BENGALURU: The Tata IISc Medical School coming up on the institution’s campus will offer dual-degree programmes such as MD-PhD and MD-MTech, enabling clinicians to combine medical training with basic science, engineering and data-driven research, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Director Professor Govindan Rangarajan said.
Speaking at the inaugural session of Treat-DM 2025, a three-day summit on diabetes and metabolic diseases held at IISc on Friday, he said the medical school’s focus areas include radiology, cardiology, bioengineering, AI and public health, with a core emphasis on developing affordable healthcare solutions for India and other developing nations. The initiative is supported by Tata Foundation and the Bakshi-Parthasarathy families, he added.
Highlighting the need for translational research, Professor Rangarajan and conference speakers stressed bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical application. Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) were cited to illustrate the journey from early-stage ideas (TRL 1-4) to industry-ready products (TRL 9-10), with the intermediate ‘Valley of Death’ (TRL 5-8) requiring focused interdisciplinary collaboration.
Bengal Rural MP and noted cardiologist Dr CN Manjunath highlighted healthcare challenges, noting that while coronary heart attacks are declining in the US and Europe, they are rising in India — 30% of cases now occur in people under 40.
He also emphasised the high cost of immunotherapy drugs in India, ranging from Rs 25-60 lakh per patient, and advocated removing Customs duties, promoting local manufacturing, and integrating clinicians, researchers and biomedical engineers to make advanced treatments more accessible.
The event spotlights emerging therapies in diabetes care, featuring plenary lectures, hands-on workshops and sessions on next-generation therapies, including nano-sensors, advanced glucose monitoring, AI-driven analytics and cellular therapies.