Norwest invests $11m in India's Perfint Healthcare
Norwest Venture Partners has invested $11 million in Indian medical technology company Perfint Healthcare as part of a Series D round of funding. Norwest previously invested $7.2 million in the Chennai-based company in 2010.
Perfint was established in 2005 by a team of healthcare device professionals. Its products, ROBIO and MAXIO, use medical image processing and robotics to help surgeons to plan and execute CT-guided cancer care such as biopsies, tumor removal and pain care procedures like nerve root blocks.
The investment will be used to bring MAXIO to the market and to develop new products for ultrasound guided procedures.
"Perfint has become a global company since we last invested, with customers in Asia, Europe and Latin America," said Mohan Kumar, a partner at Norwest who sits on the board of Perfint, in a statement. "The market for robotic assisted surgery and interventions is moving into mainstream healthcare and growing in acceptance among surgeons and oncologists. This trend will help Perfint to become a major player in robotic assisted navigation in Oncology space."
Cancer is a leading cause of death in many wealthy countries, and its toll is rising in poorer regions. A 2012 study in The Lancet Oncology predicted that from 2008 to 2030, cancer incidence will rise 75% globally and will double in the least developed countries.
The last significant private equity investment in India's medical technology space was by Fidelity Growth Partners India in November which invested INR4 billion ($74.4 million) in India's largest distributor of medical equipment and devices, Trivitron Healthcare. The Triviton deal represented a partial exit for Headland Capital Partners and ePlanet Ventures.
According to AVCJ research, in 2012 private equity firms invested more than $1 billion in India's medical sector across 42 deals. The sector as a whole is worth $40 billion and seeing compound annual growth of 15%. It is expected to reach about $120 billion by 2015 and continue to double twice in the coming 10 years.
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