Indian medtech companies see innovation to facilitate easy accessibility of precision devices. The integration of smart connected care, new advances in diagnosis and therapy into new settings and the improvement of clinical outcomes will continue to shape the market for devices and diagnostics companies for years to come.
According to Anish Bafna, CEO & MD, Healthium, the country’s medtech industry and medical devices sector has immense potential to emerge as a global manufacturing hub for essential medical devices and surgical consumables. Companies are demonstrating their capabilities to rise to the need of the hour with the expansion of India’s healthcare.
Currently, India stands at the vital cusp of a new dawn. With stringent regulatory overhauls like CE and EU MDR, the manufacturing capabilities of the sector have improved by leaps and bounds in terms of scale and quality. The adoption of new technologies is on the rise and digital healthcare is making inroads in the form of precision medtech and point-of-care testing for diagnosis and treatment, he added.
Further, the latent prospects of the medtech sector with the ‘Make in India’, has helped foster further innovation through industry academia partnerships. India has the potential to develop into a major centre for medical device R&D, as product innovation is key to achieving long-term success for medical technology companies. But there is also a web of short-term macroeconomic issues for medtech players to work through.
The year 2023 will be one to optimise on the learning of 2022. This is specifically for the medtech and consumables industry, as it stepped up the quality and volume of testing kits, diagnostics, ventilators, PPEs, and anti-microbial surgical consumables such as gloves and masks to meet the national and global demands. Companies will continue to invest in R&D and make meaningful collaborations both nationally and internationally to develop solutions that meet the needs of the hour, Bafna told Pharmabiz.
The expectation remains high in terms of research of medtech and devices sector in 2023. There is a need for a favourable policy environment with export incentives under the newly introduced Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products Scheme (RoDTEP), rationalise Custom Duties, roll back the Health Cess on the imports of medtech products and significantly amend the SEZ Act to allow medtech manufacturers to sell their produce in the domestic market, he noted.
Facilitating of single-window clearances for government approvals for the local companies, rebates on costs related to product registrations in foreign countries and keeping exported products outside the purview of price control will together contribute to a more significant push for exports are also required, said Bafna.
As India progresses towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Amrit Kaal, the future of medtech will demand stronger alliances, smarter use of technology and a lucid framework for the policy ecosystem. From setting up more medical device parks and special economic zones (SEZs) to partnering with the industry and academia to address skill gaps amongst surgeons, India is truly on its way to become a global manufacturing medtech hub by reducing its import dependency and making healthcare more accessible. The opportunity is ripe for India to emerge as the hub but how successfully we seize it will define our industry status, said Bafna.
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