The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : A strong legal system for medical devices mooted

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Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

A strong legal system for medical devices mooted

Special Correspondent

International Knowledge Millennium Conference under way

. -PHOTO: P.V.SIVAKUMAR

Big strides: Chief Minister K. Rosaiah receiving a memento from N. Vaghul, Chairman of International Knowledge Parks, in Hyderabad on Monday. (Left) K. V. Kamath, Chairman of ICICI Bank is also seen

HYDERABAD: With the healthcare industry poised to turn into a $280 billion sector by 2022, a strong and comprehensive legal system exclusively devoted to medical devices is the need of the hour.

The medical equipment market was witnessing a steady growth and it is critical that India formulates and implements a comprehensive regulation in this and allied fields, stated a paper presented at a two-day International Knowledge Millennium Conference here on Monday.

The paper mentioned that the absence of regulation for medical devices had allowed their free flow into the country causing a serious dent to the vital aspects of quality and safety. Lack of benchmarking and certification further diminished the credibility of equipment. India still followed the Indian Drug Cosmetic Act of 1940 (amended in 2008) for medical devices which was incongruent to present realities, it pointed out.

Inaugurating the meet, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said, commercial ventures with social and scientific obligations were the best means of sustained growth of economy and people.

“We need to have not only job-seekers but also job- givers. It is the entrepreneurs who keep pace with science and technology, who can help our population in many ways”, he added.

He said the innovations made by physicians of Ayurveda and Unani systems were examples of contributions made in the earlier years to improve healthcare and its accessibility.

“We build on this in the field of modern medicine using the brains of our young researchers who help transform the fruits of research into products and can reach all our people”.

Viability factor

ICICI Bank Chairman K.V.Kamath said innovations could be evolutionary or revolutionary but must be economically viable. . The biggest change is the communication revolution and this would have deep economic and social impact.

Bala S.Manian, chairman of the conference, said there was a huge gap between research and translating it into products with access to a large number of people and called for a paradigm shift.

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