Today, the demographic ageing and changing lifestyles—causing increase in conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases—have fueled the growth of diagnostics services. The COVID-19 outbreak has further intensified the need for diagnostics. While countries around the world are strengthening their diagnostics product manufacturing efforts, countries like India still import a majority of diagnostic products.
The diagnostics products imported by India are often manufactured in high-wage countries such as Europe and America. As India is a low-wage country, these products are often unaffordable for a vast majority of people. A leader in the Indian In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) industry, Accurex Biomedical has been catering to this need for more than three decades.
As one of the top 3 Indian companies in the field of clinical chemistry, the Mumbai-based healthcare firm has built a reputation of quality products, a strong financial base, and dynamic marketing. The company is spearheaded by Abhinav Thakur (Managing Director at Accurex Biomedical)—a well-known name in the Indian diagnostics industry.
Rising above the Odds
The roots of Accurex Biomedical date back to 1984 when almost 100% of the diagnostics reagents were imported into India. Anil Thakur (Founder and Ex-Managing Director of Accurex Biomedical) established Accurex with an aim to indigenize the manufacturing of imported reagents in India. It was the first Indian company to manufacture urine test strips and enzymatic clinical chemistry reagents. This was the beginning of the IVD clinical chemistry manufacturing industry in India.
Since its inception, Accurex has witnessed constant growth. With the continuous launch of innovative products, the company created a brand name in the Indian IVD industry. However, Anil, unfortunately, passed away prematurely when his son Abhinav was studying in the USA. Due to the tragic event, Abhinav had to return to India to run his family business. The versatile leader ensured the survival of the family business by taking the reins of Accurex in 2005. Since then, Abhinav has led the company with thorough dedication and passion—and has been instrumental in its 4.2x revenue growth and expansion from 90 to 170 individuals.
Bouquet of Innovative and Trustworthy Solutions
Accurex provides a wide array of innovative and trustworthy medical diagnostics solutions. In the laboratory diagnostics space, it offers an entire range of clinical chemistry and haematology reagents. In instrument, the company offers semi-automated, fully-automated clinical chemistry, and 3 part & 5 part haematology analyzers. It also offers urinalysis test strips, urinalysis meters, and immunology rapid tests.
Additionally, Accurex offers blood glucose meters, haemoglobin meters, HbAlc meters, immunofluorescence meters, uric acid meters, and respective test strips in the Point of Care (POC) segment. Moreover, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has recently launched hand sanitizers, face masks, face shields, infrared thermometers, viral transport medium, and COVID-19 rapid antibody tests.
Ensuring Faster and Convenient Testing
According to Abhinav, Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)—also known as bedside testing—is one of the rapidly evolving medical disciplines. POCT contrasts with the historical pattern in which the testing was wholly or majorly confined to the medical laboratory—which entailed sending off specimens away from the point of care and then waiting for hours and days to get the result—during which time care must continue without the desired information.
This problem was solved by POCT through which lab tests are available to the doctors and patients at home, bringing convenience to the patients in particular. Observing the increasing significance of POCT testing in the diagnostics industry, Accurex has launched a complete range of POC products to ensure faster and convenient testing.
Prospering through the Pandemic
Abhinav believes that an organization needs to be agile to adapt to the changes happening in the external environment. “As we have seen in millions of years of evolution that it’s the species that adapt survive the longest and the species that don’t adapt go extinct,” he asserts. He further mentions that businesses that innovate and adapt to the changes caused by the pandemic will survive and thrive in these uncertain times.
Heeding to the pandemic, Accurex converted a majority of its fixed costs into variable costs since the top-line forecast was uncertain. This helped the company maintain the cash flow to sustain its operations. Thus, Accurex plans to sustain and overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic by changing its business model accordingly. The company has aimed to reach a revenue figure of 50 crores in FY22 and strives to continue to grow in the years to come.
The Increasing Investments
Despite its adverse consequences, the pandemic turned out to have a silver lining for the Indian diagnostics industry—as it attracted numerous investments into the industry at a massive scale. The pandemic attracted large companies such as TATA into the industry—which is a significant boost for an import-dependent Indian diagnostics industry. “With large companies like TATA investing into indigenization of diagnostics, it will make the tests affordable for a vast majority of our country,” comments Abhinav.
The Revival of “Work from Home” Model
The pandemic caused major disruptions in the way companies operated. Pushing millions to work from home, it accelerated a workplace experiment that had struggled to gain traction formerly. Abhinav affirms that the revival of the “Work from Home” model is the biggest positive change brought by the pandemic and is here to stay. “Work from home will reduce pressure on the commuters and traffic, and people will still be able to work,” he adds. Going forward, Abhinav believes that many companies will evolve to a hybrid WFH model that allows some employees to work remotely while others to work on-premises and occasional days for WFH.
Sources of Motivation
When asked about his sources of motivation, Abhinav stated that the books you read and the people you meet can change the course of your life. Seeking motivation, he reads non-fiction business books and believes that books give him the opportunity to connect with the best minds of the world. Stressing the importance of people, Abhinav concludes, “The people I meet have a great impact on my knowledge and motivation. Consequently, I make a point to actively meet people who can have a positive impact on my life.”
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