US based $7 billion biotech devices firm Medtronic is in talks with Indian hospitals and medical colleges to jointly conduct research and development in the country.
Medtronic's Indian subsidiary is in talks with All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Escorts Heart Institute and Neurological Institute, Nagpur, among others, for the project.
Nitin Shah, director, India Medtronics, said: "Our clinicians in India compare with the best in the world. We thus do not see any reason why we can't do R&D here. We are looking at bringing in project-based research into the country in collaboration with Indian medical colleges."
Medtronic currently carries out all its R&D in the US and spends 11 per cent of its revenues in this area. 70 per cent of the company's revenues come from products that did not exist 2 years ago.
Medtronic makes devices for cardiac rhythm management, spine defects, neurological disorders and diabetes. In India the company is expecting a turnover of Rs 140 crore (Rs 1.4 billion) for the year 2002-03.
"India is part of Medtronic's emerging market where we are expecting a 15-17 per cent growth," Shah said.
The company has developed a device for Parkinson's patients which enables them to function normally. The FDA approved Activa Tremor Control Therapy has an insulated lead wire with four electrodes at the tip.
The lead is implanted in the brain where the electrodes deliver electrical stimulation. The system can be turned on and off with a hand held magnet and has no side effects. So far 150 patients in India have taken this therapy in India.
