USIBC keen on investing in healthcare in AP

Hyderabad, April 20 (INN): A US-India Business Council (USIBC) led by executive vice-president Diane Farrell met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Camp Office today.

During the meeting, Rajeev Mukundan, senior Vice-President (Legal), Mylan informed the Chief Minister that the pharmaceutical company has four facilities in Vizag.

'We are looking at expanding our presence with an additional investment of $5 billion in Andhra Pradesh,' he added.

Srini Srinivasan, managing director of Hospira told the Chief Minister that the company has already invested Rs2,500 crore in its manufacturing facility in Visakhapatnam.

A delegate from Johnson & Johnson evinced interest in working with the state on reducing infant and maternal mortality rate, women health and hygiene. Some of the delegates also expressed their keenness on vaccination/immunization programmes of the government.

The Chief Minister also explained about the advantages of AP having abundant water, 24X7 power and a long coastline which makes it the potential logistics hub for South East Asia.

Stating that he aims to see Andhra Pradesh as healthcare hub, the Chief Minister said health and education are the government's priorities. 'We are focusing on preventive as well as curative healthcare,' he added.

From educating people about healthy eating, significance of hygiene to medical tourism, the Chief Minister said will be part of the government's Vision.

'I'm open to public and private investments in healthcare. If you have proposals, we can discuss them with our Health Advisory Committee and take it forward,' the Chief Minister mentioned.

e-healthcare, the Chief Minister said, is also on his agenda. 'Taking medical services to people in affordable, efficient and quick way is what we want to do. And, I believe e-health concept makes it possible.'

The Chief Minister also recalled his experiences of creating a Genome Valley in Hyderabad for pharma giants and also his efforts in making Healthcare majors like Apollo set up their hospitals in Hyderabad.

'People from across the world come to Hyderabad for treatment. Andhra Pradesh too will be known for medical tourism soon,' he added.

USIBC's Diane Farrell informed the Chief Minister that the USIBC is expediting the work on making Vizag a smart city. 'We're talking to companies and investors who are interested in making Vizag a smart city,' she said.

Farrell has also invited the Chief Minister to the US and asked the government to do a road show on the investment opportunities in AP.

The delegation included Himanshu Priyadarshi, Head ' Corporate Affairs of Hospira, Srini Srinivasan, Managing Director of Hospira, Ashoke Bhattacharjya, former director of Global Health Systems and Innovation Policy at Johnson & Johnson, Rohit Kumar, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Johnson & Johnson, Neelima Dwivedi, Senior Director of Merck, Mihir Shah, Director of Asia Pacific Public Policy, Merck, Singapore, Rajeev Mukundan, Senior Vice-President ' Legal, Mylan, Claudia Poteet, Senior Director, Pfizer, Sharad Goswami, Head - Public Affairs, Pfizer India, Nivedita Mehra, Country Director, India, USIBC Delhi, Amy Hariani, Director & Legal Policy Counsel, USIBC and Michael Green, Senior Manager, USIBC.