Metropolis, Dr Lal PathLabs shares dip up to 3% as Amazon enters diagnostic market

Diagnostic stocks including Metropolis Healthcare, Dr Lal PathLabs, Krsnaa Diagnostics, and Thyrocare Technologies came under pressure during Monday’s trade (June 23), falling up to 3% intraday as investor sentiment turned cautious after Amazon launched home diagnostic services, intensifying competition in India’s $15 billion diagnostics market.

On Sunday, Amazon India announced the launch of Amazon Diagnostics — an at-home service that allows customers to book lab tests, schedule and track appointments, and access digital reports via the Amazon app — marking an expansion of its medical offerings beyond online pharmacy and teleconsultations.

The service, being offered in collaboration with Orange Health Labs, will be available in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, across over 450 PIN codes, the company said in a statement.

Last week, the company announced that it would invest over $233 million in 2025 to enhance its India operations. While the healthcare foray is in line with Amazon’s global strategy, India is the only country that has diagnostic services currently.

Amazon is not the only digital player entering diagnostics. Online pharmacies like Tata 1mg, Apollo 24/7, Pharmeasy, and Netmeds have all expanded their offerings beyond medicines to include diagnostics.

Industry experts believe that the diagnostics space, which has largely been unorganized and fragmented in India so far, holds significant potential due to changing consumer preferences as well as higher profit margins.

“There are three primary revenue streams in the B2C health tech space—teleconsultation, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical distribution. Of these, diagnostics remains the most significant profit pool,” Tarun Sharma, senior fund manager and healthcare and consumer strategy head at 360 ONE Asset, said. “So, this space continues to attract competition, which means constant pricing risk. At the same time, consumers are becoming increasingly discerning about the accuracy of reports and the overall quality of their experience,” he added.

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