Medtronic was founded in 1949 in the US as a medical equipment repair show by Mr Earl Bakken and Mr Palmer Hermundslie. It is now a multinational company that uses technology to transform the way debiliating and chronic diseases are treated. Medtronic provides a wide range of products and therapies and the company claims that its products improve the life of an individual at every four seconds.

The company started operations in India in 1979 with its headquarters in Mumbai along with nine regional offices. Its business region extends to South Asian nations such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The company employs more than 350 people in India.

BioSpectrum connects with Mr Milind R Shah, vice president, South Asia and managing director, Medtronic India, who has been with the company for nearly nine years, to understand more about company's latest offerings in India

What are the focus areas for Medtronic in India?
In India, Medtronic is focused on addressing the key barriers to standard healthcare in the country. Although India has a high and growing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), patient access continues to be a challenge due to poor diagnosis, inadequate infrastructure and low insurance penetration.

Based on these identified deterrents to healthcare access, we are focusing on areas, such as improving diagnosis and referrals, removing capacity constraints through education and training partnerships, adapting to the local market conditions through business model, continuously innovating and sustaining market leadership.