Eying the huge growth potential of Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors and the resultant growing need for advanced medical devices, India's leading IT service provider HCL Technologies Ltd will offer advanced technology services to the medical devices companies for exploring the emerging markets with low cost products.

With its state-of-the-art techology solutions, HCL focuses on the emerging markets, particularly in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) where medical device and equipment markets are currently valued at US dollar 10 billion, said Shivakumar Krishnamurthy, General Manager, Engineering and R&D services, HCL Technologies.

He said in order to understand the issues and other challenges faced by medical devices companies among numerous opportunities in the emerging markets, HCL has conducted a Global Medical Devices Industry Study in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur and Doctor Kares Hospital, New Delhi. The study with over 283 respondents highlighted the top requirements of launching medical devices in the emerging markets.

The company's medical device development services, including concept, design, manufacturing, certification and support help medical device manufacturers shorten the product development lifecycle and introduce new products to the market faster, Shivakumar explained.

"HCL was the first Indian service provider to be certified for ISO 13485:2003 for the design and development of medical devices, and currently it has engagements with 19 of the top 40 medical devices companies in the world. The medical devices customers feel the need to enter these markets or fortify their existing positions in these markets. However, the increasing R & D costs and need of low cost indigenous devices is hampering their growth. The need for innovation and global R & D network has encouraged us to highlight our offerings on medical device practice," the R&D chief of HCL said.

R Balamurugan, practice director (Medical) while demonstrating the Testing Lab facilities said HCL is the only Indian services company to offer genuine full lifecycle R & D services, which includes market research, concept development, design engineering, testing and compliance, and after-sale services. HCL's testing Labs are the first private labs in India which provide end-to-end independent testing services to its clients.

He said since all products have to adhere to global regulations, the company has invested heavily in the test labs and is providing end-to-end independent testing services to customers to help them launch a fully tested and verified product in the market in a minimum possible timeframe.