recision plays an important role in lab diagnostics and at Trivitron, we leave no stone unturned to offer the most reliable and precise results –Interview with Mr. Rajesh Patel, CEO – IVD India, Trivitron Healthcare
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I am an MBA from the prestigious- Almeda University USA, with majors in marketing and finance management. Being in the healthcare sector for more than 30 years, I have held various leadership roles in companies like Pfizer Limited, Nicholas Piramal India Limited, Quest Diagnostics, Transasia Bio-Medicals Limited, Agappe Diagnostics and Meril Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd. My areas of expertise include network set-up for health risk assessment and customer care management for organizations that cater into consumables for Biochemistry, Haematology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Critical care, Coagulation and Point Of Care Diagnostics for the healthcare sector.
Some of my remarkable achievements include the launch of the business of Meril Diagnostics right from its idea inception to 10 million USD revenue in 4 years. Along with handling the IVD business, set up of CFA network to create spoke and hub distribution and logistics model for IVD products for Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd has given the multifold improvement of revenue to the company. Further to this I have a fairly good catch on operations including Productions, Supply Chain Management and Administration and have worked extensively in generating business association with many organizations on OEM and Contract Manufacturing business model.
What do/did you like most and least about your present/most recent position?
As the CEO (IVD) for Trivitron Healthcare, I get to be involved in almost every aspect of the IVD business operations and at the same time I’m in charge of our big picture goals. I love seeing our growth and plans for the future. I love that I get to map out the trajectory of the company and look ahead to tomorrow’s successes.Also, working here at Trivitron gives me freedom to define strategies for the business as a result, I am able to effectively manage the teams housed across various locations which is something that I like the most.
Trivitron is a multinational healthcare conglomerate with a diverse workforce collectively involved in the growth of the organization along with this, the leadership that I have here keeps on guiding me in each and every aspect of the business making my job even more enjoyable. We do have challenges, but tackling challenges is something that motivates me. Frankly, I don’t find anything to dislike about Trivitron.
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving company goals?
Being a CEO means wearing many different hats at once, and that means I must have a working knowledge of all departments in addition to being able to manage a diverse workforce. Given the fact, being the CEO sounds like you are in charge and you can do as you wish, the reality remains otherwise. I have amazing team members in every department that gets the job done, and I love the experience of steering the ship towards a solution but as a CEO, I have to make sure we’re all on the same page, our opinions are aligned, and we’re moving in the same direction.
It can be tough trying to get everyone to agree, and sometimes we have to give up our egos and personal beliefs to yield to what’s best for all of us and the company and this is a great challenge in achieving organizational goals. Managing business operations during COVID and thinking and planning beyond COVID is really challenging.
Sir, please tell us about Trivitron In Vitro Diagnostics (India). What is the elevator pitch?
Founded as a medical technology company that provides affordable healthcare solutions, Trivitron Healthcare is dedicated to offering path breaking technologies in the fields of Newborn Screening, In-Vitro Diagnostics, Radiology diagnostic systems & Radiation protection apparel, Critical Care, OT solutions and a lot more.
Trivitron IVD (India) is a thriving commercial organization supported by a strong R&D focus, which includes a CE certified, state-of-the-art, manufacturing facility in Chennai that manufactures a broad range of IVD products, including instruments for biochemistry, hematology, immunoassay, point-of-care testing etc.
Whether it’s about developing advanced diagnostic kits to screen newborn for diseases or manufacturing affordable chemical reagents or building best-in-class automation products or managing neonatal public health program, Trivitron IVD is focused and remains committed to serving our customers around the world. We are the pioneers in few revolutionary technologies and we take pride in our quality and offerings.
What has been the biggest let down in your career so far?
I will not call it exactly a “let down”, however I have seen ups and downs in many companies sitting at helm of the affairs. So far, the biggest let down, not alone for me, but for most of the IVD companies, and its senior officials is the sudden fall in the revenue due to COVID pandemic. A number of organizations that were not into manufacturing healthcare technologies suitable for COVID had to face really tough times. We at Trivitron were fortunate enough to be able to manufacture COVID focused products to manage our lost revenue from the conventional products.
As per your opinion What is the one thing that makes Trivitron IVD products unique from others in the industry?
Today we see, the most routinely conducted diagnosis to detect illness is In-Vitro Diagnostics or lab diagnostics. Precision plays an important role in lab diagnostics and at Trivitron, we leave no stone unturned to offer the most reliable and precise results. With in-house manufacturing facilities in India, Finland and Turkey. We have the capability to manufacture cutting-edge equipment and products that benefit patients and deliver value to healthcare facilities all over the world.
As I have mentioned before, we have pioneered some of the most advanced diagnostic kits available. We have a strong reputation for offering robust, reliable and practical in vitro diagnostic mass spec solutions that are extremely easy to adopt and capable enough to handle the present day demands of diagnostic laboratories.
In addition to this, our best-in-class technology is paired with our own extremely reliable service support and after sale engineering assistance that remains unrivaled in the market. We not only provide the best available solutions, but also guarantee successful installation or induction of our IVD technologies.
What are the key objectives that you would like to achieve in the upcoming three years?
Trivitron is on a mission to innovate and provide Medical Technology Products, Services and Solutions to make healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone across the globe and we are all committed to making this dream of our Chairman & Managing Director-Dr GSK Velu, a reality.
Today, diagnostics is a major contributor to the growth and revenue of the organization. As the CEO of Trivitron IVD business, my objective for the coming years is to keep the business grow and reach to new heights. Also, we are in talks with leading MNCs for the introduction of cutting-edge health technologies in India.
Further to this, we plan to include new products and diagnostic kits in our IVD product portfolio. We would also build strong product basket comprising of our indigenously developed and manufactured products, which will make cost of IVD tests reach to all the needy individuals of rural India.
What is your opinion on COVID-19 situation on IVD Industry? Does it give opportunity for Healthcare and Diagnostic Industry to showcase its importance?
In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) have always been essential in the detection of infectious diseases. A number of molecular assays and immunoassays are in place currently to detect COVID-19, but quality diagnostics that provide faster and accurate test results is the need of the hour. The increasing number of cases has led to an increased demand of COVID-diagnostic kits, laboratory consumables and other diagnostic supplies which has impacted the IVD industry.
COVID-19 has put the IVD industry at center stage with unparalleled demand for diagnostic tests, and other critical medical supplies. In addition to the extraordinary measures underway to rapidly ramp up manufacturing capacity and capabilities, IVD health technology leaders are also looking outside their normal sector boundaries to explore creative solutions to further supplement capacity, such as partnerships with companies outside the sector, open-source equipment design, and deployment of medically trained employees to support public-health needs.
Further to this, majority of healthcare manufacturers have converged their resources in developing COVID focused products as a result of which newer and more advanced kits have made inroads into the market. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a whole new window into the world of diagnostic testing. From November 2019 when the prevalence of COVID-19 had moved from zero percent to a much higher number, the infection has caused confusion and chaos in clinical medicine. This has given an impetus to research and development in the field of IVD subsequently giving rise to cutting edge health technology products consequently highlighting the importance of healthcare and diagnostic industry.
