Meril Life Sciences is an Indian multinational medical device company, with headquarters in Vapi, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 2006 and is a part of the Bilakhia Group. The company is engaged in the manufacturing of vascular intervention devices, orthopedic implants, endosurgery, ENT products and in-vitro diagnostics. Meril Life Sciences operates in over 100 countries and has employed 4000 people, as of 2022.
It develops and manufactures healthcare technologies and therapies. The company has also developed the MeRes100 bioresorbable scaffold (BRS), which is India's first domestically produced bio-resorbable scaffold for the treatment of coronary artery disease.
History
Meril Life Sciences was established in 2006 as a part of the Bilakhia Group's healthcare diversification plan.
In February 2022, the company raised funding of US$210 million (₹15.75 billion crores) from the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, facilitated through its Dutch affiliate, South Elm Investments BV.
Operations
It operates in more than 100 countries. It has established subsidiaries in countries such as the United States, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, China, and Bangladesh.
It is also engaged in sale of specific medical devices like Surgical Robots to hospitals. The company has established research and development (R&D) facilities focusing on orthopedics, endosurgery, cardiovascular and in-vitro diagnostics. As of February 2017, the company derived 50 percent of its revenue from international operations.
Products
Meril Life Sciences is engaged in the development and manufacturing of medical devices used in various medical fields. In December 2018, Meril Life Sciences introduced the indigenously designed and manufactured Myval Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve (TAVR), making it the first Indian company to commercially launch Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve replacement (TAVR) Therapy in the global market. The Myval TAVR technology received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in November 2018 and obtained European Conformity in June 2019.
In March 2021 Meril Life Sciences launched the MeRes100 BRS, a 100-micron Bioresorbable scaffold, which received approvals from the Drug Controller General of India and European Conformity. In February 2022, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, India's pharmaceutical regulator, granted a five-year rare exemption from price control for MeRes100 BRS under the provision of the Drug Price Control Order 2013. The development of MeRes100 took around two to three years to complete.
The company also has a range of surgical sutures, including absorbable and non-absorbable options like polydioxanone sutures, PGA & PGLA absorbable sutures, polyester sutures, and polypropylene sutures. It manufactures diagnostic equipment, reagents, and rapid tests for diseases such as Dengue, HIV 1 and 2, hCG, Ag, HCV, and Malaria.
COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Meril manufactured its RT-PCR COVID-19 test kit. In June 2020, Meril Diagnostics was among the seven companies authorized by the Indian Council of Medical Research to manufacture the Covid Kavach ELISA IgG antibody test using Anti-body technology.
The company developed CoviFind, a self-use Rapid antigen test for COVID-19, which received approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research in June 2021, and is designed to provide results within approximately 15 minutes for individuals with a medium to high viral load of the virus. In August 2021, cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni was appointed as the brand ambassador for CoviFind. He appeared in two digital films and TV commercials, promoting testing to consumers.
Other activities
Meril runs the Meril Academy which provides education and training to healthcare personnel. It has organized numerous workshops and conferences in specialties including general surgery, diagnostics, orthopedics, interventional cardiology, operation theater nursing, and hospital management.