Jul. 16 –Australia-based Cochlear Ltd., the maker of the world’s best-selling hearing implant, has announced that it will open a wholly-owned subsidiary in India after robust growth in the past five years.

The company has been growing by 25 percent annually in India via distributor sales. A 100 percent-owned subsidiary will improve the company’s presence in the country and allow them to offer comprehensive patient and product support.

Its service center will be located in Mumbai to deal with repairs and there are also plans to offer a patient management system.  The company is committing to invest US$15 million in the new subsidiary.

According to World Health Organization estimates more than 50,000 children with profound hearing impairment are born in India annually.

Cochlear Ltd is at the right size to have its own operations and having a direct operation would involve more investments, besides its own people, said Dyranda Hortle, Cochlear Ltd’s Regional Director for Southern Asia, outlining the company’s plans to grow locally.

Of the 100-odd countries that Cochlear is present in, India is the 22nd country where it has gone direct, Hortle adds.  The company currently has 8 cochlear implant clinic around the country.