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Mohan Plakkot, an investor and growth capitalist from Montreal, Canada is advising Navya, a Cambridge, Massachusetts and Bangalore, India based organization to leverage global resources in digital health technology and scale the impact of Navya worldwide.   

Cambridge, MA and Montreal, Canada, January 9th, 2021: We are happy to welcome Mohan Plakkot to our team of advisors who are unwavering in their support of our vision and mission in cancer care.  Plakkot reached out to Navya with an interest in learning about the technological assets and operations with an eye of acquisition.  He is the founder and CEO of Embrace Software and has years of experience identifying companies that may benefit from growth capital, human resources, and cross border business development.  We always welcome interest and industry learnings for Navya as our work is at the center of technology, operations, and worldwide trends in healthcare.  We were happy to engage in a conversation.  For Plakkot, that conversation turned into an admiration for our core mission:  to impact every cancer patient in India, and he understood our vision for a global impact; this is only possible with steady, sustained efforts and he came forward to help us.  

“I am involved personally because I believe in the team, the cause and the clinical and patient validation; and surprised how under the radar Navya is despite their success. It enables Embrace to be better aligned to consider a strategic investment. ”  Plakkot’s words are testimony to the ethos of Navya.  It appeals at a personal level as Navya was founded through personal experiences as patients, caregivers, and physicians in a dynamically evolving world of cancer care; new therapies and promises flood the market, credibility is scarce but exists in pockets of cumbersome access, and the right data, expertise, and infrastructure can absolutely turn around the outcomes for any cancer patient.  Plakkot struck a chord with founders Gitika and Naresh and we look forward to leveraging each others’ energies for cancer patients.

“Mohan’s insights on connecting with impact investors and valuing the operation that we have built, with over a 100 people relentlessly innovating and delivering as technologists, clinical data analysts, and patient advocates has encouraged me personally to value and pitch Navya Care on a global platform,” said Gitika Srivastava, founder and CEO of Navya.  Dr Naresh Ramarajan, founder and chief medical officer, who leads the cancer informatics and data sciences at Navya, looks forward to Plakkot’s networks in technology development and infrastructure resources to scale Navya’s development partnerships at low costs. 

Embrace acquires-to-operate and invests in niche software businesses with the goal to complement the founders strengths; and help them reach their true potential.  There are strategic opportunities with current and potential assets that Embrace acquires; for example with one of the telemedicine players, that Embrace is in discussions with.  Telemedicine has heated up in the post Covid era. What Navya has is beyond telemedicine and has been one of the pioneers in delivering online services to patients with a patented platform that structures patient data for rapid online reviews by cancer experts worldwide.  Navya is partnered with Tata Memorial Centre and National Cancer Grid in India, and together we evision that every cancer patient is guided by the expertise of the world’s best experts.  The right treatment plan is critical to the best outcome, and the combination of people, process, and technology at Navya enables delivery of a cost effective and time efficient online solution for cancer patients.  We are thrilled to continue this journey with the support of Mohan Plakkot.

Ms. Khan had been living in South Korea for years. Recently, her skin had started to get a jaundiced look. The gastroenterologists at South Koreas premier hospital unfortunately diagnosed her with a periampullary mass in the duodenum, and the surgeons promptly completed a Whipple procedure. Her surgery was a success! The tumor was completely removed. But three nodes near the duodenum were positive. Mr. Khan wanted to ensure that the cancer didn’t come back or spread.

The Ampulla of Vater sounds like something straight out of Hogwarts. Digestive juices from the bile ducts and the pancreas pool together in the ampulla to meet the food coming into the small intestine (duodenum) from the stomach in this action-packed area of the GI tract. Naturally, even small tumors in and around the ampulla cause major problems. Blocking bile ducts causes a quick yellowing of the skin and eyes. When the ampulla is blocked and the juices do not flow freely, the pancreas, the liver and the stomach all start to back up.

Mr. Khan reached out to Navya for a review of his wife’s case. Navya is an evidence and experience-based expert decision system. We were focused on an expert opinion, a single consensus opinion that combined relevant and applicable knowledge from clinical trials, international guidelines, outcomes of similar patients, and true experts from only the handful of true expert centers. That reconciled opinion – the expert opinion – would remove all complexity of what treatment to undertake (preventive surgery or just sit tight… surgery first or chemotherapy… benefits of radiation versus risk of incontinence or infertility… chemotherapy or new targeted therapy or both… reinduction protocol or maintenance protocol or wait and watch…). Navya’s patented system uses clinical informatics, predictive analytics and machine learning technologies. It combines several clinical information sources as inputs – and outputs a treatment decision most applicable to a unique patient.

