The role of the medical devices industry in ensuring business continuity and important deliveries during the pandemic has been critical. Covid-19 has once again brought Indian medtech to the epicentre. The current pandemic has led the medical devices industry to quickly recalibrate across the value chain and serve healthcare’s important wants. This has additional place the healthcare devices market at the forefront, with unparalleled demand for goods like diagnostic tests, private protective gear (PPE), masks, gloves and a lot more. While the crisis has placed these unparalleled demands, but the market has responded with resilience and capacity to integrate innovations swiftly. In an exclusive conversation with the TheSpuzz Online Anish Bafna, MD & CEO, The Healthium Group talked about how Healthium Group led the enterprise continuity and responsiveness for the duration of the pandemic, provided Healthium’s position as a top healthcare devices manufacturer in India and other 80 geographies. Excerpts:
Elective surgeries have gone down immensely, because Healthium’s big enterprise is surgicals, how are you managing the enterprise now?
The last year with the 1st wave has been each unprecedented and unpredictable. Elective surgeries had dropped pretty sharply in the initially 4 months, hospital stroll-ins decreased initially and the market and market place de-grew general. Healthium has on the other hand registered a double digit development and has been capable to maintain our enterprise trajectory intact. This is largely due to sturdy measures place in early to guarantee enterprise continuity to serve our shoppers, and making certain sufficient security protocols for our workers.
- A sturdy state of preparedness and agility in serving our shoppers without the need of disruptions even for the duration of the Lockdowns: When we heard of the effects in China, we ensured that we had sufficient stock of raw components for the next couple of months, we had been amongst the 1st to maintain our plants open with due security pre-cautions, we ensured that our warehouses and depots had been effectively stocked to guarantee continuous provide of important healthcare devices to hospitals and our sales teams had been amongst the 1st to be on the ground as early as May to serve our shoppers.
- Our effectively diversified portfolio and sources of enterprise: While elective surgeries dipped, emergency surgeries like Cardio-vascular surgeries and childbirth continued .We ensured sufficient solution availability to serve our shoppers in these segments anytime they necessary assistance even for the duration of Lockdown. While Tier1 markets might have slowed, the market place reality in Tier2,3 and 4 cities was pretty diverse. It was enterprise as usual with crowded OPD and surgeries. We consolidated our leadership and our sturdy distribution in these cities and worked closely with hospitals and nursing residences to guarantee education on COVID suitable protocols in OPDs and OTs with “Safe surgeries saves lives” campaign .These segments also contributed to our development.
- Slew of new solution launches and development in exports: Despite international freight charges skyrocketing, we took the hit and served our international shoppers also in a timely manner and this helped us develop sturdy equity and develop our exports. We also invested heavily in R & D to bring in a slew of new goods, more than 1 solution, every single quarter such as 1st of its type Trushield anti-microbial gloves that protects each surgeons and patients against Hospital acquired infection and SSI by actively killing microbes, Surestitch the 1st meniscal repair gun manufactured in India and so forth.
This combined with sturdy money flow management enabled us to tide by means of ahead of the curve.
In the second wave also, we have taken numerous measures to guarantee we help the frontline Healthcare practitioners. This combined with the host of new goods we strategy to bring in, our vast coverage network of 18000 geo tagged hospitals in India , sturdy focus on partnering with big hospitals in Tier 1 and consolidating market place Leadership in Tier3,4,5, we hope, will assistance us steer towards a superior 2021.
Do you believe healthcare devices and consumables market has evolved in the last two years thinking about the big reports have stated otherwise?
Medtech market has been one of the crucial contributors to the healthcare ecosystem even ahead of the pandemic. However, the unprecedented circumstance has brought the sector to the fore due to the healthcare systems’ reliance on it in fighting the pandemic. 2020 has been a difficult year for the MedTech market, with drop in electives and hospital footfalls particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. However, the pandemic has also supplied signifies to strengthen the healthcare market with possibilities for innovation and price efficiencies. The early demands on the healthcare devices and consumables sector for masks, PPE kits, Testing kits, ventilators, gloves, anti-microbials has been met with the market increasing to the occasion and matching the wants of the nation.
The pandemic has also undoubtedly thrown open the want to develop a far robust medtech infrastructure. There has been an more than reliance on imported healthcare devices and consumables with 75 to 80% devices becoming imported, the provide chain infrastructure wants higher resilience, manufacturing is pretty fragmented and there is a sturdy want to develop access to higher high quality, higher precision healthcare devices in the nation. While a humanitarian crisis of this scale can not be seen as a profiteering chance, it has undoubtedly added the a lot-necessary tailwind for the sector to be recognised for its value and be positioned in the ideal light.
How are you supporting the healthcare fraternity as an important service provider? How are you overcoming the challenges to meet the present demand of healthcare devices and consumables?
The healthcare market has been at the forefront of the battle against COVID and our group has been working challenging to help them. We have ramped up production of important healthcare devices and kept our manufacturing facilities open with due permissions and precautions, in spite of the lockdown, to guarantee un-interrupted provide to hospitals.
We have rapidly tracked production schedules to allow important deliveries inside 24-48 hours. We have expanded our provide chain by 40% to help faster deliveries to healthcare facilities in remote components of the nation. We are conscious that childbirth and emergency surgeries like cardio -vascular surgeries nonetheless continue in spite of the pandemic and have ensured that important goods are in sufficient provide.
While the pandemic has brought new challenges to the market, it has also supplied signifies to strengthen the healthcare market with possibilities for innovation. Healthium has continued to invest heavily in R&D and on new solution development even for the duration of the pandemic.
