Medtech startup, Axio Biosolutions announced that it has raised $7.4 million (approximately Rs 47 crore) in a Series B funding round led by Ratan Tata’s RNT Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investors Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India. In addition to this, the round also gave an exit to the startup’s first institutional investor, GVFL, an Ahmedabad-based venture capital firm. MasterKey Holdings were the advisors on the deal.

The company has stated that it plans to utilize the funds to expand into new markets as well as expand its product line.

”The idea is to do two things-expand to new markets and introduce new products,” said Leo Mavely, CEO of Axio Biosolutions. “We were focused on the Middle East and India but we will branch out now…get into Europe and US. We are working on another product in wound care. We are also looking into the consumer segment…we want to introduce a product portfolio in that market. This will be both through channel tie-ups and direct to consumer.”

Axio Biosolutions was founded in 2008 and since then it has established a strong R&D structure, with a number of patents in its name in areas such as wound healing, mucoadhesive drug delivery and haemostats. Although the company is headquartered in Boston, it has its corporate office in Bengaluru and a GMP certified manufacturing facility in Gujarat.

Axio is the first company to launch an emergency haemostat for trauma care in India. The company’s flagship product, titled Axiostat is patented and CE approved. The haemostatic dressing stops uncontrollable bleeding within 2-3 minutes of its application, thus preventing death from grievous injuries and haemorrhage.

Axiostat is used most notably by the Indian Armed Forces, paramilitary forces, hospitals and emergency services. The product is manufactured using a biomaterial called chitosan, which is extracted from shellfish and is purified& processed to make the product.

Traditionally health-tech startups were considered to be those that provided innovative diagnostic, enterprise, medical delivery solutions. However , recently a new type of startups has emerged which are trying to solve health issues by tackling the root causes such as consumer lifestyle, mental stress etc. These startups are fast bridging the gap between doctors and patients while simultaneously creating an environment to facilitate efficient and effective healthcare.

“The medical device market in India is in a fairly nascent stage, especially in the startup sector. We believe that Axio has demonstrated that it is possible to build world-class products to cater to the Indian as well as the global markets. The team has cemented some strategic partnerships and will continue to lead the wound care management space through technology innovations,” said Ranjith Menon, Executive Director, IDG Ventures India.

At present, the Indian healthcare market is approximately worth $100 billion and is estimated to grow at a 23% CAGR to reach $280 billion by 2020, according to a 2016 report by Deloitte.

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