New Delhi: Japanese medical device-maker Omron – best known for its digital blood pressure monitoring machines – will look to make operational its first India facility by March 2025.
The facility is coming up at Chennai, Tamil Nadu with an estimated cost of ₹128 crore. Construction is underway.
The company has also applied for benefits under the medical devices PLI scheme for the plant, which will start with the production of digital sphygmomanometers (BP monitoring machines). The scheme benefits kick in at least one year after production begins.
In the coming days, the facility will be leveraged for the production of other cardiovascular health monitoring medical devices such as thermometers, nebulizers, weighing scales, ECG monitoring devices, among others, further expanding Omron’s Made-in-India product range.
The company has recently forayed into atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection, which is a major risk factor for strokes. While home ECG monitoring is one part of it, the company plans to expand offerings in the segment too.
According to Tetsuya Yamada, MD, Omron India Healthcare – the Indian arm of the Japanese medical device maker – India continues to be among the top five markets globally. It contributes around 3 per cent of the company’s global turnover.
Nearly 90 per cent of India turnover comes from individual sales.
“Growth has been good, around 10 per cent in the home care segment. We would look at further growth…. In the hypertension management segment, the digital penetration is growing at a high rate of 20 per cent,“ he told businessline.
Other big markets include the USA, China, Japan, parts of Europe and Russia.
“Over the years penetration of medical devices in India, especially those used in the home-care segment is set to rise,” Yamada said.
He explained, the sixth largest market for Omron is Brazil which has a population of 230 million. In comparison, India with a population of 140 billion plus, and with a much younger populace, presents a very large scope for growth.
Post-Covid, the penetration digital sphygmomanometers in India has increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent.
Most of the devices currently sold in India, specifically targeting the home care segment, are predominantly imported from Vietnam.
Incidentally, one out of every two digital sphygmomanometers sold in India is an Omron product, while four out of every 10 nebulisers sold for home use are from the Japanese major.
A buyer profiling by the company reveals that nearly 70 per cent of the purchases are made on behalf of the geriatric population by their caregivers, mostly children.