Promptly, the Navya Expert System, Vyas matched her case with similar patients seen before. Confronted with a duodenal periampullary cancer, Vyas looked up data related to duodenal/intestinal malignancies and recommended fluorouracil based therapies. The structured summary was quickly compiled and sent to an Indian medical expert in London affiliated with Tata Memorial Center for review. The expert quickly responded, correcting Vyas. Treating the tumor as periampullary rather than as dudodenal/intestinal made more sense, said the expert. The treatment recommended was a two-drug regimen recently shown to increase survival in pancreatic cancer at ASCO 2016.

The patient report reached South Korea within 13 hours of Mr. Khan reaching out to Navya. Needless to say, Mr. Khan’s family was grateful and impressed. Vyas learned something new from the case. The experts quick review and feedback pointed Vyas to emphasize periampullary origin over intestinal origin of cancers while looking for treatment options. Vyas integrated the knowledge it already had about the ESPAC4 trial from ASCO’s conference in 2016 for pancreatic cancers in a new manner into its experience engine for ampullary tumors.

Navya is committed to holding the hand of every cancer patient and lifting them to the same pedestal as everyone else in the world:  expert cancer care for all. Navya is the only clinically validated end-to-end decision system in cancer treatment decision making.You, your family, your friend, will always have us no matter the cancer to conquer or access to technology and data. Access is always enabled through us, and our system, service, and experts empower for real, in a format that you can consume from home.

Online Expert Opinion: http://www.navya.care

Navya is committed to holding the hand of every cancer patient and lifting them to the same pedestal as everyone else in the world: expert cancer care for all. Navya is the only clinically validated end-to-end decision system in cancer treatment decision  making.You, your family, your friend, will always have us no matter the cancer to conquer or access to technology and data.  Access is always enabled through us, and our system, service, and experts empower for real, in a format that you can consume from home.

Navya is an evidence and experience-based expert decision system. We were focused on an expert opinion, a single consensus opinion that combined relevant and applicable knowledge from clinical trials, international guidelines, outcomes of similar patients, and true experts from only the handful of true expert centers. That reconciled opinion – the expert opinion – would remove all complexity of what treatment to undertake (preventive surgery or just sit tight… surgery first or chemotherapy… benefits of radiation versus risk of incontinence or infertility… chemotherapy or new targeted therapy or both… reinduction protocol or maintenance protocol or wait and watch…). Navya’s patented system uses clinical informatics, predictive analytics and machine learning technologies. It combines several clinical information sources as inputs – and outputs a treatment decision most applicable to a unique patient.

The Ampulla of Vater sounds like something straight out of Hogwarts. Digestive juices from the bile ducts and the pancreas pool together in the ampulla to meet the food coming into the small intestine (duodenum) from the stomach in this action-packed area of the GI tract. Naturally, even small tumors in and around the ampulla cause major problems. Blocking bile ducts causes a quick yellowing of the skin and eyes. When the ampulla is blocked and the juices do not flow freely, the pancreas, the liver and the stomach all start to back up.

Ms. Khan had been living in South Korea for years. Recently, her skin had started to get a jaundiced look. The gastroenterologists at South Koreas premier hospital unfortunately diagnosed her with a periampullary mass in the duodenum, and the surgeons promptly completed a Whipple procedure. Her surgery was a success! The tumor was completely removed. But three nodes near the duodenum were positive. Mr. Khan wanted to ensure that the cancer didn’t come back or spread.

Mr. Khan reached out to Navya for a review of his wife’s case. Promptly, the Navya Expert System, Vyas matched her case with similar patients seen before. Confronted with a duodenal periampullary cancer, Vyas looked up data related to duodenal/intestinal malignancies and recommended fluorouracil based therapies. The structured summary was quickly compiled and sent to an Indian medical expert in London affiliated with Tata Memorial Center for review. The expert quickly responded, correcting Vyas. Treating the tumor as periampullary rather than as dudodenal/intestinal made more sense, said the expert. The treatment recommended was a two-drug regimen recently shown to increase survival in pancreatic cancer at ASCO 2016.

