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Wipro forays into healthcare, life sciences biz

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Wipro Ltd, the Bangalore-based global IT major, is foraying into healthcare and life sciences services to address the growing requirements of the bio-IT market on account of the increasing convergence between information technology and biotechnology.

Though the company has been in healthcare business through its two divisions Wipro GE Medical Systems Ltd and Wipro Biomed, the new business segment will club it along with life sciences services.

Announcing the launch of the new division, Wipro chairman Azim H Premji said in Bangalore on Tuesday that the new business would offer solutions to hospital and health insurance companies for efficient and compliant work flows, bio-informatics solutions to life sciences companies to reduce drug discovery cycle time, and IT solutions to medical and analytical devices companies.

"The launch of Wipro Healthcare and Life Science services is in continuation of our global strategy to identify growth opportunities that enhance shareholder value. We believe IT can revolutionise healthcare and life sciences.

"Our domain expertise in IT and customer relationships built in healthcare business through Wipro GE Medical Systems and Wipro Biomed provides us the right leadership and entrepreneurial energy to achieve our vision to position India as a leader in IT solutions to this business," Premji stated.

The new business will be headed by D A Prasanna, a Wiproite of over two decades, who has been newly appointed as another vice-chairman of Wipro Ltd, in addition to the existing vice-chairman and CEO Vivek Paul, who looks after Wipro Technologies as well as its global research and development services.

According to Prasanna, the estimated market in healthcare and life sciences is around $25 billion, growing at over 20 per cent annually.

"Healthcare IT is already a big market and it is at a turning point, while life sciences market is an emerging opportunity," he added.

Targetting customers in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including the growing Indian market, the new business division will also leverage the customer relationship with hospitals of Wipro GE Medical Systems, and the existing client base of Wipro Technologies in the healthcare vertical, which will now move to Wipro Healthcare and Life Science services segment, along with its 130 employees.

Though Wipro's financial results for fiscal 2001-02 are due on this Friday, Prasanna and Premji declared that the healthcare segment of Wipro GE posted a turnover of $15 million out of its Rs 5 billion ($180 million) estimated revenue for the year ending March 31, 2002.

Both the chairman and vice-chairman, however, declined to specify the additional investments being made in the new venture and the number of specialists to be hired this year, citing the `silent period' clause, pending the announcement of its annual results.

"We propose to build global leadership in this segment too by this decade, taking advantage of India's intellectual caliber and expertise in the field of life sciences, including biology. The network of relations with global leaders like GE Medical Systems, Beckman Coulter, Agilent, Fujinon and Cerner will give the new venture a kick-start to move up the value chain," Prasanna affirmed.

Prasanna has been a part of the Wipro Corporate Executive Council since 1978, and headed Wipro GE Medical Systems as its first CEO, generating a global business of $450 million from its healthcare services and software solutions.

Incidentally, Wipro's foray into the sunrise industry of biotechnology and healthcare has coincided with the ongoing Bangalore Bio 2002, a three-day international conference-cum-exposition on India's prospects in the biotech sector.

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