India is a home to 1.2billion people. Vast population signifies the amount of health requirements needed to sustain life. According to a report published by IBEF.org, the healthcare industry in India, will reach 280 billion in 2020. We gather a few key points from the report, it covers essential things associated with predicted healthcare growth.

• Healthcare industry is growing at a tremendous pace owing to its strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public as well private players.
• During 2008-20, the market is expected to record a CAGR of 5 percent.
• The total industry size is expected to touch US$ 160 billion by 2017 and US$ 280 billion by 2020.
• As per the Ministry of Health, development of 50 technologies has been targeted in the FY16, for the treatment of disease like   Cancer and TB.

Source – Healthcare Industry in India

India is a booming platform for startups. Healthcare industry is an open and challenging ground.  Many startups are trying to gain maximum reach in this sector, by bringing platform’s driven by technology. It includes assisting to avail easy medical services, clinical trials, medicinal support, doctor’s advice, affordable treatment, insurance, etc. In our view, India is a valuable platform for a Unicorn Health Startup.

However, changing conditions and competition is also hampering life of startups. We had seen in past few months startups are closing down due to lack of funding. So what would be the way to reach billion dollars valuation?  Are startups in India capable enough to entice investors via its concept?

Ahead we tried to uncover some core points to find – When India will get a Unicorn HealthCare Startup?

1. Let’s take a few example of about popular healthcare startups in India. Like Practo, founded in 2008, it has overall raised $124 Million. No Valuation estimated yet.
2. Another one Portea Medical, founded in 2013, it has overall raised $46.5 Million. No Valuation estimated yet.

Similar to the above healthcare startups, many had raised a small amount of funding. They target  ‘service sector’. Like Practo, allows users to locate doctors, diagnostic labs, gyms, etc. It helps to find available appointments and choose on the basis of the price factor. Portea Medical gives extended platform by bringing services like doctors, nursing, physiotherapy, attendants, medical equipment, test, vaccination, etc at one place. A simple service-based platform for users to locate a variety of medical services. The model relies on connecting, existing business directly with the consumers via a single window. Chiefly an app-based platforms work’s fine.

By comparing Indian HealthCare startups to existing Unicorns, it is noticeable that their area of operation is entirely different. More into innovation and developing drugs/technology, that can play a vital role in solving problems of people.

Talking about the top three unicorn startups with billion-dollar valuation, we find their startup concept relies on strong innovation. They are developing new vaccines and method to deal with life taking illness. A few of them are:-

1. Theranos, a $9 Billion Valuation Unicorn Startup was into controversy recently associated with its test result.

About Theranos: It offers health-technology and medical-laboratory-services. The Startup has a blood-testing device called as Edison. With the help of microfluidics technology, the device through a few blood drops to collect information on different illness.

2. Intarcia Therapeutics, a $5.5 Billion Valuation Unicron Startup deals with developing innovative therapies that merge medicine with technology.

About Intarcia Therapeutics:  It focus on serious diseases that are prevalent and poorly controlled. Its near-term goal is to deliver a game-changing new level of freedom for a vast number of patients with type 2 diabetes. Making a real difference in this disease is our future and our passion.

3. Moderna, a $3 Billion Valuation Unicorn Startup is a biotechnology company that researches and develops protein therapies based on novel messenger RNA (mRNA) technology

About Moderna: At Moderna, we are pioneering the development of a new class of drugs made of messenger RNA (mRNA). This novel drug platform builds on the discovery that modified mRNA can direct the body’s cellular machinery to produce nearly any protein of interest, from native proteins to antibodies and other entirely novel protein constructs that can have therapeutic activity inside and outside of cells.

India requires innovation in various health categories. Developing infrastructure to connect and provide important health services, vaccines, and treatment at an affordable cost is a must. Analyzing the current healthcare scenario, it looks entrepreneurs are less willing to innovate something.

That is the reason, innovation and development part is limited to top health companies. What matters, is ‘research’ required in building up a product or platform to contribute valuable assistance in health. It is not possible unless experts from the industry can join to work on new things. Their insight to startups or if they came out with unique startups, then it is possible to shape a company with a high valuation.

India’s Startup economy brings a lot of opportunities. But the challenges are also big. Reckoning as a multifaceted industry, Startups find hard to locate their area of operation. In India, entrepreneurs don’t really consider investing in healthcare, instead they would prefer pouring money in e-commerce industry since it gives returns more easily and on a faster pace.

Upcoming Startups can start working in the sector, that need innovation. For example, working on affordable medical services to curb serious illness. It can help patients to get treatment with less effort. Gadgets, apps, tech platforms, will interconnect diagnostic centers and hospitals globally, to build up a database of treatments. This saves valuable time in initiating diagnostic. Developed countries are already using technology to a centralized database. It helps various hospitals to locate an instant treatment or test, without waiting.

Indian Healthcare Startups typically target service-based platform. This includes connecting patient with doctors, helping them to find assistance, finding affordable medicines & treatment, patient clinical data management, etc. it has helped them to raised a reasonable amount of funding to perform well for years. Yet no valuation has crossed billion dollars because these are all basic services. There is nothing unique it in.

Indian Healthcare sector is filled with various challenges, especially when it comes to rural areas; though there are hundred of health campaigns conducted. What we can conclude that to build a Unicorn Startup, it is necessary for Entrepreneurs to look in depth and finding the limitations, accepting challenges to bridge the gap in the market and coming up with a solution that can really benefit people. This can give a birth to valuable health care startups in India in the near future.

The day a Unicorn healthcare startup launches in India, it would be time for revolution in the medical industry!