Bilakhia Group – Revolutionising the Healthcare Industry

PTI, Nov 24, 2021, 7:59 PM IST

Vapi(Gujarat): Bilakhia Group, one of India’s leading diversified business conglomerates is playing a pivotal role in combating COVID-19 through innovation, not just in India but globally. In its latest development, Bilakhia Group’s India-based global medical device company, Meril, has been granted approval by the Indian Council of Medical Research for its ground-breaking COVID Rapid Antigen Test kit (RAT).

This is a significant milestone in the Bilakhia Group’s inspiring journey. With humble beginnings in the year 1984 with Printing Ink operations, the economic liberalization handed the Bilakhia Group the impetus to expand into Agrochemicals. Thereafter, they further diversified into the Healthcare sector by setting up Meril and its various business groups. The Family also has a serious and deep interest in providing education for the underprivileged and this effort is run through the Maa Foundation – a self-funded, not-for-profit organization. Today, the Bilakhia Group is fostering growth and progress in key areas of education, life sciences, medical technology, and has built an admirable reputation in India and internationally especially with Meril business operations in over 100 countries.

CoviFind by Meril is a self-use Rapid Antigen Test for COVID-19. The test is capable of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus in infected individuals just within 15 minutes, making it an effective tool in testing symptomatic individuals as well as those individuals who have come in close contact with infected patients. ?

CoviFind is one of the many medical breakthroughs achieved by Meril, established in 2007, Meril manufactures advanced medical devices and diagnostics technologies in the range of vascular interventions, structural heart interventions, orthopedic implants, ENT devices, endo-surgical devices, and a wide range of in-vitro diagnostics (IVD). Meril envisions augmenting the healthcare infrastructure and alleviating human suffering through its steadfast commitment in large-scale R&D and manufacturing of medical devices.

Keeping pace with the healthcare transformation, Meril’s commitment to innovation has taken a massive leap of progress in cardiovascular implants with the Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) system and Bioresorbable scaffold (BRS). The Myval-THV system is designed for favorable outcomes in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), the therapy is a minimally-invasive procedure to treat severe Aortic Stenosis, which is a commonly seen degenerative disease in our aging population. This technique is a life-saving treatment modality for patients at high risk of open-heart surgery (SAVR), or who prefer a minimally invasive (transcatheter) form of treatment. MeRes100 BRS, a next-generation 100-micron thin strut, Bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) is a coronary drug-eluting scaffold that degrades over 2-3 years. This novel BRS is proven to offer favorable long-term safety and efficacy outcomes* in patients with 0% scaffold thrombosis at 3 years. BRS is similar in function to metallic stents (conventional DES) but they are non-metallic, non-permanent mesh tubes, which dissolve over time thus restoring the artery back to its normal state. (*Source: Seth A et al., EuroIntervention 2019; 15: 1-9)

Meril has its headquarters in India, with an international business footprint in over 100 countries, and has 100% subsidiaries in India, USA, Germany, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Bangladesh, along with operations in China & Australia. At present, Meril’s team comprises over 4,000 employees who contribute immensely to the company’s endeavor to bring medical devices to global markets.