Funnily enough, an Indian blog covering the country’s pharmaceutical industry is reporting that device maker St. Jude Medical is planning to introduce four new products to the local market in the next few months.
The blog did not mention what those four products were, but added that the Little Canada, Minnesota-based company has plans to open an advanced technology center in the country, too. A U.S.-based spokeswoman of St. Jude declined to identify any products ahead of any announcements. Marisa Bluestone, the spokeswoman added in an email, that she is not aware of any “details of a potential India facility.”
But she did mention that currently, St. Jude offers many of the latest technologies to Indian customers, including Accent and Anthem pacemakers, the Therapy Cool Path ablation catheter and the PressureWire Certus and PressureWire Aeris Wireless FFR Measurement systems.
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Bluestone added how the company’s Indian operations have grown since it launched a wholly owned subsidiary in the local market six years ago. St. Jude Medical currently has:
- Headquarters and a distribution center in Hyderabad
- Sales offices in New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai — three of the four major metros in India
- Warehouses located in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chennai
From the Indian blog post, it appears that the products that St. Jude Medical, which makes new innovative medical devices, plans to introduce will likely be lower-cost products. That’s because patients in emerging markets often contend with cost-related accessibility issues. The blog said that accessibility issues are being addressed not only by corporations like St. Jude Medical that sell into the region, but also the Indian government that is improving reimbursement for people with less means.