TLDR: The Government of Goa has launched an AI-powered lung cancer screening program in partnership with Qure.ai and AstraZeneca, leveraging Qure.ai’s qXR solution to screen over 70,000 chest X-rays and identify high-risk cases. Concurrently, Goa has introduced the ‘Pricing Policy for Innovative Lifesaving Therapies’ (PPILT), becoming the first Indian state to adopt such a framework, aimed at making advanced medical treatments, starting with lung cancer, more affordable and accessible across its public healthcare system.
Goa is setting a new benchmark in public healthcare with the implementation of an advanced AI-powered lung cancer screening program, a collaborative effort between the state government, health-tech innovator Qure.ai, and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. This initiative, which has already seen significant success, is complemented by the introduction of a groundbreaking ‘Pricing Policy for Innovative Lifesaving Therapies’ (PPILT), positioning Goa as a pioneer in accessible, high-quality medical care.
The AI-driven screening program utilizes Qure.ai’s qXR solution, an artificial intelligence algorithm designed to analyze chest X-rays for early signs of lung abnormalities. Since its integration into Goa’s public healthcare system in 2024, across 18 government hospitals and health centers, the technology has delivered measurable results at scale. To date, over 70,000 chest X-rays have been screened, leading to the detection of more than 6,000 pulmonary nodules and flagging over 500 individuals at high risk for lung cancer. This early detection capability has been crucial in facilitating timely diagnoses and treatment, ultimately saving lives and reducing healthcare costs.
Further enhancing its commitment to public health, Goa has become the first state in India to adopt the Pricing Policy for Innovative Lifesaving Therapies (PPILT). This policy aims to ensure fair and sustainable pricing for critical healthcare necessities, including medical devices, diagnostics, and medicines. By enabling confidential and outcome-linked pricing agreements with pharmaceutical innovators, the policy allows the state to procure advanced therapies at significantly reduced costs. The rollout of this progressive approach will commence with lung cancer treatments and is designed to extend to rare and complex non-communicable diseases, making expensive, life-saving medical treatments more affordable and within reach for all patients, particularly those from underserved communities.
Shri Vishwajit Rane, Health Minister of Goa, emphasized the importance of this policy, stating, ‘Innovative therapies for diseases like cancer, rare genetic disorders, and autoimmune conditions can cost upwards of INR 50 lakhs per year, placing them difficult for patients especially from underserved communities. Goa’s adoption of this pricing policy is vital and a timely step to advance health equity in the state. A value-based approach to pricing will improve access for patients and marks a new era focusing on helping more and more patients.’
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The three-way partnership between the Government of Goa, Qure.ai, and AstraZeneca has been lauded as a ‘first-of-its-kind model,’ demonstrating how public and private sectors can combine technology and expertise to create systemic change. This collaborative framework, which integrates pharma innovation with advanced technology to establish an end-to-end lung cancer patient screening and monitoring pathway, holds the potential to serve as a blueprint for health systems globally. The policy was officially announced at a Continuing Medical Education (CME) event focused on the use of AI in early lung cancer diagnosis in Goa.
