The rising need for medical and surgical disposable products globally coupled with muted demand for Chinese goods seem to have facilitated Kochi-based Careon Healthcare Solutions to tap the export market in a big way.

The company has a manufacturing facility in the Kinfra Hi-Tech Biotechnology Park here and is finalising joint ventures in Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. Currently, it caters to the UAE, Europe and US markets with products adhering to international certifications such as US FDA registration, GMP, BIS and SEDEX, James George, Managing Director, Careon, said.

Though China is a dominant player in this segment, its products have, of late, met with subdued demand across overseas markets, he added. Quoting reports, he said the market size of global medical disposables was valued at $247.99 billion in 2019; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.7 per cent from 2020 to 2027.

Single-use medical apparels, a basic necessity in healthcare during the pandemic situation, has led to strong buying of products such as surgical gowns, drapes and packs. This could help the company fetch export revenues of ₹11 crore, thanks to the Covid-19-induced steady demand for personal protection kits.

However, he went on to add that 70 per cent of the hospitals in India still rely on traditional reusable linen for surgical gowns, drapes and other requirements, and nurses the misconception of disposables as an expensive proposition. The use of linens increases the probability of infections during intensive surgical procedures.

Even garment manufacturers have now taken to production of surgical disposables that do not fulfil the required benchmark, he said. Though surgical disposables are categorised under medical devices by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, strict adherence is yet to become a reality in many parts of the country.

Careon Healthcare Solutions has had presence of over 30 years in the industry. From a unit of 10,000 sq ft, the company has grown to a plant of over 1.5 lakh sq ft in size with annual production capacity of 500 crore units.

“We have the most advanced surgical gown unit with ultrasonic sealing technology for high protection and safety. We are also in the process of setting up an exclusive new plant of 40,000 sq ft for storage, dispatch and sterilisation,” said Korah James, the company’s director.

He said that Careon proposes to ram up turnover to ₹1,000 crore by 2026-27, and step into the business of imported surgical sutures and wide range of surgical consumables. The R&D team is working on reducing surgical site infections caused due to medical apparels by giving utmost importance to the material, process, folding and packaging. Plans are also afoot to start a production facility in Gujarat.

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