Portea Medical, the health-tech startup which recently gulped in $37.5 Million in a Series B round is putting that cah to use. The startup has announced the acquisition of home medical equipment service provider, Health Mantra India Private Limited.
The acquisition, which was made for an undisclosed consideration of cash and stock, will help Portea expand penetration into large home healthcare areas such as Sleep Medicine, Respiratory Care, Geriatric Care and Orthopedics.
The market in India for medical equipment that can be used in a home-based setting is estimated at a gargantuan ₹10,000 crore per annum. The key product lines for home medical equipment include Respiratory Care, Sleep Medicine, Cardiology, Diabetology, Nephrology, Geriatric Care / Mobility, Orthopedics / Rehab, Wound Care, Obstetrics / Gynaecology / Infant Care, Diagnostics and Infusion. Equipment rental has driven growth as the industry evolves from the earlier ‘sales-only’ model.
Health Mantra was founded in 2009 in Bangalore by Ashish Bhutada and Anoop Kodoli. The company has a team of 30+ biomedical engineers, physiotherapists and service staff and a service network across five states – Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and Maharashtra.
Commenting on the acquisition, Meena Ganesh, MD & CEO of Portea, said:
Portea is deeply committed to providing our patients with convenient and affordable solutions for all their healthcare needs. Medical equipment is often an integral element of effective home healthcare especially in areas such as Diabetes, Oncology, Orthopedics, Geriatric Care, Sleep and Respiratory Disorders. Our acquisition of Health Mantra augments Portea’s offering and underlines our customer focus.
Ashish Bhutada, Co-Founder, CEO and Managing Director of Heath Mantra, said:
Our alignment with Portea provides us a wider canvas to expand our operations across product lines and locations. We are already present across South India and Maharashtra; there is huge untapped demand in these markets as well as elsewhere in the country and we look forward to continuing to serve customers with patient-centric and holistic solutions.
Portea had acquired specialty pharmaceutical distributor, MedybizPharma in November 2015. The company picked up a majority stake in PSTakeCare, a health-tech startup in January 2016. Portea is also exploring other investments as the company expands its offerings to tackle the massive challenges brought on by India’s ageing population, the rising burden of NCDs (non-communicable diseases) – which already lead to 53% of all deaths and which are expected to account for 67% of deaths by 2030 (Source: Public Health Foundation of India), and the huge gaps in healthcare infrastructure.
The health tech upstart employs more than 5000 staff and handles in excess of 70,000 home visits a month across India. The company focuses on general primary health care, post-hospitalization care, chronic disease management and allied services such as diagnostics and medical equipment on hire, thereby bringing the entire gamut of healthcare services to a patient’s doorstep.
Portea works closely with hospitals, insurance companies and individuals to improve health outcomes by providing a continuity of care in the home setting through doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and nursing attendants employed by the company. The company has 60+ hospitals as partners and a network of referring physicians all over India.
