“The market growth opportunities presented by government’s insurance scheme PM-JAY are being leveraged by the industry. Focus is now on accessibility and affordability of medical devices. Focus is also on indigenous manufacturing, innovation, research and development, on patient-centric device, on home based, do-it-yourself innovative therapies,” noted representatives of manufactures of medical devices in India, here on Wednesday.
The group, in a meeting organised by Confederation of Indian Industry’s medical technology division, also demanded promotion of indigenous innovations, single regulatory body in-charge of the industry and a national medical policy on the devices.
“As with every sector, there are challenges that remain in the form of arbitrary pricing, multiple regulatory authorities, inadequate regulatory coverage, lack of manufacturing and research ecosystem for local players, bias for imported devices over indigenously manufactured ones among others. These have to be weeded out to help the industry flourish,” the group said in a release.
It noted that the Medical Device Rules 2017, implemented from 2018, has been the culmination of a decade of advocacy and awareness-building for medical devices as a separate sector.
“This new regulation for medical technology is aligned with international regulations. Harmonisation is helping the Indian manufacturers raise their standards to international levels, thereby providing a fillip to export of devices from India,” noted the group.
