Investor interest in healthcare has increased enough in the last couple of years to make the environment conducive for healthcare start-ups in India.
Services offered may be a mix of click-and-mortar or largely online, but with the Internet and mobile platforms becoming increasingly popular in India, what it takes for many healthcare entrepreneurs to make a dent in the market is just having the right idea and addressing the needs that are waiting to be met. Although with modernity bringing more wealth to some pockets of the country, costs go up; the healthcare sector in India as in any other country has to serve both the poor and the rich.
Finding solid footingMedical Second Opinion is an online portal catering to general medical and second opinion needs in a cost-effective and a pro-active manner. A large part of its consumer base comes from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
The company attracted an initial investment of ₹2 crore from a Singapore-based venture capital firm. “Our business model helps a patient from anywhere to select a doctor he/she wants to consult. We’ve enabled chosen specialists to deal with medical issues across the board.
With 200 doctors on board, we’re also offering the expertise of leading consultants from even as far as Costa Rica, Thailand and South Africa.
“What this means is that we can also help patients from other countries, say, even from the African region, who are looking for healthcare that costs lower but is provided by qualified professionals,” explains Sachin Chaudhary, CEO and Founder, Medical Second Opinion.
Medybiz Pharma, on the other hand, divides itself between two verticals – pharma companies and the corporate sector – to offer better pharmacy care for people with chronic illnesses who need medication for prolonged periods. Having built its reach in India up to 18 cities across 16 States, it is investing capital received in a first round of $10 million funding to increase capacity while optimising human resource and beefing up infrastructure.
“It’s a combination of providing assistance to end customers, who are patients suffering from lifelong conditions, and tying up with pharmaceutical companies in specialty areas to be able to manage their patients. We offer pharmacy benefits management to employees of the corporate sector. For smaller firms, we carry out services like delivery of medicines to individuals, and for larger corporations (5,000–10,000 employees), we’re beginning to set up pharmacies on campus,” says Gaurav Narang, Director and COO, Medybiz Pharma.
Medybiz will soon need another injection of $20 million which it will seek from private equity players, while Medical Second Opinion is likely to seek a second round of $3 million.
Going strongWithin two months of kicking off in 2012, Medical Second Opinion had 12,000 individuals register for its services; its first OPD was launched in Jaipur in March this year.
Its corporate customers number about 25, including The Grand, Bristlecone, Knowlarity, Unitech and Mahindra. The doctors on board with Medical Second Opinion charge anywhere between ₹500 and ₹1,000 as consulting charges; 30-40 per cent of the fees go to the start-up, helping it achieve steady growth.
Medybiz Pharma recorded revenues of ₹6 crore in 2009 and is aiming to touch ₹40 crore in 2014-2015. It caters to corporations such as TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCL and JP Morgan.
Over the next few years, it will look at setting up pharmacies for larger corporate houses and tying up with insurance companies.
What will be interesting to watch is how much collaboration can take place in the healthcare sector between various stakeholders in a way that they can serve the country's diverse market segments.