Aurolab and Cheap Lenses

How Aurolab, set up by Aravind in 1992, cut the price of intraocular lenses from around $100 to a few dollars, making cataract surgery affordable worldwide.

Aurolab made lenses cheap.

The problem

In the early 1990s, imported intraocular lenses cost around $100 or more, too expensive for poor patients.

Aurolab

Aravind set up Aurolab in 1992 to make lenses in Madurai.

Price cut

Aurolab made lenses for a few dollars, a fraction of imported prices.

Global reach

Aurolab exports lenses, sutures and drugs to over 100 countries.

Economics

Local manufacturing and frugal innovation cut costs dramatically.

The $5 lens

A cataract patient in Africa receives an Aurolab lens that costs a tiny fraction of an imported one.

Thinking medical devices must be expensive

Aurolab made lenses cheap.

Key takeaways

Imported lenses cost around $100.
Aurolab was set up in 1992.
It cut lens prices to a few dollars.
It exports worldwide.