The US spends more on health care But what does it have to show for this massive investment? Skyrocketing costs, Deep Inequalities in Access, and Health Outcomes That Lag Many Developed Nations. Both its medical and research systems have grown bloated and Inefficient, Increasingly disconnected from the real needs of patients.
The US cancer moonshot is a textbook example of this dysfunction. Launched by President Barack Obama in 2016, with Vice President joe biden championing it, the program promised to transform cancer care – Accelerating Research, Delivering New Treatments, Savings, Savings. Touted as a bold mission to achieve 10 years of progress in just five, it secured over $ 2 billion in Funding. Biden made it a personal crusade, reviving and expanding the initiative during his presidency. Yet Nearly a Decade Later, The Results Are Meagre. Announcements Were Made and Papers Published, But Little Came of this.
In sharp contrast, India is demonstrating what true health care innovation looks like – with a friction of the resources. Karkinos healthcare, a private venture I have mentored and advised, set out to revolutions cancer care with just just $ 100 million in investor funding And in just four years-Less than the moonshot’s original timeline-karkinos has livedide cancer care network Dream of.
Today, Karkinos Operates 80 CENTRES Across 12 States, Having SCREENED More than 3 Million People and Diagnosed Over 60,000 Cancer Patients. Of these, 35,000 are from remote Villages and Small Towns that Previously had no access to cancer care at all. Thousands of Lives Have Alredy Been Saved. Unlike the us moonshot, this is not pr spin – it’s real program, delivered with precision and impact.
Karkinos’s success is Built on Execution and Smart Partnerships. It collaborates with hospitals and clinics to offer screenings and diagnostics close to home, escalating complex cases to higher-lead centers only when needed. Its Digital Backbone Ensures Every Patient’s Journey is Tracked and Managed, Closing Gaps that Typically Plague Cancer Cancer Care in Low-Resource Settings. The entry experience is mapped – like an uber for cancer care – with everything digitized and tightly Coordinated. Tumor boards review Each Patient’s Treatment Plan to Ensure a second opinion is always part of the process. Rates are pre-negotiated and a fraction of what insurance companies or patients would normally pay. The system is fast, efficient, and full patient-focused.
The journey was far from easy. At one point, karkinos was in serial Trouble – Grappling with Logistical Challenges, Funding Shortfalls, and Scepticism. Its very survival was at stake. But through determination, problem-saolving, and tight execution, the team turned things Around and Achieved What the Us Cold Not.
Meanwhile, the US Cancer Moonshot-Despite its Massive Budget and High-Profile Promies-Delivered Little More than press releases and comeittee meetings. I Saw this Complacency Fireshand Through My Interactions With Its Leadership, Including a White House Meeting and Exented Follow-Up Discussions. My Goal was to Advocate for Collaboration with India, Highlighting The Technology Karkinos Had Built and the TRASURE TROVE OF Medical Data It Had Amassed – offered free of aes part of a aes. But instead of seizing this chance to leap forward, The Moonshot Team Reverted to its usual routine. It Handed Out Grants to Favoured Researchers who Churned Out Academic Papers with Little Practical Impact, And Endlessly Scheduled Meetings with Other Government Bureaucrats, Buren Capability with Thinly Veiled Conditionsion, AS If it could Possibly Have Built Built World-Class Technology.
The sense of urgency was all for show. Patients Continued to Suffer – And Die – While The Government’s Machinery Crawled Along at Its Usual Pace. The moonshot’s failure is not unique; It reflects a deeper issue. The US Health Care System is addicted to Funding Academic Research and Pilot Projects that Rarely Scale. There is a reluctance to focus on the hard, unglamorous work of delivering proven solutions at scaale. The result? A system long on discovery but painful on meaningful impact.
Karkinos offers a different path, solving real-world problems now, at scale, and using existing technologies. It is a model driven by Necessity and Ingenuity – And it is working.
With Reliance Industries Acquiring Karkinos and Mukesh Ambani Compassionately Backing Its Expensation, The Company is set to scale rapidly. Reliance brings the capital, reach, and opening to take the karkinos model across India – and Evently to other countries. What began as a bold health care startup is fast blaeprint to deliver cancer care – and healthcare more broadly – effectively and Equiteably.
America Spends Nearly 18% of its GDP – Over $ 4 Trillion Annually – on Health Care. YET, it delivers poor outcomes. Even more Troubling is how much that funding is tied up in research India, Too, FACES Calls from International Experts to Pour More Public Money Into Research. But raather than copying the US model of research for its sake, India’s policymakers should focus on what is alrady working-Government-Industry Partnerships Built For Execurn, SCALES, and Results.
The world does not need more moonshots that fizzle out; It needs more karkinos-style revolutions that delivery.
Vivek Wadhwa is CEO, Vionix Biosciences. The views expressed are personal
