NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, March 7, 2016

After establishing Pune as the global headquarters for its mobile surgery division, Dutch technology company Royal Philips is exporting the products it developed here to the Western markets.

“India is a very important growth market for us, as well as an important R&D and manufacturing location,” Bert van Meurs, general manager for image guided therapy (IGT) at Philips, told ET. “We currently have five products that have been designed, developed and manufactured here, and all of these are exported globally.”

Van Meurs was in Pune to launch Intuis, a mid-tier catheterisation lab (cathlab) product developed by Philips’ Pune Healthcare Innovation Center.

That India is the global headquarters for its mobile surgery business — a first for any global healthcare products major — is a clear indication of the importance of the country for Philips. Traditionally, Philips has been present in the premium products space but with the Pune innovation center, the focus is now shifting towards mid-tier segments. “Earlier the company was focused on growth geographies, but we now see demand for value-based healthcare growing in Western markets. With these products, we are already serving markets like France and North America,” said van Meurs.