Why an entrepreneur decided the medtech sector within India was the right place to set up a business.
According to Invest India, the country’s medical device industry has the potential to grow at 28 percent per annum to reach $50 billion by 2025. Therefore, having previously worked in the sector, Ankit Kedia knew it was the right industry to be involved in. In 2019 Kedia founded Caremont, an organisation aimed at providing quality medical equipment and devices.
Prior to founding Caremont, Kedia was a promoter director and board member at Manjushree Technopack. In this role he was responsible for delivering a sales budget of over $100 million, as well as creating pharma packaging for FDA regulated markets. In 2018, Kedia was awarded the Zee TV Dare to Dream Award for Best Business Performance.
The decision to begin the Bengaluru-based medtech start-up followed a year where Kedia spent time learning and understanding regulations regarding importing medical devices. For instance, he learnt that many medical products need to be registered for import, and any company who are keen to legally register or import medical devices must comply with the rules of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act of 1940.
Kedia began by meeting with the following two global pharma companies: Olberon and Halyard Health. He successfully convinced these companies that he could take over the distribution of their products, commenting: “Once you fix the distribution chain and understand what the market wants you can enter manufacturing.”
Following these meetings, Caremont started to distribute both Olberon and Halyard Health’s products in five cities. For Haylard this included clinical drapes, gowns, masks, gloves, knee arthroscopy preparation drapes and surgery gowns, and for Olberon, items such as ear, nose and throat diagnostic devices.
By doing his research Kedia realised that some medical products could be manufactured in India at lower costs. He commented: “Many companies export devices to India from point of origin. We want to make in India, with 50 percent manufacturing abroad and 50 percent here. This will bring costs down and we can reach many more hospitals.’’
As a result, Caremont has now acquired land in Bengaluru to set up a large manufacturing facility. The organisation also has plans to set up a research and development centre which plans to use 3D printing.
Caremont’s business model currently works by taking commission from distribution. However, when the company begins manufacturing products the model will then be adapted for this.