The collaboration was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK after the MoU was signed in Chennai.
As part of the collaboration, Apollo has indicated its intent to examine the possibility for orders for e200x air ambulances and Amber Wings’ medical delivery drones.
The MOU also outlines the possibility of a future strategic investment by Apollo in ePlane, subject to future agreement on terms. Both parties intend to work with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other relevant authorities to help bring this vision to life, alongside continued discussions on infrastructure needed to support these operations.
The ePlane Company and Apollo Hospitals have joined forces to address a critical healthcare challenge: every 3.5 minutes, someone in India dies in a road accident, according to a statement.
With over 170,000 lives lost on Indian roads each year, and only 1 in 5 patients reaching trauma care within the critical “golden hour,” urban congestion and geographic distance remain some of the biggest barriers to survival – not the absence of medical expertise, it pointed out.
The collaboration brings together air and road ambulance network complementing one another.
ePlane’s e200X aircraft, designed for rapid inter-hospital transfers, trauma response, cardiac and stroke emergencies, and organ transport, moving patients up to 7 times faster than road transport – at a fraction of the cost of a traditional helicopter transfer.
Through its subsidiary Amber Wings, ePlane’s unmanned aerial vehicles are designed to rapidly move blood products, organs, vaccines, medicines, and diagnostic samples between facilities – cutting critical delivery times from hours to minutes.
Apollo’s Network of 1066 ambulances, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers.
This creates the foundation for a connected emergency response system – one that could bring life-saving care to some of India’s most congested and difficult to access cities.
“India loses far too many lives simply because help cannot arrive in time,” said Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group.
“As the founder of Apollo Hospitals, which pioneered India’s private healthcare model, I have long believed that access, along with deep clinical expertise – is what saves lives. This collaboration with The ePlane Company reflects our commitment to bringing Apollo’s clinical excellence to every corner of the country, however remote,” he said.
“Working with Apollo Hospitals allows us to explore how our electric aircraft and drones can help close the gap between accident and treatment, especially for the millions of Indians living far from specialized trauma care,” Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Founder & CTO of The ePlane Company, said.