Thursday, April 17, 2008

New regulatory structure for medical devices sector on the anvil

by Jo Black

The Indian federal government is in the process of creating a new and better regulatory structure for the medical devices industry as part of its effort towards achieving quality healthcare for all, Debasis Panda, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said addressing the Medical Technology Conference on the theme of ‘Interactive partnership - accelerating sustainable healthcare’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi.

In the next couple of months, the government will provide some regulations for the medical devices industry that is growing in a haphazard manner, Panda said and added that the Health and Family Welfare Ministry is working towards a switch from a control regime to a regulatory regime to cope with the new technologies and treatments that are now available.

The Ministry was working on regulations for the medical devices sector in discussion with the industry and would factor in the recommendations from the ongoing conference deliberations as well, he said and added that the new Rural Health Mission, correcting the regional imbalance in medical colleges, legislative reforms and penal provisions for regulating the drugs sector were other priorities.

India’s healthcare sector is in a dynamic phase of growth but the technology being provided must work towards providing affordable healthcare to all, said Dr Naresh Trehan, President, Indian Healthcare federation and Immediate Past Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare. It is imperative to accelerate growth through partnering and aligning with the key stakeholders including the healthcare service providers, medical technology industry and insurance providers, he added.

CII’s National Healthcare Committee has made huge strides by bringing the industry and the government together on several issues relating to providing sustainable healthcare to the masses and this interactive conference will work towards taking this process forward, Dr Trehan said.

Indian healthcare sector is all set to become one of the largest in the world. The Medical services and devices industry must tap into this emerging market and explore the potential of India as a future production hub while focusing on improving the quality of healthcare, R&D and ethical issues, said Anjan Bose, Conference Chairman and Senior Director and Business Head, Philips Electronics India Ltd. Innovation is the key to sustainable growth of the sector as well as providing sustainable healthcare, he added.

There is urgent need to understand and regulate the composite and complex medical technology industry and this conference is aimed at bringing together all the stakeholders to discus issues of technology, manufacturing, financing and above all ethics, said Alok Mishra, Chairman, CII Medical Equipment Division and Area Manager International - South Asia, Johnson & Johnson Medical Asia Pacific.

Healthcare is among the largest sectors and the largest employers in the country and the medical devices industry looks forward to the regulatory structure that is coming up, said Rohit Mehta, Vice Chairman, CII Medical Equipment Division and General Manager, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

The Indian Medical Technology sector has come a long way in providing quality healthcare products and has seen an increase of investments in healthcare facilities, especially in hi-tech medical equipments and devices. The Medical Equipment industry is estimated at $2.17Billion, growing significantly at 15% per year. It is further estimated to reach US$4.97 Billion by 2012.

 

 

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