Gradian - web

Developing a Market Entry Strategy for a rugged anesthesia machine for safer surgeries

Gradian Health Systems is a New York based non-profit start-up whose Universal Anesthesia Machine equips hospitals around the world to deliver anesthesia safely and economically in resource-constrained settings where compressed oxygen or continuous electricity may not be available. The team surveyed the national healthcare landscape, identified potential customers, and refined a comprehensive market entry strategy. An effective approach to scaling up in Zambia could ensure that every machine delivers the maximum benefit to the country.

Looking to enter the Zambian market, Gradian sought to assess the market potential of its anesthesia machine.

GlobalHealth Lab students mapped the healthcare landscape in the country, analyzing the roles of various actors—the Ministry of Health, mission hospitals, clinical educators, public hospitals, NGOs, and others—to determine the most appropriate sites for the UAM. To fill needed roles for an effective market entry strategy, they identified potential distribution partners, biomedical engineers, and product champions.

Having discovered that almost 40% of Zambia’s existing anesthesia machines were not in use due to lack of user training, maintenance issues, or lack of necessary infrastructure (such as oxygen and electricity), students developed a three-stage framework for Gradian’s market entry: empowerment, amplification, and adoption. The first stage is already underway. With the donation of a UAM by Gradian showing how the machine performed in situ, the team mapped a plan for the company to focus its market entry strategy on rural hospitals. The students also recommended several targeted initiatives to facilitate the next stages, suggesting different partners and the strengths they could bring to bear in the widespread distribution of UAMs.