Innovation in affordable, advanced wound care and bleeding control: Why We Invested in Axio Biosolutions

^{"By innovating to create an affordable range of advanced wound care and haemostatic products, Axio is helping advance the use of newer technologies in these healthcare segments in India and other emerging markets. Its products are providing patients – including those from India’s Next Half Billion – with a high-quality affordable alternative to both traditional, less efficient products (e.g. gauze, plasters, wadding) and more advanced, expensive products (e.g. foam dressings, hydrogels, sealants)"}

The Indian healthcare sector employs close to 5 million people and accounts for 2 per cent of our GDP. Due to the pandemic, its importance has been further accentuated. According to the 2021 Global Health Security Index, India ranks 66 out of 195 countries surveyed. While we have improved in terms of detection and reporting, there is room for improvement in prevention protocols and rapid response processes.

This is where we believe technology can be a gamechanger. As part of our HealthTech investment focus, we aim to support businesses and entrepreneurs that are leveraging technology and science to create, novel products and services to give a boost to India’s healthcare sector.

Axio Biosolutions is a biomaterials company that manufactures and distributes haemostatic and wound care dressings to private & public hospitals, trauma care centres, accident & emergency clinics, and armed forces.

Axio’s products are an innovation in crucial areas of healthcare, specifically, Advanced Wound Care and bleeding control. What sets the company apart is that the chief component of its product range is Chitosan, a natural polymer with known advanced medicinal properties in haemostasis and wound healing. One of the most naturally abundant polymers, Chitosan is biocompatible, biodegradable, non-toxic, and anti-infective nature. It can speed up the process of blood-clotting and wound-healing while reducing pain and increasing comfort for patients suffering from severe bleeding caused by accidents, loss of a limb, or chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, as well as arterial and venous ulcers and acute wounds such as burns, surgical wounds, and traumatic wounds.

Axio’s products are, on average, 30%-40% cheaper than comparable advanced care products which are manufactured by other global players which also means that high quality products are within the reach of the Next Half Billion. With its affordable pricing, Axio can create significant impact by moving the market towards better technologies and opening up access to a higher quality of healthcare for all. And the global Haemostats & Sealants market size is estimated to be worth US$ 2.9 billion in 2022 and is forecast to reach a size of US$ 3.4 billion by 2028, so there is plenty of room in the market for affordable products like Axio’s to grow into.

We believe that Axio’s novel products, combined with a deep understanding of haemostasis and chronic wound care will help advance this segment in nascent markets such as India and other emerging countries. In most of these markets, the high cost of advanced products such as haemostats and sealants have forced injury victims to depend on more traditional and less effective solutions such as gauze and padding.

We hope that in the long run, this will spur further innovation not just in the wound care segment but also in other ancillary sectors within healthcare. Axio and other similar innovators are helping address very real and immediate issues on-ground and we’re hopeful, technology like theirs will help improve our rapid response and preventive capabilities, especially for those seeking affordable healthcare.

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