With effect from April 1, 2020, all medical devices were notified as ‘drugs’ as per the Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules, 2020. The medical devices have also been categorised as Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D depending on their risk categories. With this, companies like Lord’s have decided that it is high time to invest in the manufacture of cutting-edge medical devices to ensure exponential growth in healthcare infrastructure.

In an exclusive interview with the Financial Express Online, Sachidanand Upadhyay, Founder, Lord’s Mark Industries Pvt Ltd says that by investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) – enabled medical devices, we aim to provide better clinical outcomes and improve healthcare delivery paradigms. Lord’s Mark Industries recently entered into a JV agreement with Braithwaite & Co to provide healthcare equipment, medtech devices and diagnostic products to railway hospitals and other public hospitals on a Pan-India level.

Could you throw light on Lord’s Mark Industries entering into a JV agreement with Braithwaite & Co?

Braithwaite & Co is a well-known public sector unit (PSU) fully owned by the Government of India. With a rich legacy of engineering excellence and an emphasis on adhering to the highest quality standards, the Braithwaite & Co has an expansive customer base in the country’s public sector. By collaborating with a like-minded partner, Lord’s Mark Industries aims to tap into the vast network of railway hospitals and other public hospitals on a Pan-India level for the distribution of state-of-the-art cutting edge healthcare equipment, medtech devices and diagnostic products. We look at this partnership as a key collaborative effort to provide quality and affordable healthcare to all sections of the population through access to advanced medtech tools and solutions.

Under the terms of the JV, what are the healthcare products that will be distributed by Lords Mark Industries?

Under the JV terms, Lord’s Mark Industries will be offering cutting edge and innovative medtech devices and tools like remote patient monitoring systems and health kiosks to be marketed under ‘Lord’s Sehat’ brand. Our distribution portfolio will also comprise IVD products ranging from Dengue, Malaria, HIV and antigen kits as well as essential hygiene and pharmaceutical products.

The terms of the JV state that healthcare equipment will be distributed across railway hospitals in the initial phase. Are you in plans to expand the scope of the agreement to cover private hospitals in future?

In the initial phase of the agreement, we will be distributing healthcare equipment across railway hospitals on a Pan-India basis. If need arises in future, we will expand the scope of the agreement to cover private hospitals as part of our endeavor to create a robust healthcare infrastructure in India.

Do you also have plans to enter into collaborative JVs with other partners in future for the distribution of advanced healthcare products? What will be your criteria for partner selection?

Presently, we are clearly focused on working closely with Braithwaite & Co to expand our distribution outreach across railway hospitals for the supply of essential medical equipment and advanced healthcare products. We remain firmly committed to our mission of transforming the public healthcare infrastructure in India by making it affordable and accessible for all sections of the population.

How do you foresee such JVs impacting the functional dynamics of the healthcare sector in India?

Leveraging the technological synergies and process expertise of diverse stakeholders is key to creating a strong and agile healthcare value chain with an emphasis on improved patient outcomes and quality healthcare delivery. Lord’s Mark Industries has entered into multiple partnerships for the distribution of innovative healthcare equipment. We believe the combination of innovation and right execution has the potential to make India a dominant healthcare player.

What is the Market Scenario viz a viz globally?

India is among the top 20 markets for medical devices on a global scale. The market is expected to grow from USD 10.36 billion in 2020 to USD 50 billion in 2025, clocking a CAGR of 37%. The value of the global medical devices market was pegged at USD 456.9 billion which has grown at a CAGR of 4.4% since 2015. Its value is expected to reach USD 603.5 billion in 2023.

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