Med has the New Buzz in the Startup Town:

7 Healthtech Startups Helping To Fight Against COVID-19

Saving us from Pandemic and constantly trying to return us to our life back was not enough. The medical field has spread its wings in the startup sector. It would be mean if we don’t acknowledge their efforts. 

Even though there are many factors that may impede the progress, still the attention to business model and cost of raw materials with value to human life for social improvement is a one of a kind development in all sectors.

Sascan Meditech, a Kerala-based medical technology startup, has been pronounced the winner of Startup India Grand Challenge 2021 in the medical device category.

Sascan Meditech, the startup, founded by Subhash Narayanan, holds under the Technology Business Incubator of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, 

Thiruvananthapuram. It got an appreciation of Rs 15,00,000 at the Grand Challenge organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Union government, along with Startup India and Investindia.org.

After a series of evaluation processes among 310 startups, Sascan was awarded by Amitabh Kant CEO, NITI Aayog. A handy device, OralScan does early, accurate and cost-effective detection of pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. The device uses an optical system with custom-built software and algorithms for tissue analysis.

It was awarded as the winner of the ‘Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award 2021‘ from the Anjani Mashelkar Foundation, for adding value for the society in science, technology and innovation.

Sascan’s second product CerviScan, which will be launched soon is a hand-held non-invasive device for cervical cancer screening and early detection.

This series of amusements don’t end here. The two of India’s biggest online pharmacies is entering the traditional approach of marketing.

Tata-owned 1mg has planned to open its first physical store in the coming month in Gurugram while its competitor PharmEasy is setting its game as well. Although they are setting different approaches in going offline, it would be interesting to see how this works out for everyone.

1mg is India’s leading digital healthcare pharmacy with a wide range of prescription and OTC medicines. Enjoy 1 Day delivery at your doorstep or booking of lab tests at just one stop click. 

Same as the PharmEasy where you can purchase medicines online & get them delivered to your home within 24-48 hours in selected cities. You can book diagnostic tests online and avail up to 60% discount on a select range of healthcare products & services.

As per one report, PharmEasy replaced 1mg as a top player with the most frequency of purchase on the platform from users in a month. However, this is a long-run game whose results would be best.

On one side the franchise-store model from PharmEasy is looking for a broader strategy to bring in new users and offer them full-stack health services, both online and offline. On the other end, 1mg has the vision to open a dozen stores in the coming 3-4 months. They want to scale across India with about 500 stores in the next three years or so.

The heat of competition is visible with a neck to neck race of building a presence but when asked by PharmEasy cofounder Siddharth Shah and 1mg cofounder Prashant Tandon they didn’t want to add any comment to this. 

When entering the market the direct competition would be with brands like Apollo Pharmacy and Medplus. A strong client base from an online platform would give the best benefiting hand in building its image. These predictions have given a big move from the core of MedTalk startups.

Doing business in India is a big mix of some extraordinary challenges and big opportunities, especially when replicating the Asia-Pacific as a whole. In times of economic stress, the innovation for India turned out to be the automatic focus of maximum value. The next steps for the startup are to standardize operations and the Indian government give full support to all enthusiast supporters.