported by evidence of performance and scalability.
Grant Funding Expansion Areas: Priority R&D gaps and opportunities where catalytic funding could accelerate innovation and product readiness.
Partnership Models: Recommended frameworks for engaging identified partners in joint R&D, field trials, manufacturing, and market access initiatives.
Strategic Recommendations: Actionable roadmap for aligning India’s PoC diagnostic innovation pipeline with public health needs of Africa and Asia, ensuring affordability, accessibility, and adoption.