Swissnex in India - Healthtech Article - EN

Overhauling Healthcare via Technology: The India Story Healthcare in India is slowly getting the traction it deserves. India’s 28 states and 8 Union territories have a federal structure of healthcare, much like Switzerland - however, healthcare is split between private hospitals (70%) and the government (30%). A country of contradictions, there are several states with top-notch healthcare facilities, while some others have minimal health care access. Thankfully, technology has emerged as a big healthcare enabler in India. Though digital ventures commenced as early as 2008, digital B2B and B2C systems gained considerable traction by 2015. With COVID-19, businesses shifted to digital versions rapidly. The infrastructure facilitated and endorsed by the Govt of India via initiatives like the National Digital Health Mission, was assisted by: These technologies have enhanced rapid scaleup and deployment to achieve last-mile reach, and are now set to enable personalization at scale. Healthcare delivery: new outlooks, new approaches While many global healthtech initiatives are spearheaded by tech giants, India’s healthtech movement is led by startup pioneers, often from the e-commerce domain. These startups, particularly in digital health, enjoy high market share and trust, and have raised USD 234.4 Million USD in Q1 2021 alone.

The next big use case is the aggregation of healthcare services. Private healthtech B2C firms like Practo, Pristyn, and Glamyo are increasing healthcare access and affordability for secondary surgeries for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Thumbs-up for technology revamp of a legacy system Indian private hospitals are now working with for-profit B2B Health aggregators which interface between hospitals, innovators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors. This is a win-win: lower prices for hospitals while OEMs gain access to a huge network of established and up- and-coming facilities. Other advantages include easier supply logistics, real-time product tracking and post-sales servicing for large volumes of medical devices.

Opening new avenues for Indo-Swiss collaborations: Accelerating Innovation cycles The Swiss Medtech report from 2020 highlights prioritization of non-EU foreign country business for manufacturers, and trade & distribution as well the requirement for acceleration of innovation cycles in the market. Earlier, the EU and US were first markets, with Asia and RoW (Rest of World) as subsequent markets. However, the changing regulations (MDR/IVDR changes) open up an alternative route: Swiss startups, esp. in diagnostics and devices, could engage with local regulatory bodies (like CDSCO in India) for local, rapid certification and distribution in Indian markets for early market entry. Given Switzerland’s traditional strengths in Medtech – joining forces with India for rapid technology development, manufacturing and scaling could be a huge advantage to advance Swiss presence in RoW markets. About the author Aparna Kumaraswamy is the Lead for Healthtech and Life Sciences at Swissnex in India since 2018. She holds a master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Houston and has worked in the biology and drug discovery space for over a decade. As a mentor to several Swiss startups looking to scale to India, Aparna offers deep insights on the market opportunities and fitment of specific Swiss technologies. About Swissnex Swissnex is the global network connecting Switzerland and the world in education, research, and innovation. Our mission is to support the outreach and active engagement of our partners in the international exchange of knowledge, ideas and talent. We thereby contribute to strengthen Switzerland's profile as a world-leading innovation hotspot.