Scale\, marketability to drive commercialisation of COVID products

Low-cost automated respiratory assist device, ventilation fans, face shields, masks and PPEs are among the innovative products designed and produced by enterprises, even as the scale of uncertainty and disruption is still being assessed. While the global pandemic has driven companies to diversification, commercialisation has always been a problem, making these innovations seem short-lived.

“Given the scale of uncertainty and disruption created by COVID-19, it is understandable that the immediate focus of the investors has turned to helping their existing portfolio companies survive the crisis,” Arun Natrajan, founder, Venture Intelligence, told DT Next.

But, commercial venture capitalists typically look for scalable businesses – especially those that can generate USD 100 million in five to eight years. “It is heartening to note the domestic VC industry has come together proactively to create Rs 100 crore grant fund (ACT Grants) to support teams that are creating scalable solutions to tackle the health crisis. Such start-ups can also approach impact investors like Omidyar Network and foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which have created special focused grants targeting solutions for the pandemic,” he added.

Sriram Viji, Deputy MD, Brakes, India said, “Looking at the number of COVID-19 cases in India, we need to do everything we can to supplement our healthcare system. The TVS group has leveraged its engineering talent and its quality-first approach to develop an affordable respiratory assist device. The Sundaram Ventago is a ‘Make in India’ product with a local supply chain, based on proven global technology.”

Vikram Gupta, founding and managing partner, Ivy Cap Ventures, said, “These products are definitely required at the time of crisis. The need of the hour is to use all available capacities for manufacturing PPEs. VCs usually invest for a period of four to five years in products that are innovative and differentiated, and have huge potential scale over time. Many VCs might see these products as immediate requirement but are unsure about the sustainability of demand since that depends on how long this situation will last. VCs may also not necessarily see the possibility of differentiation in specific products to be able to command a premium in pricing. But, there could still be a few PPE companies that will get funded by VCs.”

When it comes to PPEs, the obvious source would be research-oriented institutions and companies. IIT Madras, Delhi and Bombay, and IISc, Bengaluru, would be spearheading it. The product innovation would be around use of sensor technologies, AI, IoT for better efficiency of these products, said Gupta.

Brand expert Harish Bijoor believes the key stumbling block is the approval of the proof of concept. “If innovations need mass acceptance, the first hurdle is certification and the second is branding, marketing and distribution. If these are overcome, sky is the limit,” he added.

Sanjay Shroff, charter member, former VP, TiE Chennai, highlighted red-tapism as a major road-block to commercialisation. “The Indian VCs are bankers turned VCs and so the innovation-spurred initiatives require an extremely mature environment, which is seldom found. Another problem is too much of bureaucracy in India. So innovation gets killed in this quagmire of permissions that start-ups would require. Standardisation and other processes that require permissions are almost impossible to get by many of these enterprises,” he told DT Next.

But collaboration between entities has worked well. For instance, the TVS group, the Sundaram Medical Foundation and IIT-Madras have jointly developed the Sundaram Ventago. This was a collaboration between TVS group, Kauvery Hospital, the Madras Medical College and MIT-Boston. Dr S Aravindan, ED, Kauvery Hospitals has said, “Over 80 per cent of medical devices used in India are imported. Cost-effective ventilators that are manufactured in India will significantly bring down the cost of healthcare.”

Scientists at Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (ICAR-CIAE) regional centre in Coimbatore have developed a touch-free hand wash system. While the other systems are either hand-operated or pedalled, theirs is an automatic, touch-free hand wash system to avoid people contracting the infection from the surface. It is suitable for hospitals, offices, malls, markets, railway stations and industries. It works on a simple mechanism, and water wastage can be reduced significantly due to the presence of sensors.

V2 Buddy is a nursing robot that can check body temperature of COVID-19 patients, dispense sanitising hand rub, deliver medicines and food, enable the nursing staff to interact with COVID 19 patients remotely through video and audio interface from their nursing stations. The team from Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology (AVIT), Chennai, claim that the nursing robot was created after considering the inputs given by the medical and nursing teams. The machine can be operated using Bluetooth and remote sensors from a control console that will be in the hands of the nurse, who will be able to talk to the patient directly.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras-incubated start-up Muse Wearable has developed a novel method to coat textiles with nanoparticles-based antimicrobial agents that can ‘inactivate’ the coronavirus on contact. These coatings are expected to be effective for up to 60 wash cycles, making the textiles re-usable. It can be used to manufacture N95 masks, surgical masks, PPE and food packaging bags among others. Muse Wearables’ prototype can coat textiles of length up to 100 metres within a few minutes. Also, the IIT-Madras and Capgemini are developing affordable rapid test kits that can give results in 10 minutes, and at a significantly lower cost.

A group of students from Rajalakshmi Group of Institutions claimed they have developed a unique Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to detect COVID-19. The AI tool is based on a neural network, Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) and normal condition from chest X-Ray images. They used 14,148 images in the training process to develop the tool that claims to have a testing accuracy of 95.4 per cent. The tool requires no installation; it is simple website that can be accessed from anywhere. The data can be uploaded like posting a photo on social media to get results within a second.

With masks in huge demand, a team of researchers from Anna University developed cost-effective mask using polyester pile fabric. Team leader S Subramanian from the Department of Textiles, Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University, claimed the mask could be washed and reused more than 20 times. It would cost about Rs 30 per piece. The team zeroed in on polyester pile fabric which is breathable, washable and has good filtration capability. While cotton masks hold the moisture, the polyester pile fabric will remain dry. The institution delivered a sample batch to the Health Department. Besides masks, Anna University students also came out with the idea of deploying high-tech drones to spray sanitisers. K Senthilkumar, director, Department of Aerospace Engineering, said the five drones that were developed to spray pesticides in agricultural farms have been modified for this. According to him, each drone can carry 16 litres of liquid, and can spray two lakh square meters in two shifts a day.

Researchers from NIT have developed medical safety kit for frontline workers, each containing multi-vitamin supplements, zinc and vitamin C tablets as recommended by the State Health Department. The kit also includes ORS packets. Additionally, a set of reusable cotton face covers is also included in the kit.