| Members of the life sciences delegation from Victoria |
Hosted by the State Government of Victoria, Australia, representatives of 14 companies comprising the Life Sciences Mission toured India in early February. Visiting four cities over two weeks, the Mission also included the medical device sector.
In Mumbai on January 31, the delegation, led by Professor Andrew F Wilks, the mission spokesperson and Founder, Chairman & CEO, SYN|thesis met with representatives from the Indian industry, aiming to “understand the India market better.” The organisers saw a complimentary synergy between the many medical device companies based out of Melbourne/ Victoria and India’s healthcare market.
For instance, Peter Lewis, Director, Hydrix, which develops advanced biomedical products, like point of care devices, in vitro diagnostic devices, laboratory and test equipment, as well as a range of implantable, insertable and wearable devices, was keen to assist Indian companies develop medical devices for international markets Jose Cotta, Technical Director, Largos Services, is working on a pre-filled syringe system, which is designed to prevent needle stick injuries. At present, the company has a platform patent, samples and proof of concept.
The importance of safe injection devices is also the mission of Michelle Carr and Elaine Carr, Directors, Telezon whose polymer-based product range offers commercially attractive alternatives to steel draw-up needles, as well as risk reduction or elimination of needle-stick injury for the practitioner. Other important benefits of the company’s flagship product SoloFlow which is a non-injection plastic needle, registered with the US FDA and the European Union CE mark, are the reduction of medical waste costs, manufacture, transport and needle-stick related costs as well as simplification of recycling procedures.
Their goals on this mission were to understand the India market, increase visibility of their company with existing clients as well as develop new contacts. The company already has two arrangements for sale and supply in India with Serum Institute for vaccine kits and with Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices, New Delhi, makers of Dispovan for packaging and assembly.
Luke Whelan, Director, V-Patch profiled the company’s intra-lifestyle ECG monitoring device which is a necessary innovation in arrhythmia diagnosis and management. Fitted with Wireless Asymptomatic Event Detection (WAED), the device increases effective patient care and treatment through accurate diagnosis (or exclusion) of arrhythmias responsible for symptoms.
Similarly, Richard Walmsley, CEO, Ingeneus, spoke about his company’s expertise in developing and manufacturing medical equipment ranging from ophthalmic devices to web based diagnostic platforms. He specified that the company is highly experienced in developing medical products for international markets as per clients’ specifications besides working on internal projects where the intellectual property remains with Ingeneus.