Medical device policy: A boost for industry, while consumers can hope for affordable, high-quality products

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A few years down the line, thanks to the newly announced medical devices policy, consumers may have more homegrown, affordable, high-quality equipment to choose from and cheaper hospital stays, say industry leaders.

The Union government on April 26, approved the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, which is expected to facilitate orderly growth of the medical device sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality, and innovation.

“As it happened in the case of consumer electronics, including mobile phones, wider availability of indigenous products may mean that quality products are available for people at lower rates,” said Rajiv Nath, forum co-ordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD).

Among the medical devices that are widely used are thermometers, N-95 masks, surgical tools, oxygen concentrators, blood pressure monitors and ventilators.

Currently, nearly 75 percent of all medical devices used in India are imported.

Mega plans for the next five years

While announcing the policy, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Centre’s vision was to accelerate growth with a patient-centric approach. The goal is to emerge as a leader in the manufacturing and innovation of medical devices by achieving a 10-12 percent share in the expanding global market over the next 25 years.

Currently, this figure stands at a mere 1.5 percent.

The policy also plans to create a single-window approval process for medical device manufacturers to ensure quick approvals and an accountable system.

The Centre has said that there is a plan for an increased role of agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to create standards for products, processes, and performance, and to ensure quality to make the indigenous industry globally competitive.

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On the infrastructure front, the policy not only envisions medical device parks but also clusters equipped with world-class common infrastructure for smaller manufacturers. Also, it aims to promote research through the establishment of centres of excellence in academic and research institutes, create innovation hubs, and develop “plug and play” infrastructure for start-ups in the sector.

In 2022, the Centre released an approach paper on the draft national medical devices policy for consultation and the latest policy is expected to help the medical devices sector grow from the present $ 11 billion to $50 billion over the next five years.

Big hope for the industry

Pavan Choudary, chairman, the Medical Technology Association of India, underlined that while India may have only 1.5 percent of the global medical device market, it has an 8 percent share in the MedTech research & development (R&D) workforce already.

“This is a fertile and proven area to focus on,” he said.

Chandra Ganjoo, Group Chief Executive Officer, Trivitron Healthcare, remarked that the latest policy aims to make the Indian medical device industry self-reliant and meet patients' evolving healthcare needs.