BD partners Healthians to enhance cervical cancer screening access in India

New Delhi: To improve cervical cancer screening in India, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) has joined forces with Healthians to introduce at-home self-collection for cervical cancer screening.

This innovative approach aims to address the critical public health challenge of reaching women who do not participate in routine screenings.

Deepak Sahni, Founder & Chairman of Healthians, emphasized, “At Healthians, we envision a world where we’re not just fighting diseases but preventing them. With our HPV self-testing initiative, we’re providing a path to early detection of cervical cancer, levelling the playing field in a battle where time is of the essence. With our strong foothold in the market as a Direct-to-Consumer player since our inception in 2014, we believe we are in the best position to bring about substantial awareness of cervical cancer risk screening, offering women a convenient platform to get tested from the privacy of their homes. We stand together in this journey with BD, for a future where the screening of ‘cervical cancer’ becomes a routine affair.”

Current statistics from the IARC Information Center on HPV and Cancer reveal alarming figures: annually, 123,907 women in India are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 77,348 die from the disease. Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women in India and is primarily caused by persistent genital high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, responsible for more than 95% of cases.

Cervical cancer is largely preventable and treatable if detected early. However, barriers such as social stigma, lack of time, embarrassment, fear, and inconvenience deter many women from undergoing pelvic examinations. The new partnership between BD and Healthians seeks to overcome these obstacles by allowing women to self-collect samples in the privacy of their homes, thereby increasing screening accessibility.

Atul Grover, Managing Director of BD India/South Asia, highlighted, “Cervical cancer ranks as the second most common cancer, however, is one of the most preventable and treatable types of cancer if detected early. The key to prevention and patient safety lies in timely screening. Our at-home self-collection, in partnership with Healthians, aims to provide women with exactly that – increased access to HPV testing by enabling them to collect a sample in the privacy of their homes. This is aligned with BD’s purpose of advancing the world of health by expanding access to healthcare for superior patient outcomes.”

This initiative aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2020 Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, which aims to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat. The strategy targets over 90% HPV vaccination coverage, over 70% screening coverage, and over 90% access to treatment by 2030.