Rakuten Medical establishes its unit in India, Co-CEO Mickey Mikitani visits key medical institutions

New Delhi: Rakuten Medical Inc. has newly established its subsidiary in India, Rakuten Medical India to strengthen its position in the country and expand its presence worldwide.

The Mumbai-based company plans to develop and commercialize treatments based on the Alluminox™ platform in India, beginning with head and neck cancer. To ensure a strong footprint, Mickey Mikitani, Co-CEO of Rakuten Medical recently visited leading medical institutions in the country to exchange views on the current status and future development of cancer treatment.

In India, the total number of new cancer patients in 2020 was over 1.3 million – the 4th largest population of cancer patients in the world. Particulary, there is a high occurrence of head and neck cancer, which accounts for 30% of all cancer types. India accounts for ~26% of all head and neck cancer cases globally. The majority of these patients present with advanced disease, which also corresponds with poorer outcomes and higher mortality rates.

“Rakuten Medical’s technology has an unprecedented mechanism of action that selectively and precisely attacks targeted cells,” said Dr. Rajendra Achyut Badwe, Director and Head of Surgical Oncology at Tata Memorial Centre. “We are delighted that Rakuten Medical is bringing its completely new cancer treatment to India. We will collect robust data to ascertain efficacy as well as effectiveness of this novel therapy in head and neck cancers.”

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, Founder and Chairman at Narayana Health said, “We are welcoming the pioneering technology of Rakuten Medical, which will potentially help people in India lead healthier lives, and happy to support Rakuten Medical in its mission to ‘Conquer cancer’.”

* Rakuten Medical’s therapies based on Alluminox™ platform are investigational outside of Japan, and not approved in India for investigational or commercial use.