Press Release: Thermo Fisher Scientific launches ‘Make in India’ Air Quality Monitoring Systems to support India’s clean air initiatives

Inadequate access to simple elective surgery in developing countries is storing up future health problems for patients and may create a spiral of future health complications putting more people’s lives at risk, a new study reveals.

Analysing the experience of more than 18,000 patients in 640 hospitals across 83 countries, researchers, experts used hernia repair to represent elective health care, concluding that such treatments are essential to prevent over-reliance on emergency systems.

 Pune, 27^th May 2024: Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, has announced the commencement of manufacturing of Air Quality Monitoring System (AQMS) analyzers in India. The analyzers will be engineered, manufactured and validated at Thermo Fisher’s facility at Nasik, Maharashtra.

Thermo Fisher has been supporting leading players in cement, metals, mining, oil and gas, power, chemicals and other industries in India with these analyzers, manufactured at its facilities in the USA and China. The analyzers are then assembled into Make in India Class 1 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) at its Pune facility.

By now manufacturing these analyzers in India, Thermo Fisher has further fortified its commitment to India’s localization and environmental stewardship efforts.

Designed to provide accurate data on air pollutants and gases, the AQMS analyzers play a crucial role in monitoring and regulating industrial emissions, contributing to the government’s efforts in curbing air pollution.

Mr. Jatinder Singh Kamyotra, former Member Secretary and Director of Central Pollution Control Board, a key figure in India’s clean air initiatives, believes that the availability of these Make in India Class 1 CAAQMS will strengthen the monitoring network. Speaking at the launch he stated, “The localization will minimize downtime for the availability of these analyzers and enable stakeholders to provide better quality data to formulate policies to positively impact the environment.”

Mr. Nihar Sahoo, Ph. D., Chief Environmental Engineer, State Pollution Control Board and Head of the National Clean Air Programme, Odisha, further added, “The National Clean Air Programme aims at reducing air pollution by 20-40% with a focus on reduction of Pollutants PM10 and PM2.5. To ensure that we achieve these ambitious targets, there is a need for high-quality equipment that provides accurate and consistent baseline data on the particulate and gas pollutants. The programme was initiated in 2019 and since most of the systems, particularly for continuous air monitoring were imported, we faced many challenges in the operations and maintenance of these systems. The availability of Make in India Class 1 CAAQMS systems is likely to reduce the overall cost and turnaround time, thereby accelerating the effective implementation of the program.”

Thermo Fisher offers the industry’s most comprehensive line of environment monitoring systems such as CAAQMS and CEMS for detecting a broad range of gaseous and aerosol pollutants.

Miguel Faustino, President, Chemical Analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, highlighted the company’s commitment to India’s sustainable business environment, saying, “Thermo Fisher’s Mission to enable our customer to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer is aligned to India’s ambitious sustainability goals. The localization of our industry-leading innovations reflects our ongoing investments to address the complex environmental and process monitoring challenges in the country."

Srinath Venkatesh, Managing Director, India & South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific, emphasized the significance of these efforts, stating, “Air pollution remains a major challenge in India, impacting the health and well-being of millions. By investing in localized capabilities, we strive to strengthen our partnership with government and regulatory stakeholders for action-oriented measures for a healthier, cleaner and safer India.”

Thermo Fisher’s monitoring solutions have been instrumental in helping manufacturing plants across industries such as food and beverage, oil and gas, petrochemicals, power generation, steel and metals, and mining, operate safely, efficiently and in compliance.

The company established operations in India in 1996, continually expanding its operations and reach across the country. With its headquarters in Mumbai, the company has an employee strength of over 4400 employees operating in 42 cities.  Through its extensive capabilities, including eight distribution centers, eight manufacturing facilities, five application labs and two R&D centers, supported by an extensive network of 400-plus channel partners, Thermo Fisher offers advanced technologies to meet the diverse needs of its customers in India.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

The study reveals that inguinal hernias are treatable with simple day-case surgery, but, if neglected, the need for more complex emergency surgery increases substantially, leading to delayed recovery and far higher total health-care costs.

Led by experts at the University of Birmingham, the NIHR Global Health Research Unit in Surgery study notes that increasing reliance on emergency care has resulted in crisis management becoming routine across a wide range of conditions that respond well to early elective treatment.

Study co-author Dr Maria Picciochi, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Boosting the use of elective surgery for conditions that can be fixed simple and early treatments will reduce the risk of complex, and potentially risky, emergency surgery.”

Study co-author Prof Aneel Bhangu, from the University of Birmingham, also added:

“Health policy makers can use our findings as a proxy for other elective conditions, creating a system strengthening approach to integrate surgery into the wider system of health care. This would relieve pressure on emergency pathways and reduce the health burden on society and healthcare services.”

The study shows that inguinal hernias are mostly a disease of working-age patients around the world, and, if neglected, may require bowel resection. This more complex surgical treatment leads to slow recovery and far higher total health-care costs.

Researchers also found a clear global imbalance in access to mesh repair - reflecting poor access to simple medical devices in lower-income countries. Mesh is well proven to reduce long-term hernia recurrence, is simple to place, low-cost and scaleable.

The researchers identified actionable targets for system strengthening, which include:

• Educating communities and community health workers around hernia symptoms;
• Improving referral systems and increasing mesh repair for hernias;
• Establishing a global quality improvement programme in mesh placement for hernias - strengthening supply chains, making mesh affordable and increasing training; and
• Improving capacity for simple, cost-effective surgery.

“Our study showed multiple weaknesses in access and quality in current health-care systems, with a particular disadvantage in lower-income settings,” commented Dr. Picciochi. “As a result, there was higher emergency demand, which further reduced elective capacity and might create downward spirals.

“If weak access and quality persist over several electively treatable conditions, both surgical

and non-surgical, multimorbidity can also become established, which makes future elective care harder and emergency care even more complicated.”

Findings of the study and its wider implications will be discussed during the side event hosted by the NIHR Global Surgery Unit at the World Health Assembly, on 28^th May. More information can be found in this link: https://www.globalsurgeryunit.org/global-surgery-dissemination-impact/wha2024/.