Relisys plans to set up Asia's first catheter facility

City-based Relisys Medical Devices is planning to set up Asia's first catheter manufacturing facility at a cost of Rs 11 crore as per US FDA norms at Ibrahimpatnam, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Disclosing this at a press meet, Krishna Reddy, chairman of Relisys, said: "Catheters which are used in various angiographic procedures in radiology and cardiology are at present being imported at a very high cost from the US and parts of Europe. Once the production starts, we can not only produce globally competitive devices but also will be able to offer the same to domestic consumers at an affordable cost."

The company plans to put up the manufacturing unit in two phases. The first phase in July will be set up at a cost of Rs 3 crore and the second phase at an investment of Rs 8 crore.

Reddy said that the company has received a letter of sanction from the Andhra Pradesh State Finance Commission and the State Bank of India has also evinced interest in funding the project.

N G Badrinayana, managing director of Relisys, said that approximately 20,000 angiographic procedures were done each year for which the catheters cost around Rs 4,000.

"Once production and testing is completed it will cost patients one-third of that amount, and will be of the same quality that we import," he said.

The company has already developed some products through indigenous efforts and international collaborations. These include coronary stents, which are in clinical use.

The company also plans to launch a new stent made of cobalt chromium steel, that has lesser strut thickness than conventional stents. These stents at present are imported at a cost of Rs 50,000.

"Once we start making stents made of Cobalt Chromium steel, it would lessen the cost burden on patients by more than 50 per cent," Reddy said.