Healthtech firms rush for D-Street debut

Five of 12 healthcare public issues since Jan '24 have been floated by such cos; rush fuelled by digitisation

- ANEEKA CHATTERJEE & SUNDAR SETHURAMAN

Healthtech IPOs (initial public offerings) are on the rise in India's healthcare sector — in fact, five out of the 12 healthcare public issues in the last one-and-half years have been floated by healthtech companies.

According to data shared by Prime Database, the healthcare sector saw 12 IPOs since January 2024 with a total issue size of ₹20,576 crore. Of these, five public issues belonged to healthtech companies — Entero Healthcare Solutions, Indegene, Sagility India, Sai Life Sciences, and Inventurus Knowledge Solutions. These five issues raised over ₹11,000 crore.

Other major healthcare IPOs included Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Akums Drugs, and Dr Agarwal's Healthcare.

Covid-19 pandemic had a deep impact on the sector and it accelerated digitisation, a sharper public and private focus on tech-enabled healthcare solutions, government ease, and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across the spectrum, from diagnostics to personalised treatment.

Amitabh Malhotra, vice chairman of investment banking at HSBC India, noted that the combination of rising income, greater insurance penetration, growing demand for medical infrastructure, and India's cost competitiveness positions the healthcare industry for sustained, multi-decade growth, driven largely by the private sector.