Berli Jucker eyes medical gear demand
Berli Jucker is aiming for 15-per-cent growth to Bt3.77 billion in sales contributed by its healthcare supply business unit, thanks to an increase in demand for medical equipment and medication from both state and private hospitals.
The healthcare unit comprises the medical division and the pharmaceutical division. The medical division is responsible for distributing medical and surgery equipment, as well as providing after-sales and engineering support for a wide range of products from x-ray machines to computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) scanners, ultrasound machines and IT systems to robotic surgery.
In the first quarter of this year, sales achieved by the healthcare supply unit dropped slightly, because several government hospitals decided to postpone purchases to the second quarter due to a delay in the Development Policy Loan project. However, the medical divi
sion achieved outstanding sales and profit in the fourth quarter of last year from the sale of Da Vinci robotic surgery systems.
The pharmaceutical division also reported higher sales, particularly in terms of Liv-Gamma and Nephrology or kidney-related products.
Suchada Sukhochaiyakij, senior vice-president for the medical division, said that by the end of this year the division expects to see 15 per cent year-on-year growth to Bt3.77 billion, Bt2 billion of which would come from the pharmaceutical division and the remainder from the medical division. Currently, the healthcare supply unit accounts for 10 per cent of Berli Jucker’s total revenue.
Suchada explained that there was more room to grow because the government had earmarked Bt2 billion for medical equipment at public hospitals nationwide. In addition, leading university hospitals such as Siriraj, Chulalongkorn, Ramathibodji and Chiang Mai are focusing on establishing their own excellence centres, which would boost the need for specialist equipment.
Last week, Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Medicine opened its first robotic surgery centre, where Berli Jucker installed a Bt85-million robotic surgery machine imported from the United States called “Da Vinci Si HD Single Console”.
The Da Vinci Si High Definition Robotic Surgery System allows surgeons to provide efficient, “intuitive” surgical care for urology, colo-rectal operations and the like. So far, Berli Jucker has sold the surgery system to Chulalongkorn and Chiang Mai university hospitals, and will be installing similar systems at Siriraj and Ramathibodhi hospitals this year. The company is also eyeing leading private hospitals as prospective buyers.
With more than 60 suppliers for imported medical equipment in the market, Berli Jucker plans to discuss the concept of exporting medical equipment with its partners in other countries, such as Vietnam.
