Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals group on December 2, 2005, announced a strategic alliance with Johns Hopkins Medicine International for collaboration in medicine, education and research. Under the agreement, the two organisations, would work to create global excellence models in healthcare.

In a related development, the Apollo Hospitals group also announced a 50:50 joint-venture for setting up a general and high-end pathological lab with an affiliate of Johns Hopkins International, Amcare Labs International. The clinical lab, which will act as a hub with collection centres across the country, will be located in Hyderabad. Pratap C Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, said that collaboration with Johns Hopkins, which has earned a reputation in the field of medicine, would help the group to improve the healthcare delivery system through regular collaborative and also interactive programmes.

Steve Thompson, CEO Johns Hopkins Medicine International, said the alliance would help the partners share their best practices. “Working together in various fields will help latest advances reach the population in this part of the world as well,” he said. It will use the pathological lab to carry out general and high-end tests such as those based on genetic mutation, and to assess the effect of a particular drug on a patient.

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)