Which are the factors leading to growth of Indian respiratory diseases? What kind of solutions does Omron offer?

There is a sharp rise in respiratory diseases in India due to worsening quality of air. According to India's National Health Profile 2015, there were almost 3.5mn reported cases of acute respiratory infection (ARI) last year, an increase of140,000 over the previous year and a 30 percent increase since 2010.While the air outside continues to be contaminated with pollutants, it is vital to undertake preventive measures at home. Therapeutic and preventive healthcare is now being adopted by consumers in India, it is advisable to start taking care at home especially for patients suffering with breathing related ailments like asthma, bronchitis etc.

At Omron Healthcare, we are constantly working on devices that can be used by the consumers, at the comfort of their homes. Omron nebulizer is suitable for home as well as clinics, and allows patients to inhale at any angle, even when tilted or lying down. It is light weight and compact which makes it an ideal device for home care. We also offer a range of nebulizer at various price starting from Rs 1980/.

What is the market size for your respiratory care products?

The respiratory device market is growing at a very fast pace. According to a report by Markets and Markets, the global respiratory care devices market is estimated to reach USD 21.9 Billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 9.6 percent during the forecast period of 2015 to 2020. The high demand of these devices is due to the growing number of respiratory diseases, rapid aging of global population and increasing level of pollution.

Additionally many developing nations including India are now seeing the adoption of medical devices. There is a huge latent potential market for the growth of respiratory care products.

How has company performed in India and Asia Pacific? What has been the revenue and percentage growth in last few fiscal years?

We have seen a healthy y-o-y growth of 30 percent every year over the last couple of years. We expect to go higher as the penetration of these devices increases in Tier II & Tier lll cities across the country.

What are the other products that are being marketed by Omron in India? Are you looking at manufacturing here?

We offer a wide array of preventive healthcare devices including Blood Pressure Monitor, Blood Glucose Monitor, Thermometer, Body Fat Monitor, Weighing Scale, Step Counter, Pulse Massager and Pulse Oximeter. Currently we manufacture our products in Japan, China & Vietnam and will look at manufacturing in India, once we reach enough volume to justify the investment in a manufacturing facility.

Where do you think is Indian medical devices industry heading? What are your other India specific plans?

Indian devices industry is at a very interesting juncture. Today, even individual healthcare practitioners are looking at providing a superior experience and accurate diagnosis to the patients. Factors like rising adoption of technology, expansion of hospitals and specialised clinics and increasing awareness about preventive healthcare is aiding the growth of the medical devices segment. As per FICCI- The Medical Devices and Equipment industry is valued at US$ 2.5 billion contributes only 6 percent of India's US$ 40 billion healthcare sector.

As the country continues to embark on its journey to adopt technology, significant efforts are being made in the medical technology segment to stimulate innovation and increase awareness among consumers to make use of medical devices to live a better quality of life.

We are looking at creating a stronghold in India, being a country with a high market potential. It is one of our key focus markets across the globe.