The patient report reached South Korea within 13 hours of Mr. Khan reaching out to Navya. Needless to say, Mr. Khan’s family was grateful and impressed. Vyas learned something new from the case. The experts quick review and feedback pointed Vyas to emphasize periampullary origin over intestinal origin of cancers while looking for treatment options. Vyas integrated the knowledge it already had about the ESPAC4 trial from ASCO’s conference in 2016 for pancreatic cancers in a new manner into its experience engine for ampullary tumors.

Online Expert Opinion: http://www.navya.care

The Ampulla of Vater sounds like something straight out of Hogwarts. Digestive juices from the bile ducts and the pancreas pool together in the ampulla to meet the food coming into the small intestine (duodenum) from the stomach in this action-packed area of the GI tract. Naturally, even small tumors in and around the ampulla cause major problems. Blocking bile ducts causes a quick yellowing of the skin and eyes. When the ampulla is blocked and the juices do not flow freely, the pancreas, the liver and the stomach all start to back up.

Ms. Khan had been living in South Korea for years. Recently, her skin had started to get a jaundiced look. The gastroenterologists at South Koreas premier hospital unfortunately diagnosed her with a periampullary mass in the duodenum, and the surgeons promptly completed a Whipple procedure. Her surgery was a success! The tumor was completely removed. But three nodes near the duodenum were positive. Mr. Khan wanted to ensure that the cancer didn’t come back or spread.

Mr. Khan reached out to Navya for a review of his wife’s case. Promptly, the Navya Expert System, Vyas matched her case with similar patients seen before. Confronted with a duodenal periampullary cancer, Vyas looked up data related to duodenal/intestinal malignancies and recommended fluorouracil based therapies. The structured summary was quickly compiled and sent to an Indian medical expert in London affiliated with Tata Memorial Center for review. The expert quickly responded, correcting Vyas. Treating the tumor as periampullary rather than as dudodenal/intestinal made more sense, said the expert. The treatment recommended was a two-drug regimen recently shown to increase survival in pancreatic cancer at ASCO 2016.

The patient report reached South Korea within 13 hours of Mr. Khan reaching out to Navya. Needless to say, Mr. Khan’s family was grateful and impressed. Vyas learned something new from the case. The experts quick review and feedback pointed Vyas to emphasize periampullary origin over intestinal origin of cancers while looking for treatment options. Vyas integrated the knowledge it already had about the ESPAC4 trial from ASCO’s conference in 2016 for pancreatic cancers in a new manner into its experience engine for ampullary tumors.

Navya is an evidence and experience-based expert decision system. We were focused on an expert opinion, a single consensus opinion that combined relevant and applicable knowledge from clinical trials, international guidelines, outcomes of similar patients, and true experts from only the handful of true expert centers. That reconciled opinion – the expert opinion – would remove all complexity of what treatment to undertake (preventive surgery or just sit tight… surgery first or chemotherapy… benefits of radiation versus risk of incontinence or infertility… chemotherapy or new targeted therapy or both… reinduction protocol or maintenance protocol or wait and watch…). Navya’s patented system uses clinical informatics, predictive analytics and machine learning technologies. It combines several clinical information sources as inputs – and outputs a treatment decision most applicable to a unique patient.

Navya is committed to holding the hand of every cancer patient and lifting them to the same pedestal as everyone else in the world:  expert cancer care for all. Navya is the only clinically validated end-to-end decision system in cancer treatment decision making. You, your family, your friend, will always have us no matter the cancer to conquer or access to technology and data.  Access is always enabled through us, and our system, service, and experts empower for real, in a format that you can consume from home.

Online Expert Opinion: http://www.navya.care

Navya is an evidence and experience-based expert decision system. We were focused on an expert opinion, a single consensus opinion that combined relevant and applicable knowledge from clinical trials, international guidelines, outcomes of similar patients, and true experts from only the handful of true expert centers. That reconciled opinion – the expert opinion – would remove all complexity of what treatment to undertake (preventive surgery or just sit tight… surgery first or chemotherapy… benefits of radiation versus risk of incontinence or infertility… chemotherapy or new targeted therapy or both… reinduction protocol or maintenance protocol or wait and watch…). Navya’s patented system uses clinical informatics, predictive analytics and machine learning technologies. It combines several clinical information sources as inputs – and outputs a treatment decision most applicable to a unique patient.

