‘Government Is Our Biggest Customer’

Namal Nawana, CEO of global diagnostic device and service provider Alere, talks to BW Businessworld’s Haider Ali Khan about the company’s new venture in India. Excerpts:

What is going to be the focus of your newly opened Manesar plant?
We are going to make the rapid point-of-care (PoC) products, which are relevant for diseases in India such as malaria, HIV and dengue diagnostic kits that can be used under minimal medical supervision and will give results instantly.

We have invested Rs 150 crore and are eyeing regional export from this facility to the other South Asian countries with similar needs. The burden of infectious diseases in India is quite similar to other Asian countries, so this facility is ideally placed. We strive to be relevant no matter wherever we are.

How important is India as a market for Alere?
India is an important market for any company. We care about the people of the world, and India is home to over a billion people, who are not getting the best quality diagnostic and care. A billion people also means that we have lots of potential customers.

Having said that, the Central government, various state governments and NGOs in India are our important and biggest customers.

Why is there a need for PoC diagnostic care?
Today, people do not need those large and bulky diagnostic equipment anymore. We can take diagnostic out to where the people are and have immediate results. Like in the case of malaria, if a person has to go through a malaria test, it would take a day at least to get the results, which would delay the treatment. But in our case the results can be known within minutes.
The principle focus of our company is to provide low-cost rapid diagnostic kits to our customer base.

Do you have any concern regarding Alere’s prospects in India?
The only major concern for us and many more like us who would like to make in India, is high import duty. There are lots of products that are not manufactured here which go into making medical kits such as reagents, pads and outer casing. Hence it adds to the final price of the product.

We do not have our research and development lab in India yet, but it would be great if we could have one because of the talent available here.

What are your expansion plans in India?
Cardio-metabolic and hematology are going to be the next venture segment for us, as there are huge opportunities and requirements. We are also working with the Punjab government, which is using our kits to conduct dope tests on aspirants for police jobs.