Medtronic to invest Rs 1,200 cr to expand Hyd R&D centre

Hyderabad: In a move that’s sure to boost Telangana’s ambitions to emerge as a global medical devices hub, the $30.6 billion Irish medtech giant

Medtronic

Plc is investing Rs 1,200 crore over the next five years in expanding its existing R&D centre in Hyderabad into its largest global R&D centre outside the US housing over 1,000 engineers.

The Medtronic Engineering & Innovation Centre (MEIC) at Hyderabad will conduct advanced engineering R&D and product development in the areas of design, analysis, advanced hardware and software development and testing, Madan Krishnan, VP-Indian Subcontinent and Minimally Invasive Therapies Group-APAC, Medtronic, said in a statement. The existing Medtronic R&D centre, spread over 90,000 sq ft at Gachibowli, has been operational since 2011 and currently houses over 350 engineers. The centre, which was acquired by Medtronic following its acquisition of Covidien in 2014, has already filed over 140 patents and made over 400 IP disclosures.

Medtronic is looking to ramp up its operations to over 1,000 engineers and has leased about 1.5 lakh space at the DSR Infratech in Financial District, Shakthi Nagappan, director, Telangana Lifesciences, told TOI on Tuesday after a virtual meeting held by Telangana industries & IT minister KT Rama Rao with the Medtronic top brass.

The investment, which has been announced at a time when the global and Indian economies have been struggling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, is expected to give Telangana’s medical devices innovation and manufacturing ecosystem a major leg up.

Pointing out that innovation is crucial to Medtronic’s growth strategy, Omar Ishrak, executive chairman and chairman of the board, Medtronic, said, “The expansion of MEIC will help us serve the Medtronic mission to use medical technology to alleviate pain, restore health and extend life for patients around the world, which is also aligned with the government’s vision to improve access to healthcare for patients in India.”

Telangana’s industries minister KTR said Hyderabad hosting Medtronic's largest R&D base outside the US is testimony to the city’s growing prowess in the medical devices sector. “The Telangana government is committed to the growth of medtech in the state and we see this partnership with Medtronic as a pivotal one. We will work with them to ensure this center will continue to contribute to their remarkable efforts to improve healthcare globally,” KTR added.