Chennai-based healthcare start-up vTitan, which manufactures infusion pumps, is in talks with 40 hospitals in Tamil Nadu for commercialisation. It will start production by February.

Addressing media persons in Chennai today, Perinkulam Kasthuri, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are commercialising two products for the Indian market and expect to sell 3,500 pumps this year.” The process to get CE marking, an approval for medical devices from the European Union, is under works and will be finalised by March.

Prior to commercialisation, the products were piloted in 50 hospitals since 2014. Kasthuri said: “We met nurses in 2013 to get a better understanding of challenges associated with infusion pumps. The pumps were made keeping in mind their requirements.”

Patented technology

Syringe infusion pumps work on the patented closed-loop motion technology, which ensures accuracy, consumes less power and reduces heat improving system efficiency and life of the product. Explaining the reason for using closed-loop motion technology, Kasthuri said current infusions pumps lack accuracy and inadequate user interface. “We have addressed these issues using closed-loop motion technology,” he added.

One of the pumps, IBP-550, comes with has an integrated battery pack and is meant for portable and patient transfer applications, and costs ₹45,000, while the other, SP-550, priced around ₹35,000, is used in hospitals with uninterrupted power supply. The pumps are manufactured in Chennai. “Our prices are competitive and at par with similar products available in the market,” he added.

The company is looking to expand pan-India by 2018 and will expand to West Asia and Africa by 2019. “We are also looking at some Eastern European markets for expansion,” Kasthuri added.

The company is also working on infusion pumps designed specifically for the US, which is one of the biggest markets for medical devices. “The specifications for these products are different. They will have touch panels and IoT-enabled,” he explained. “We are currently testing the product and will be launched in the US couple of years later,” he added.

Sridhar Vembu, Chief Executive Officer, Zoho Corp, a major investor in vTitan, said so far Zoho, which brings in software capabilities to vTitan, has invested $10 million in the start-up since its inception in 2010.

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