Swedish firm Elekta has announced that Karkinos Healthcare, a Mumbai-based startup, will acquire more than ten linear accelerator (linac) systems to be strategically deployed across the country. The companies share the ambition to improve patient accessibility to advanced precision cancer therapy.
 
The deal will include several Elekta Versa HD linacs, which is designed to treat a spectrum of tumours throughout the body supporting both conventional and highly sophisticated techniques, as well as a number of Elekta Harmony Pro systems, the company’s most productive linac yet, designed to provide the best in-room experience for both patients and healthcare professionals.
 
Although an estimated 2.7 million people in India are living with cancer, with a 12 percent increase by 2025, companies such as Karkinos Healthcare and Elekta are providing hope. Last year, Elekta announced its ACCESS 2025 strategy to make radiotherapy accessible to 300 million more people in underserved markets by 2025.
 
R. Venkataramanan, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Karkinos Healthcare said, “Cancer services in India have always seen a geographic skew towards big cities and southern India. We hope to play a small catalytic part in bringing greater equity in radiotherapy through our collaboration with Elekta, combining our strengths in technology and clinical expertise. With barely ten percent of the desired radiotherapy capacity as per the recommendations of the World Health Organization in India, radiotherapy access has been a key area of focus for Karkinos.”