Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics, manufacturer of portable medical devices and kits that can carry out rapid tests at point-of-care, is hopeful of taking the company’s turnover to ₹2,000 crore in next 4-5 years, said Sriram Natarajan, founder-director and CEO after receiving businessline Changemaker Award 2024 in the Digital Transformation category.

The company posted a turnover of about ₹800 crore in 2023-24, he said. Molbio Diagnostics, though yet to decide when to bring out an IPO, has started the process, he said.

Stressing that raising funds is not the only objective, he said, “It is to become a company which is more relevant to societal requirements. So as a public limited company, your credibility levels are different and the overall perception of your company changes quickly, especially in the public health markets, not only in India, but worldwide.”

Natarajan, who has over 34 years of experience in the development, manufacturing and marketing of diagnostic devices and kits, also said that he would like the company to play a much bigger role, where it can pull in a lot of ideas and resources, and truly take it to global levels. It currently operates in 80 countries.

Solutions for the future

Chandrasekhar Nair, the Chief Technical Officer of Molbio Diagnostics, accompanied Natarajan to receive the award from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Nair said, “We are expanding both in terms of the kind of work that we are doing for enabling diagnostics and point of care, as well as in terms of scale. We are among the few companies globally (in small-scale sector) that invest a lot of money into R&D. We are trying to develop solutions for the future that can make a significant impact on the world.”

Molbio Diagnostics has helped take critical diagnostics services right to people’s doorsteps with portable devices and kits that can carry out rapid tests at point-of-care. Over three lakh tests are done per day using its devices and unique micro-PCR technology.

Molbio’s technology and battery-operated portable devices make diagnostics laboratories independent, and they can be used in places where sophisticated testing facilities are not available. The tests are delivered at a fraction of the cost that large laboratories or clinics would charge.

Molbio’s mission is to enable better medicine through precise, faster, cost-effective diagnosis at point-of-care and its vision is to transform healthcare practices by providing near-care diagnostics solutions using robust portable platforms.