The concept of healthcare at home is soon becoming a popular business model for innovative companies and start-ups. Meet, Aayush Rai, Co-Founder, Inito who believes that his company has the potential to ride the diagnostic device market in India. He shares his plans.
Tell us about your company and its innovations?
Inito is a medical technology company building portable diagnostic devices that are not just accurate and reliable but are also smart and easy to use. Inito is backed by our proprietary technology, FlatLens, that enables smartphones to perform lab-grade medical diagnostic tests like diabetes, cholesterol, vitamins, fertility, infections, thyroid etc., at home using a single portable device. So far, the company has four patents pending in its name in six geographies including US, European Union, Japan, India, Russia and China. It has also bagged the three prestigious design awards – CII Design Award, India Design Mark and Japanese Good Design Award.
Our first test, the fertility monitor is a home diagnostic test that enables women to track their fertile days at home in an easy and convenient manner. The fertility test works by identifying up to six fertile days of a woman’s cycle. The device has been medically tested and the results were found to be comparable to those acquired with clinic-grade instrumentation which cost 100 times more and are 10 times bigger.
So, your focus is on diagnostic devices?
Yes, our focus is home diagnostic devices. Data from US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that most of the chronic conditions can be managed by regular monitoring and minor lifestyle changes.
Hence they are now more than willing to take corrective actions for their health in their own hands. This saves them from repeated visits to the labs which are expensive, time taking and painful a lot of the times. And, it is not just a western or urban phenomenon anymore, Tier II and Tier III cities are joining the band wagon as well. In fact, 40 per cent of our sales come from non Tier 1 cities. We now have buyers from places like Kashmir and Assam too.
When did you start your company?
We started building the product in 2015, started a pilot with 100 people in 2016 and finally launched the product commercially in Dec 2017. We have been growing at a rate of 15 per cent week on week since then.
Why do you think that you are solving a health issue in India? How?
India has traditionally been plagued by the issue of communicable diseases like cholera, malaria, dengue etc. Now, with changing lifestyles and increasing urbanisation, it is also facing an increase in the number of cases of non communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, infertility, Thyroid etc. A report by World Health Organization has revealed that the predominance of chronic diseases is expected to rise by 57 per cent by 2020 with developing nations like India the hardest hit. This is putting enormous pressure on an already burdened healthcare system. This is where home diagnostic technologies can help. Regular monitoring of chronic conditions through these devices allows one to take corrective actions specific to the individual’s body. Monitoring of health at home will compel people to make healthier choices and reduce visits to the already over burdened hospitals.
What is the differentiator for your business?
The differentiator for us lies in our patent pending technology that allows a single device to perform dozens of diagnostic tests. All the data is stored on the App and the cloud which allows monitoring of data trends. Our App also analyses data to suggest lifestyle changes that will help the user achieve his or her health goals.
What is your current growth rate?Any funding received so far?
We have been growing at a rate of 15 per cent every week since our commercial launch in Dec 2017. The company raised $1 million from angel investors in India and Singapore last year.
What is your perspective on the diagnostic device market in India?
The diagnostic device market in India is considerably smaller than the west at the moment. But it is bound to grow significantly in the next 10 years owing to rapid urbanisation, sedentary lifestyle and a large percentage of young population entering their 40’s.
What opportunities do you see for your company and the segment that you cater to?
Our first test is a fertility test targeted at couples trying to conceive. It allows women to track there fertile days without going for follicular lab scans repeatedly. The device has been recognised to increase their chances of getting pregnant naturally by 89 per cent by giving the fertile days specific to their body.
In the next six months we plan on launching tests for Diabetes, Thyroid and Vitamin D. These would help both younger and older generation to monitor their health.
What are your business plans in the coming year?
Our first and foremost aim is to achieve 10X sales of the fertility test in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, we also want our device to start supporting Diabetes, Thyroid & Vitamin D tests.