GE Healthcare is looking to tap the emerging markets and specifically India to help the pharma industry to accelerate the drug development process.

With most pharma companies switching from small molecules to biologics, the company’s advanced research centre in Bengaluru is developing solutions to speed up the drug development and optimize production cost.

The company which has its primary focus on diagnostic technology  will help offer early detection in cancer, cardiovascular and control infant-maternity mortality. It has inked a couple of public private partnerships with the state government and intends to aggressively work on similar lines to expand its presence.

There is a huge market opportunity in China, India, Latin America, Middle East and Africa which are all the emerging healthcare development areas and each of them are different. All countries including US and EU are in search of quality care at lowest possible price. Our range of ‘In India, for India products, priced affordable covering the MAC series, Lullaby Warmer and Ultrasound systems have seen a huge response globally.

From a GE’s perspective, there are specific requirements  to design and develop not only products but models in business, financing and training, stated Terri Bresenham, president and CEO, GE Healthcare India and managing director of Wipro GE Healthcare during a press interaction.

Compared to different parts of the world, India has a unique healthcare market with a new focus “At Work, for a healthier India”. Therefore, using technology and innovation, we would help save women and babies, provide early diagnosis for heart disease and cancer. The governments are also keen to move forward on a PPP model, she added.

In India, GE has over 1300 engineers for healthcare segment. Around 4,000 engineers work out of Jack Welch Centre one among the  seven and largest centre set up outside the US involved in other aspects of GE’s portfolio. GE Healthcare Indian operations generated a service revenue to the tune of US$ 400 million ending December 2011. It has pumped in funds estimated at  over $50 million annually for products specially designed and developed for this market which will be increased in the coming years, she said.

Indian medical devices market is registering double digit growth. In another  two years GE Healthcare ‘s innovation approaches are being customized to generate 25 per cent of the revenues coming from here.

In India, GE is developing an accurate early detection technology, PET/CT system which will drastically reduce prices by 40 per cent and make it affordable. Its collaboration with Nuclear Healthcare Ltd (NHL), a division of Thyrocare Group to establish a network of 120 molecular imaging centres for cancer by 2015 in three phases. Each of these is equipped with 120 advanced GE Discovery PET/CT imaging systems and 12 GE PET Trace Medical Cyclotrons to aid the early detection. It has also established the first ever molecular breast imaging system being piloted in Mumbai to detect cancer, without any pain.