Nephroplus to set up 100 kidney care clinics in 3 yrs

Hyderabad-based start-up Nephroplus, a chain of kidney care and dialysis clinics, is planning to set up 100 kidney care clinics across the country over the next three years with an investment of Rs 100-200 crore.

“Due to increasing incidence of diabetes and hypertension, more and more people are at risk of kidney diseases. At the fifth and last stage of kidney diseases, where both kidneys fail to function, treatments like dialysis and transplant is required,” Vikram Vuppala, founder and chief executive, Nephroplus, said.

Around 2 million patients suffer from kidney failure in India, and each year 100,000-200,000 new cases are being added. Whereas, only 30,000- 40,000 patients go for dialysis treatment because of affordability.

 

The dialysis market in India is highly underserved and there is a dearth of quality options. “We are trying to provide affordable dialysis treatment for everyone,” he added.

Nephroplus, which started with three founding members Sandeep Gudibanda, Kamal D Shah, and Vikram Vuppala, began operations in 2009 with funding from angel investors and high net-worth individuals. It now has three centres at Banjara Hills, Secunderabad and at Mahbubnagar.

For the expansion to 100 clinics, it has raised its first round of VC funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, where the amount has not been disclosed. “Apart from the first round VC funding, we will be raising Rs 20-40 crore of debt financing from banks,” he said.

Each clinic takes between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore of investment depending on the location, city and the size.