Dibrugarh: Assam Medical College & Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh, on Friday began providing medicines to rare disease patients after being designated a Centre of Excellence (CoE).The hospital was designated a CoE for rare diseases under the National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD), 2021. Sixteen patients aged between 1.5 and 25 years visited AMCH on Friday. They came from across the region, including Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Tezpur, Sipajhar, Guwahati and Nagaon, while one patient travelled from Tripura.Medicines were provided for two conditions — spinal muscular atrophy and Turner syndrome. The hospital said treatment would continue in phases.“It is a notable day for Assam Medical College. Over its 80-year heritage, this institution has steadily made progress in various areas. We are now providing medicines to rare disease patients for the first time since being designated a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Rare Diseases,” said Dr Sanjeeb Kakati, principal of AMCH.Kakati said rare diseases, defined as conditions occurring in one or fewer cases per 100,000 live births, are highly varied, with most resulting from genetic disorders. Although individually uncommon, they affect hundreds of thousands of people in India because of the country’s large population. Treatment costs can range from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, depending on patients’ needs.AMCH is one of 15 institutions in India designated as a CoE and is the newest addition to the list. It has also received Rs 5 crore in central funding to build a diagnostic facility on campus. Construction is under way, and the laboratory is expected to become operational by the end of the year.
