Asia-Pacific holds the massive potential to expand the market by building a unique distribution network across the countries by strengthening the core market values. APAC is experiencing strong growth in the demand for medical devices suppressing Europe to become the second-largest market globally. The region is poised for strong growth for being a prime location for manufacturing and sourcing for global medical companies with the contribution of key market players and investors both at domestic and international platforms. 

Singapore’s Everlife Holdings, a leading manufacturer and distributor of medical devices and laboratory equipment and consumables in Asia, recently appointed Mr Ramesh Subrahmanian to the company's Board of Directors. New leadership will help in shaping and refining company’s strategic and digital roadmap. Biospectrum Asia had an opportunity to explore and dive into visions and missions of Mr Ramesh Subrahmanian to excel in APAC medical device market.

How do you describe your new objectives in the new role through leveraging extensive expertise from the pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices sectors?

I have worked in various capacities over the years in different segments of the healthcare industry, but always with one common vision -– to develop and deliver innovative products that can improve patient lives and public health. Everlife shares this same vision – to create access and deliver better outcomes for patients, customers, and principals.  The significant increase in healthcare investments across Asia is a great opportunity, and Everlife’s strong knowledge of the markets where we operate, understanding of customer needs, and readiness to invest in growth and technology is what differentiates us from other players. The teams have already built strong relationships and a solid infrastructure over decades, so my focus is to work with the Board to identify avenues for sustained value creation and growth, build a culture of innovation and performance, and improve how we can bring the best products and services to as many patients as we can. 

Could you elaborate on the trajectories of the expansion of medical devices, laboratory equipment, and consumables markets in Asia?

Everlife is already a leader in Southeast Asia and India within the clinical diagnostics and life science space and we will continue to grow by leveraging the existing infrastructure to bring new products to the market. This not only includes diagnostic tests, such as the Covid-19 products introduced over the last year, but also complementary products and services in adjacent areas. On top of that, we are also looking at new and innovative offerings that enable better patient outcomes, such as point-of-care testing (POCT), molecular diagnostics, genetics, and other innovative technologies that emerge. 

We will expand our footprint to improve access to testing. Our markets are big with many underserved areas and having unique and divergent needs. Our market expansion strategy will be highly dependent on understanding those needs and seeing how we can fulfill them.

What are your thoughts on strengthening business competitiveness while refining strategic and digital roadmap?

Market leadership starts with having a strong understanding of individual customer needs and customizing products and services to meet those needs. Secondly, we have to invest aggressively into expanding our customer reach and providing more patients with access to better diagnostic testing, which includes increasing our coverage and offering new and innovative products. The strategic and digital roadmap sets a course toward these goals, and technology plays a key role in allowing us to bridge customer needs faster, more efficiently, and in more targeted ways, through a variety of digital tools and channels. 

Would it be possible to brief on Everlife’s upcoming acquisition ventures planned for the next 12-18 months? 

Asia still presents significant opportunities for consolidation, and we aim to augment organic growth with acquisitions that can bring innovation and value add to our customers and their patients.  We have an active pipeline of companies with great potential and will continue to evaluate companies that fit with Everlife’s vision to improve market access and improve patient outcomes in our countries.

What are Everlife’s projections for fiscal 2021-22 to continue to be the leading medical device platform in South East Asia and India?

The group is performing strongly despite the impact of growing Covid-19 cases and corresponding lockdowns in our region. Over the last year, the teams have done a tremendous job adapting to the new market demands and pivoting into new ways of working with new technology. We remain confident in our ability to perform above the market and our teams’ readiness to stay resilient through this period.

Hithaishi C Bhaskar

hithaishi.cb@mmactiv.com