I just returned from a five day trip to India at the invitation of our distributor Kirloskar Technologies (KTPL). A special thanks to the planning and support of Mr. Ketan Desai, President of the Oncology Business at KTPL, for arranging the site visits and taking such good care of us. India is a huge market and can play an essential role in the growth of Pyrexar. To put the Indian market into perspective, the country represents just under 18% of the world population (1.34 billion population) packed into a landmass 1/3 the size of the US (323 million people). Treating the nation's cancer patients is a severe challenge.
The journey took us down the western coast of India, where we visited with several essential hospitals targeted to introduce our radiative hyperthermia product line to the country. From Ahmedabad in the Northwestern state of Gujarat to the coastal city of Mumbai in Maharashtra, to the southern city of Bangalore in Karnataka. Information was well received, but they all asked the same question, "Where have you been." That question is a little challenging to answer as our products are well established in European nations, in the US, China, and proliferating on the Korean peninsula.
Where have you been? Why isn't Pyrexar in India?
Pyrexar has seen tremendous growth in the last three years. The regulatory requirements to enter each new country are rigorous, and we have been working quickly to bring proven hyperthermia treatment to the world. As we start filling the void, lesser technologies are pushed aside and replaced. The simple truth to why we are not active in India is that we did not have reliable distribution partners, until now. Kirloskar Technologies has the technical understanding, product depth and reach, and a service team that can handle our product line. With this partnership in place, it is possible to bring our systems to market in India.
One of the highlights of the trip was my meeting with Dr. Nagraj Huilgol. As you may know, Dr. Huilgol is a hyperthermia advocate and researcher with more than 100 publications in national and international journals. He was lead researcher in phase III clinical study on head and neck cancer using capacitive hyperthermia. His CV includes Chief Editor of the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics (JCRT) and a member of editorial boards of the Indian Journal of Cancer, Indian Journal of Head and Neck Cancer, International Journal of Hyperthermia and the official journal of ASHO, ESHO, and NAHO. Having this well-known hyperthermia expert as a luminary will help usher hyperthermia into India.