About Us

Prof B Soma Raju has an MD from Guntur Medical College, Andhra Pradesh and a DM from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. A multi-faceted personality, he is a cardiologist, researcher, teacher and philanthropist. Beginning his career as Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, he joined the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, in 1984. When he left the Institute in 1993 as Professor and Head of the Department of Cardiology and Dean, he had built one of the best departments in the country and trained a whole generation of cardiologists.

Prof Soma Raju conducted the first percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in India and heads a team which has performed the largest number of cardiac interventions in the country. He was integral to the development of India's first indigenous coronary stent — named the Kalam Raju Stent after former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Dr Soma Raju. This led to a dramatic reduction in the cost of stents, bringing them within the reach of the people. He was also key in the development of India's first coronary balloon catheter and continues working on medical devices for use in interventional cardiology to offer more affordable Indian alternatives for the common man. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2001 and has published and presented over 120 papers in national and international journals and forums and authored a textbook on "Clinical Methods in Cardiology."

Dr P Thomas Cherian heads the Department of Hepato Biliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation at CARE Hospitals. He did his MBBS from Bangalore University, with a Distinction in Human Anatomy. He is a Fellow of the RCS Glasg (G Surg) and has a FRCS (Intercollegiate) in General Surgery (Subspecialty: Hepato- Pancreaticobiliary and UGI Surgery). He completed 7 years higher specialist training (UK, M.Ch equivalent) and 4 years as Senior House Officer in General Surgery (UK, MS equivalent). Dr Thomas was selected by the Educational Committee of European Society for Organ Transplantation for the International Diploma in Advanced Training in Transplantation, Switzerland. He has worked at The Liver Institute, Kings College Hospital, UK and was Chief of Surgery & Head, Dept of Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Surgery & Liver Transplantation at Global Hospital, Hyderabad, prior to joining CARE Hospitals Group. Dr Thomas has experience in complex procedures such as split liver transplants, living related and auxiliary liver transplantation and has performed many adult and pediatric liver transplant operations.

Dr Vikram Chhatwal is Chairman, Medi Assist India TPA Private Limited and Co-Chairman of the Entrepreneurship Committee of the Indian Merchants Chamber. Earlier, he was CEO of Reliance Health, a Reliance ADA Group Company, with interests across hospitals, health insurance administration (TPA), disease management and healthcare IT. Dr Chhatwal was project leader for setting up Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, India’s largest privately-funded hospital. He was part of the founding team and Chief Executive of Apollo Health Street Limited, the largest Indian healthcare BPO and IT companies, while holding a concurrent position as CIO, Apollo Hospitals Group. Dr Chhatwal has also served on the Board of Governors for ICFAI Business Schools. His work as principal investigator helped define the ‘Healthcare IT and Infrastructure Standards’ for the Government of India.