Globally 2 billion people are estimated to be anemic with ~30% of all women suffering from anemia. In India, iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a significant health crisis with nearly 2 out of every 3 women suffering from it. Anemia during pregnancy can exacerbate maternal and child mortality. Even if children of severely anemic mothers survive, they could suffer from abnormalities, premature deaths, and low birth weight. Although treating anemia is relatively straightforward, its detection remains challenging due to the lack of easy-to-use, accessible, and affordable screening methods. Conventional screening methods are invasive, painful, time-consuming, require skilled operators, and are often inaccessible in remote areas, making them unsuitable for mass or community screenings.

These methods are also poorly integrated with digital health monitoring.

Partha Pratim Das Mahapatra, an electronics engineer and management professional, grew up in a lower-middle-class family in Kolkata, where he witnessed first-hand the burden of healthcare costs. During his second year of engineering, his mother suffered a cardiac issue. The root cause of the problem surprisingly happened to be her chronic severe anemia- which the family was completely unaware of. Partha was baffled to learn that poorly managed anemia is one of the contributing factors to common heart attacks in women in their 40s. He realized that our country’s healthcare needs a more proactive approach towards healthcare through better disease screening and accurate diagnostics.

Later, while working with major multinational IT and healthcare companies, Partha was exposed to the global activity and developments in the field of screening which made him understand about the significant opportunity in this space. Inspired by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s India Mission 2020, which prioritized an Anemia-free India, Partha believed that high-tech yet simple, affordable, and accessible screening and diagnostic solutions were crucial for tackling major diseases. He founded EzeRx Health Tech with this mission.

EzeRx offers a platform for non-invasive monitoring of various health parameters to screen multiple health disorders. One of its flagship solutions, EzeCheck, is a portable, non-invasive device that measures hemoglobin and detects anemia in less than a minute by scanning the fingertip, without drawing a single drop of blood. The device can conduct hemoglobin tests at just INR 10 per test, is operable by semi-skilled workers, and is IoT-enabled. EzeCheck is paired with a mobile app that provides hemoglobin readings and interactive dashboards for mass screening programs.

EzeCheck has received certifications from CDSCO, ISO, IEC; validated by the ICMR and is also registered on the Government’s e-marketplace (GEM portal).

EzeCheck has achieved 23 lakh screenings with over 5,200 devices deployed across 17 states in India and 3 other countries. Its portability, affordability, and IoT integration have made it popular in community screening programs, government initiatives, and private sector deployments. The device is deployed in multiple government initiatives across states like Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh under the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Program as well as 2000+ schools in Orissa and Jammu Kashmir as a part of the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) program. Multiple government and private hospitals use EzeCHeck for anemia screening as well as HB checkup in blood transfusion centers. NGOs and CSR foundations like Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH Foundation, American India Foundation, JSW Foundation, Indian Oil Foundation, TATA Steel Foundation, Vitamin Angels have used EzeCheck in their anemia screening programs. EzeRx has partnered with renowned pharma companies like Sun Pharma, Emcure, Cipla, Zydus and BSV for anemia screening OPDs, screening camps, blood banks and blood transfusion centres. Sun Pharma also acquired a 38% stake in EzeRx in 2023. Health insurance and corporate wellness companies like Niva Bupa and Prudential are using EzeCheck for corporate health programs across India.