Anirban Palit created Cervicheck, a home cervical cancer diagnosis device, after losing his housemaid to cervical cancer and realizing the gap in early detection, adoption, and availability to tests. To create affordable healthcare solutions, Anirban quit his job and co-founded Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions.
After losing their housemaid to cervical cancer in 2019, Vadodara’s Anirban Palit realized how deadly the disease is, killing 75,000 Indians annually. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death for women despite being avoidable.
According to the 38-year-old, “Our housemaid, who is survived by two young children, was diagnosed with the last stage of cancer, and by the time she reached the doctor, there was nothing much that could have been done.”
He adds, “When women are the backbone of any family, one such disease can put the entire family out of order.”
He saw the lack of early diagnosis, uptake, and availability to HPV tests while working on a major pharmaceutical company’s HPV portfolio. He notes that sexually transmitted HPV causes most cervical cancer.
Anirban intended to leverage his skills to introduce breakthrough grassroots technology to lower-middle-income and developing countries like India.
“Instead of catering to the global market where only a small population benefits, it was essential to go to the grassroots and innovate solutions that help the underprivileged,” he says.
In 2019, he quit his position and co-founded Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions with his wife Dr Sayantani Pramanik, their childhood friend and lawyer Palna Patel, and gynecologist Dr Bhagirath Modi to create affordable healthcare solutions.
Diagnostic hesitancy
In addition to their domestic help’s death owing to delayed diagnosis, Anirban found that women avoid regular checks due to time and discomfort.
When his wife and co-founder Sayantani went for an annual checkup, she chose Pap Smear Tests to detect abnormal cervix cell proliferation. Regular Pap tests for women 25–65 are the best strategy to detect precancerous or early-stage malignancy.
The 37-year-old research scientist told The Better India, “I had to wait for 1.5 hours for the gynaecologist to collect the sample. The receptionist kept questioning if I could handle the test stress. Any lady would have been more afraid.”
The gynecologist asked me how many sexual partners I had and if I was married. Such inquiries will not determine if I have a problem, yet they are asked. Embarrassment is one reason women skip these examinations. She asks: “What healthy woman undergoing a routine exam would like to get awkward, reveal her intimate areas, and answer questions about her personal life?”
HPV causes over 95% of cervical cancer, according to the WHO. Bad vaginal health, unprotected sexual activity, and multiple sexual partners predispose women susceptible to this malignancy.
Early detection and treatment can cure cervical cancer. In women with normal immune systems, cervical cancer develops in 15–20 years. In women with compromised immune systems, such HIV-positive women, it takes 5–10 years.
India has minimal periodic test adoption, hence they miss this 15-year opportunity. This despite cervical cancer signs include heavy bleeding, back and leg pain, and exhaustion. Rural women regularly face these challenges and neglect their symptoms. When they see the doctor, they have stage 3 or 4 cancer, she explains.
The pair notes that rural cervical screening camps are run by the government and use Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA).
After administering acetic acid, an Asha worker examines the cervical area for precancerous lesions with the naked eye. Anirban notes that the test is unreliable and rural women are reluctant to undergo screening for a day’s wage.
Cervicheck lets women take samples at home.
The loss of their domestic helper, Sayantani’s experience, and the screening and testing gap prompted the pair to find remedies.
After two years of research, they created Cervicheck, a self-sampling tool for women to gather samples at home. “This kit gives accurate results, and it can do the HPV test and allow the gynaecologist to check if the lesions are treatable,” says Anirban.
His team is also creating a point-of-care cervical screening tool for rural women to deliver accurate cervical cancer risk assessments. He says, “We want to provide an easy-to-use alternative to the VIA test; it would be similar to a COVID self-testing kit.”
He claims his self-sampling kit has cleared CDSCO regulations and should be accessible by July, but Anirban believes the screening kit is in its final stage and should be launched next year.
The self-sampling kit would cost Rs 200 and the screening kit Rs 400, he adds. “These are very cost-effective compared to traditional and current testing methods which cost Rs 500–1,000,” he says.
He further states that the self-sampling kit, which uses the HPV real-time PCR kit in labs, will take two days to get findings, while the screening kit will take 20 minutes.
Anirban says quitting his job after a decade at the MNC was hard, but his ambition for a bigger objective kept him motivated.
“The cervical cancer problem was obvious, and the solution was right there. If I didn’t act, the thought would haunt me forever. “Our kits will prevent preventable disease deaths,” he says.
Conclusion:-
In 2019, former HPV researcher Anirban Palit co-founded Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions after his housemaid died of cervical cancer. For lower-middle-income and emerging countries like India, the firm develops affordable healthcare solutions. Palit’s wife, Dr. Sayantani Pramanik, their childhood friend and lawyer Palna Patel, and gynaecologist Dr. Bhagirath Modi developed Cervicheck, a home-sampling kit and a cervical screening kit for rural women. These kits have fulfilled regulatory standards and should be ready by July. The final screening kits will cost Rs 200 and Rs 400 next year, making them cheaper than existing procedures.
