Table 1 The six companies of this study, their year of formation, their low cost products and the timelines for (i) product concept, (ii) year of first patent being filed and (iii) first sales in India

Xcyton (1993)

• CheX: ELISA-based in vitro diagnostic (IVD) kit for HIV patented by the company (1993; 1994; 1998). Technology for the remaining CheX kits was in-licensed from academic institutions and in one case from the Indian division of a multinational company (MNC).

• XCyto Screen series: PCR-based IVD kits for rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases (2003; 2006; 2011). XCyton owns the IP related to most of the tests, although for the kits for eye infections and sepsis it belongs to the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research which co-financed the research. Also, patents are yet to be filed for genotyping the Human Papilloma Virus.

Bigtec (2000)

• Micro-PCR device and reagents for low-throughput, rapid, point-of-care in vitro diagnosis of infectious diseases, suitable for harsh conditions (2002; 2006; 2012 expected)

GEH (2000)

• MACi: Portable ECG machine (2008; 2008; 2010)

ReaMetrix (2003)

• Dry-Tri: Cold-chain independent and easy to use CD4/CD8 assay reagent for HIV management, suitable for harsh conditions (2004; no patent filed; 2007).

• Fluorescence reader for CD4/CD8 assay (2007; 2011; 2011).

Embrace (2008)

• Portable and safe infant warmer that helps to preserve mother-child bonding and can work for 4 hours without electricity. (2007; 2008; 2011)

Achira (2009)

• Immunoassay-based microfluidic chips and point-of-care device for low-throughput rapid in vitro diagnosis (biochemistry), suitable for low-resource settings (2009; 2009; external validation planned)

• Immunoassay-based fabric chips for device-free, point-of-care in vitro diagnosis of infectious diseases (2010; 2010; internal optimisation ongoing)