India HIFU, the Indian arm of US-HIFU specializing in treatment of prostrate cancer with its ultrasound technology 'Sonablate', is aggressively targeting the South Asian market. The company has adopted a unique financing concept which ensures that hospitals need not make upfront investment in the technology installation but partner India HIFU on a revenue sharing model.

According to Mukesh Rana, country manager, India HIFU, the company foresees huge potential in the Indian healthcare market going by the rising incidence of prostrate cancer which is an age-related and genetic condition aggravated by fatty diets and poor exhibition of the disease symptoms but are detected only with a blood test for prostrate specific antigen (PSA) levels.

Also the financing model envisaged by India HIFU would be a win-win situation for both the technology and the healthcare provider. Further the concept would ease the burden of equipment maintenance for hospitals and in the process help them to concentrate on treatment modalities, he said.

In the last 18 months, the company has set up five installations across India, which includes two hospitals in New Delhi: Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Centre and Primus; one each in Mumbai at Jaslok and Hyderabad Parimala Hospital. Currently, India HIFU charges Rs 3.25 lakh for the procedure to patients, he added.

'Sonablate' is a high intensity focused ultrasound equipment that targets the cancer cells. The robotic ablation technology according to the company is an alternative modality to combat prostate cancer with significant lower side effects as compared to other traditional treatment protocols like prostatectomy and radiotherapy.

In India so far, around 100 patients have undergone treatment with Sonablate and there has been a positive response, he said.

The product was developed by Prof Naren Sanghvi president of the Focus Surgery, Indianapolis. Sonablate studies on patients globally has proved it as a solution for organ confined prostrate cancer therapy. In fact, in Japan alone the company has a 10-year follow-up study with Sonablate therapy.

The treatment offers high economies-of scale and its success rate is reported to be around 93 percent. The big advantage of the technology is the minimally invasive feature which is viewed as far safer and as effective compared to prostatectomy or radiotherapy. The only challenge is to ensure that early stage detection is made, explained Rana.

The company is looking at the Indian sub-continent going by its 18,000 prostrate cancer patient population and a similar number in other south Asian countries. The challenge before India HIFU now is to look for right partners across the region to augment its installation base.

India HIFU is the exclusive distributor of the Sonablate system in the country. The company is in-charge of marketing and setting up Sonablate HIFU Centers too in the run.

On the alternate treatment options with HUFU, Rana stated that advanced research on use of Sonablate for kidney and pancreatic cancers were on. It will take a while to introduce the therapy to patients.

Globally the only other company which offers a similar technology is the France-based Edap. But, for US HIFU its longer presence in the market has allowed it to garner a higher installation base, said Rana.