The Ampulla of Vater sounds like something straight out of Hogwarts. Digestive juices from the bile ducts and the pancreas pool together in the ampulla to meet the food coming into the small intestine (duodenum) from the stomach in this action-packed area of the GI tract. Naturally, even small tumors in and around the ampulla cause major problems. Blocking bile ducts causes a quick yellowing of the skin and eyes. When the ampulla is blocked and the juices do not flow freely, the pancreas, the liver and the stomach all start to back up.

Ms. Khan had been living in South Korea for years. Recently, her skin had started to get a jaundiced look. The gastroenterologists at South Koreas premier hospital unfortunately diagnosed her with a periampullary mass in the duodenum, and the surgeons promptly completed a Whipple procedure. Her surgery was a success! The tumor was completely removed. But three nodes near the duodenum were positive. Mr. Khan wanted to ensure that the cancer didn’t come back or spread.

Mr. Khan reached out to Navya for a review of his wife’s case. Promptly, the Navya Expert System, Vyas matched her case with similar patients seen before. Confronted with a duodenal periampullary cancer, Vyas looked up data related to duodenal/intestinal malignancies and recommended fluorouracil based therapies. The structured summary was quickly compiled and sent to an Indian medical expert in London affiliated with Tata Memorial Center for review. The expert quickly responded, correcting Vyas. Treating the tumor as periampullary rather than as dudodenal/intestinal made more sense, said the expert. The treatment recommended was a two-drug regimen recently shown to increase survival in pancreatic cancer at ASCO 2016.

The patient report reached South Korea within 13 hours of Mr. Khan reaching out to Navya. Needless to say, Mr. Khan’s family was grateful and impressed. Vyas learned something new from the case. The experts quick review and feedback pointed Vyas to emphasize periampullary origin over intestinal origin of cancers while looking for treatment options. Vyas integrated the knowledge it already had about the ESPAC4 trial from ASCO’s conference in 2016 for pancreatic cancers in a new manner into its experience engine for ampullary tumors.

Navya is committed to holding the hand of every cancer patient and lifting them to the same pedestal as everyone else in the world:  expert cancer care for all. Navya is the only clinically validated end-to-end decision system in cancer treatment decision  making.You, your family, your friend, will always have us no matter the cancer to conquer or access to technology and data.  Access is always enabled through us, and our system, service, and experts empower for real, in a format that you can consume from home.

Online Expert Opinion: http://www.navya.care

Treatment Engine or Diagnostic Service? While Navya’s mission is to bring clarity to complex treatment decisions, the lines between a complex diagnosis and treatment decisions are not always
clear.  Just recently, a young active man asked us to help him as he had been diagnosed with a case of Langerhan’s Cells Histiocytosis affecting a joint, and his treating doctors were recommending radiation therapy!

Langerhan’s Cell Histiocytosis is a rare condition caused by uncontrolled growth of immature Langerhan’s Cells (a specialized type of immune cell). It usually affects the skin, bones, and lungs.

Abstracting the clinical files into our databases, too many pieces of information did not fit our knowledge bases checks and rules. The immunostains that marked the case as Langerhans didn’t quite fit. Neither did the absence of other lesions. Navya’s engines did not recommend chemotherapy (and certainly not radiation) at this juncture, and recommended further diagnostic tests. A review of the case by expert physicians at Navya broadened the differential to other rare conditions such as Erdheim-Chester disease.

too many pieces of information did not fit our knowledge bases checks and rules.

A detailed imaging and pathology review of the case has begun with Tata Memorial Centre, empowered by Navya’s new digital image reviewing platform. I am quite excited for this young man’s sake to see Navya help a patient get the right diagnosis. In the quest to build the perfect treatment decision engine, Navya has proven quite adept at picking out cases that don’t quite fit the mold.

Navya encourages physicians and patients to look just a little deeper in these cases, and find the right answer.

-Dr. Naresh Ramarajan

Online Expert Opinion: navyanetwork.com/tmh
Tata Trusts: tatatrusts.org
Tata Memorial Center: tmc.gov.in
Navya: navyanetwork.com

Logon to tmc.gov.in and click Expert opinion on right hand side.