Proposal Title:
Proof of Concept of a Culturally Appropriate Iron Fortified Biscuit to Reduce Maternal and Perinatal Anemia
Country of Implementation:
India
Sites:
St. John’s Research Institute and St. John’s Medical College-Hospital, Bangalore
Rural/Urban:
Rural, Urban & Peri-Urban
Target Beneficiary:
Pregnant Women; -9 to 0 Months
Objective:
To reduce anemia in pregnant women and subsequently increase iron stores in newborns.
Innovation Description:
The creation of a culturally-acceptable iron-fortified biscuit as a desirable alternative to iron pills for pregnant women.
Stage of Innovation:
Proof of Concept
Proposal Title
Proof of Concept of a Culturally Appropriate Iron Fortified Biscuit to Reduce Maternal and Perinatal Anemia
Sites
St. John’s Research Institute and St. John’s Medical College-Hospital, Bangalore
Rural/Urban
Rural, Urban & Peri-Urban
Target Beneficiary
Pregnant Women; -9 to 0 Months
Objective
To reduce anemia in pregnant women and subsequently increase iron stores in newborns.
Innovation Description
The creation of a culturally-acceptable iron-fortified biscuit as a desirable alternative to iron pills for pregnant women.
Stage of Innovation
Proof of Concept
India’s anemia rates are among the highest globally: over 79% of children aged 6 to 8 months have anemia; 58% of the 26 million women who are pregnant each year are diagnosed with anemia. Although more than 17 million of these women have access to iron pills, 11 million do not take them for the recommended time (an adherence rate of only 35%)[1]. Based on research and market studies with Indian pregnant women, key reasons the adherence rate is so low are the pill’s side effects and that pregnant women do not like to swallow iron pills, because of their size and taste.
This innovation is to create an iron-fortified biscuit for pregnant women who would otherwise be non-adherent to iron pills, indistinguishable in taste from popular Indian biscuits. The innovation seeks to prove the acceptability of this prototype by pregnant women, equivalent bioavailability of the iron biscuit to the pill, and the efficacy of the iron-fortified biscuit. The results will help to better position the product for scale, and in turn reduce the burden of perinatal anemia.
118 women will have access to iron fortification during pregnancy (half to traditional iron pills, and half to the intervention biscuits).
We aim to prove our solution to be as efficacious as an iron pill, while reaching more anemic women and their children.
-- Dr. Pratibha Dwarkanath, St. John’s Research Institute, CBCI Society for Medical Education, co – Co-PI of project
The overarching goal of this innovation is to encourage pregnant women to consume iron supplements, to increase her and her baby’s iron stores. Given the lack of adherence to iron pills, the team has developed several prototypes of iron-fortified biscuits specifically tailored to the tastes and preferences of pregnant women in India. Multiple flavors have been created after extensive market research. The biscuits are indistinguishable in taste from typical biscuits which are consumed habitually by many pregnant women.
Three studies will be conducted with the following goals:
Key Drivers
Leadership & Experience
The project team brings together public health acumen, business start-up experience, clinical research knowledge and experience, and close relationships with public health/clinical product researchers, advisors in consumer packaged goods companies, government programs, and pharmaceuticals in India.
Researchers and physicians at St. John’s Research Institute have immense experience in successfully designing, conducting and implementing scientific research.
Within three years, after the proof of concept stage, we anticipate a scaled trial in the Indian state of Karnataka to test the increased adherence of the iron-fortified biscuit.
Since the approach consists of three different studies, three evaluations will be conducted:
Through these trials, the following outcomes will be assessed:
We estimate our solution to be more cost-effective than the iron pill (at approximately $13 per disability-adjusted life year) while reaching more anemic women and their children. [2]
Chamas for Change
Saving Brains for High Risk Babies
Kangaroo Mother Care for low birth weight