The last 2 years for Healthium have been a transformational journey on high quality, goods, processes, technologies and individuals and as a outcome we are today biggest maker of suture needles globally with 1 in 6 surgeries making use of our solution. We are the 4th biggest suture manufacturer globally accounting for more than 50% of India’s suture exports. We presently have access to 18,000 hospitals pan India. In India, Healthium is present in 500 districts which have healthcare facilities and supplying the last mile help of important healthcare services to patients across the nation.
Healthium is supplying its goods to 80 nations globally supporting the agenda of “Make in India and for the World”. We are the only corporation to have a 510K (USFDA) approval in this aspect of the world. We also have C.E and ISO high quality approvals.
It is our endeavour to develop higher high quality Indian options to MNCs. We have invested heavily in R & D and in our analysis centre at Noida. Our aim is to be partners for the top hospitals in the nation to guarantee simple accessibility of high quality healthcare devices for much better patient outcomes. We aim to solidify our position in Tier 1 cities and use our verified market credentials and sturdy legacy to companion with crucial hospital networks, drive accelerated development and present customers more alternatives.
During the last and current wave, manufacturing workforce has struggled to keep up with the jobs? How have you addressed this issue at your facilities?
COVID-19 has created disruptions in lives, livelihoods and ways of working, and disrupted our personal and professional wellbeing.
As a responsible medtech company and an essential service provider, our focus has always been on the safety, physical, mental and equally important, on the financial wellbeing of our employees and teams at the plants. Our teams have been instrumental in helping us serve the healthcare practitioners and frontline workers without disruption.
We have therefore ensured that there is not even a single job cut at Healthium since last year. In fact, we have not only paid salaries on time, but also paid increments, bonuses, variable pay, to ensure we motivate and support our teams.
Keeping in mind financial security is paramount during these uncertain times, the company has not only ensured that ESI, COVID insurance, Life covers for its employees are in place but has also announced bereavement allowance of Rs 20 Lakhs to the family of the bereaved in case of the unfortunate loss of life on an employee due to COVID. The company will also ensure EDLI upto Rs 7 Lakhs and other welfare measures like reimbursement of costs of vaccine, RT-PCR tests, scans and blood marker tests.
It has also conducted the inoculation drive for workers and their families. At all times, we continue to reach out to the afflicted employees and their families to ensure they are well supported.
We also spent the last wave strongly outlining measures to ensure safety for our employees and teams working at our plants. While physical precautions like social distancing, thermal checks, on-site medical support, provision of masks, gloves, sanitizers, logistics support on transport, alternate shifts were being managed, mental health and anxiety of the teams and their families also became key concerns. Counselling for families, no salary cuts, incentives for workers were all undertaken to ensure that the team felt safe in all ways.
What is your take on the recent GST relaxation on medical devices? Do you think it will benefit the industry in the short term and longer run?
The recent rebate has been only on the COVID related medical devices. The current landscape needs to address the lopsided GST tax structure if the dream of an Atmanirbhar Bharat needs to be truly realised. Over the years, import duties on medical devices are lower than those on the raw materials that goes into the making of these medical devices. Ever since the introduction of GST, imported medical devices have become cheaper. This has made importing raw materials and medical devices far cheaper than local manufacture and a change in tax structure will certainly help in the much needed boost to local manufacturing.
Supply chain has been a major challenge for essential businesses. How are you managing to keep it operational during the pandemic?
The distribution prowess of the large scale manufacturers in medical devices and consumables today depends on the local market dynamics, hence localisation becomes an essential aspect to provide last mile delivery. Customer demands and the resulting pressure on the supply chain varies tremendously in terms of products, clinical needs, varied geographical regions and the penetrating power of local suppliers. Therefore, identifying the most suitable distributors and suppliers that meet requirements, is the key to success.
We have expanded our Supply chain by 40% since the pandemic so that we can overcome logistics hurdles to ensure smooth flow of essential medical devices and consumables to our clients including those in remote parts of the country. We have also expanded our depots, C&F agents, warehouses to ensure, our network of 18000 hospitals across 500 districts in India, is well covered.
Government’s recent focus on ‘Make in India’ has progressed immensely in medical devices manufacturing. Do you think it will be feasible for medical devices industry considering the huge import dependency on raw material as well as devices?
The Medical Devices industry has been recognised as the sunshine sector by the government, however the reality to achieve this status is still a long way. The current import dependence stands at 75-80% with exports limited to US$2.1 billion as of 2019. This clearly indicates a huge opportunity for the home-grown players to turn the tide in order to gain equivalent status as the pharmaceutical industry.
Some factors that could help include:-
∙ Support / Incentives from Government:
- Benefits to local manufacturers in government/public tenders and for procurement in public hospitals: For e.g. price benefit of 10-15% versus any foreign company which does not manufacture in the home country. For e.g. countries like Turkey, Sri Lanka, South Africa, China etc. have such measures in place.
- Export incentives: Several governments through taxation and other means incentivise the export of medical devices from their countries. Examples of such incentives include GST waivers, import duty waivers on RM related to exports, tax rebates etc.
∙ Increase competitiveness / innovation:
- While local government aiding the sales of domestic companies is extremely helpful, there is also a responsibility to develop companies which manufacture products which are high-quality as well as affordable. For helping with the same, governments in developing nations (e.g. China, Mexico) have been providing support on the R&D / innovation related expenses of medical device companies to boost development of innovative, high-quality and cost-competitive medical devices.
- Building large medical device tech parks which can become hubs of manufacturing in the country and potentially export hubs to the world like India has become in Pharma.
Such measures can go a long way in hastening the realities of creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
As an Indian player delivering to global standards with US FDA (510K), CE and ISO approval, we are working relentlessly to reduce the dependence on imported technology and support a self-reliant India. A trusted partner to the healthcare industry, Healthium has created over 55 patented products in India and the U.S, and garnered access to 18,000 hospitals in India and 80+ countries to deliver high precision, high quality products.