‘’Piramal Enterprises’’ diagnostic division business is expected to touch Rs 100-crore mark in next one year’

Recently, Piramal Enterprises’ diagnostic division launched three new innovative devices in the POC market. Among these was QdxA1c, India’s first voice guided diagnostic device which measures HbA1c QDx VitD, the world’s only device that helps detect Vitamin D in 10 minutes. This was a second launch in three months, reflecting the quick ascent of the company in the market. M Neelam Kachhap speaks to Vijay Shah, Executive Director and COO, Piramal Enterprises to track the growth path

What is the size of the diagnostic division of Piramal Enterprises?

Vijay Shah

Piramal Enterprises entered the diagnostic business by acquiring Boehringer Mannheim India (Roche Diagnostics) in the year 1996. After a negotiated settlement with Roche in 2005 the business has grown up from scratch to Rs 75 crores. Currently, the diagnostic division caters to both traditional, lab-based diagnostic supplies and emerging point-of-care (POC) diagnostic market in physicians’ office. It is primarily present in clinical chemistry, haematology, immunology, urine analysis and rapid tests segments with leading brands like Diasys, Swelab, QDx etc.

What is the size of POC market in India? Why are you focussed on this market?

Recent estimates say that the size of POC market in India is approximately Rs 600 crores, growing at attractive rate of 20 per cent CAGR. However, this does not reflect the true potential of POC opportunities. Indian diagnostic service is in the phase of decentralisation and is gradually moving from lab-based diagnosis to physician clinics diagnosis and finally, to home diagnosis. The transition is very prevalent in developed countries like the US and Europe; with India following the same trend. Few tests, for e.g. glucose monitoring, pregnancy screening have already travelled the path; many more tests will follow the same. In this scenario, POC is considered as an emerging segment. Introduction of various products and technology is helping the segment to shape up very fast. However, many multinationals, though they have high-end products, are struggling to meet price point expectations and reach out to more than five lakh physicians in India. There we find our opportunity. Due to a long legacy of domestic formulation business (sold to Abbott) Piramal is a well known and respected brand amongst a network of five lakh physicians. Our objective is to bring affordable and instant diagnosis solutions to the physicians’ office and we are partnering with doctors to move from empirical to evidence-based treatment ‘Right-Here-Right-Now.’

What are your investments in this segment so far?

Currently, our focus is on introducing new products in the POC segment. We are looking at technological collaborations, in-licensing, exclusive marketing rights to reduce the time needed to get our products to the market. In the last seven months, we have launched four new products in POC under our in-house brand Qdx. At the same time, we have our R&D products in the pipeline which primarily focuses on diabetic and critical care testing. We expect to launch our R&D products in a couple of years. Our core strength is sales and marketing. We have a dedicated team for POC and will gradually scale up the team strength as we expand the business line.

How are your products different from the current products available in the market?

While most of the current POC products are for cardiac, diabetes and critical care segments, we are the first to introduce a comprehensive hormone testing panel that covers 80 per cent of the diagnostic needs at gynaecology clinics. We also provide the convenience of TSH-whole blood screening in QDx Instacheck as well as rapid quantification of procalcitonin test for emergency septicaemia cases. Besides our products can provide rapid, Vitamin D, finger prick, whole blood qualitative testing. We have also introduced a voice-guided HbA1c testing device, QDx A1c, with two per cent CV and point-of-care haemoglobin testing in just five seconds and 1µL blood with QDx HemoStat. We have been successful in offering products which are unique at a price point that is acceptable to the Indian market.

How would you address the price point issue as India is demanding less expensive diagnostics?

Indian diagnostic market is highly price sensitive. Unlike developed economies we don’t get reimbursement for diagnostic services. Everything is paid through the patients’ pocket. The reason why worldwide well known POC products are struggling to get a share in the Indian market is that the cost per test to the patient is very expensive. We have introduced POC products at price points acceptable to the Indian market. We have managed to price the products by which the patients can avail the benefits of instant diagnosis at the same cost that they are currently paying to the labs.

What are your revenue expectations in India through POC portfolio?

It is very early to project the revenue in POC. However, our growth driver for Piramal Diagnostic Division will be the POC segment. This year we have launched four POC products named QDx Instacheck, QDx A1c, QDx HemoStat and QDx Vit D. With these new launches our diagnostic business is expected to touch the Rs 100-crore mark in the next one year.

Are you are looking to expand POC presence in India. Please elaborate?

Yes, we are looking to expand our POC presence in India through the physician segment. We are in the process in making our POC product portfolio comprehensive and market acceptable. Focus is on making the concept of physician office diagnosis popular. Gradually, we will increase our reach to physicians.

Would you be hiring new employees?

We are not in a hurry to ramp up the POC team. POC sales and marketing requires some unique skill sets. Hence, we are being very careful in selecting people. Focus is on putting the right people in the right place and filling the current gaps in the system. However, we are not ignoring the market converge. We shall increase our coverage as business grows and may explore some alternative routes to scale up the business.

Would you be launching any more new products soon? What are your future plans?

We have six more products in our pipeline which would be launched very soon. We are looking at ipid profile testing, allergy testing, neonatal bilirubin testing, fever panel, complete blood count (CBC) POC analyser and coagulation analyser for physicians’ office in the near future.

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