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Medical Equipment Ecosystem: Options for Maharashtra

The objective

To create the ecosystem for medical devices and medical equipment to flourish in the State of Maharashtra.
Opportunities that we can create for this ecosystem need to set the boundaries and need to set the direction.

Where are we right now?

Global Medical Equipment Business 

It is a significantly large market. Western dominance of this market is 80%. 
GDP spent on healthcare is about 3.3% in South Asia. This is very low compared to 16.6, which is the European government's spending on the healthcare sector. There is a significant gap, where we should be and where we are right now.

Indian Medical Equipment Business 

Indian imports and exports last year: 

Marketing is between 40 and 50 billion dollars in India. It is a significantly large market. Most of it is 56% electronics equipment, 26% disposable and consumable, 8.1% IVD devices, and 7.5% implants and surgical.

Our exports have mostly been disposable and consumables. It is a lower-technology part where we are exporting. This needs to change very quickly.

Aspiration

Aspiration for India is short term goal 50 billion dollars by 2030
Long-term goal: 250 billion dollars by 2047. This is 25% of the global market.
That is the forecast.

We have a different approach about how these markets are going to develop in the next few years.

Over 14 growth driver categories are divided into three key themes:

  1. Changing disease patterns and health care delivery trends
  2. Demographics and socioeconomic factors
  3. Evolution of medical technology industry ecosystem

The most important factor is India's inherent digital and technological strength.

This is something we really need to capitalize on. Need to harness it properly and channelize it so that we can establish our leadership in this domain.

Indian medical Equipment Business Policy Support

  • The PLI Scheme is the cornerstone of this medical devices and medical equipment revolution in India.
  • In 2020, the government made the Medical Device Park Scheme. Also publish public procurement preference for Make in India orders.
  • Strategic direction in 2023 is national medical devices policy.
  • Started R&D Invention Schemes.
  • Meditech Mitra scheme for startups.
  • Human Resources Development Scheme.
    Business of 588 crores added by the PLI Scheme, hence it is a cornerstone.

Medical device park status as on today

There are several medical device parks in operation. Some are under development. In this list there is no name of Maharashtra State.

Maharashtra did apply for 2022 for Aurangabad, but the proposal was not accepted by the government. What we have now is Bulk Medicine Park in Dighi, which is not in equipment. 

Scope

Maharashtra needs to step up with this game. We are throwing around ideas on how it should be done. and how it could be done? Does it come from the government or from a non-government source?

We have an immense opportunity here to try to do something significant for the country.

Indian Medical Equipment Business, Future

Trends in Indian scene are, 

  1. CAGER growth is 8 to 5%, whereas Indian medical industry CAGER is 20%. It is almost double the worldwide CAGER. It is a tremendous opportunity for us right now.

    The pharmaceutical industry is growing about 12.3%. All major pharma companies are moving towards MedTech technologies.
    Working on digital innovation and cost compression. Trying to export, expand globally, and enter into a price-sensitive segment. Trying to enter into a market where we are import reliant.  

  2. Market focus on digital-driven technologies in the areas of prevention, monitoring, after post-treatment, on-call diagnostics, at-site diagnostics, data analytics, etc. The whole system is moving from the traditional in-hospital settings to outside the hospital and becoming more and more digital. This trend will be continued in the future.

Medical Equipment Park, Options for Maharashtra

  1. Medical Equipment Industry, which consists of the market demand, tax structure, regulation, IPRs, homologation, all approvals that are necessary for industry, etc.
  2. The medical industry ecosystem, which consists of raw materials, machine technologies, innovations happening, etc.
  3. Macroenvironmental at national level, which consist ease of doing business, labor laws, Cost of financing, etc.

To achieve growth opportunities, we need to manage each of these along the way.  

Elements of Ecosystems

  1. Investor: This is the starting point of the ecosystem.
  2. Government: Government has to play an active role in the implementation of policies.
  3. Products: Involves hardware which will include molding, metal work, electronics components, as well software, homologation, which may talk about common testing facilities, product quality, innovation, etc.
  4. Legal: involves IPR, Product conformity,
  5. Logistics: involves warehousing, infrastructure, etc.
    All these should be a part of the ecosystem to make it successful.

The first step is to set up Idea Incubation Lab. This should be at the cluster site or linked to the cluster site. Also need financial support and mentors. and support for R&D expenditure.

Here Techform is doing wonderfully well; Techform has really good resources, resource persons, and companies who can take things forward. 

Government Facilitation Centre

This will have representation from the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation, the laboratory co-ordination officer, the DGFT support staff, and the state government liaison officer at the cluster.

Human Resources

A medical park cannot exist without core technology resources. These are biological sciences- biophysics, biochemistry, material scientists, physicists, and chemists.

We also need to have engineering resources like electronics, metallurgy, and manufacturing technology, including moulding, stamping tooling, etc. And Machine building knowledge resources like SPMs, robotics, automation, etc.

Social science and market researchers.

Trained labour.

Common Testing Facility

  1. Calibration facility
  2. Microbiology/bio-compatibility testing
  3. Rapid prototyping
  4. Material characterization testing
  5. Product life cycle testing
  6. Physical and Physico-chemical testing for plastic raw material products
  7. Critical care product testing
  8. Software validation
  9. Electronics product testing
  10. Attached hospitals

Common Legal Facility

  1. Licenses, which are required for import, sale, manufacture
  2. Loan of medical devices under the MDR
  3. Manufacturing a notified medical device in India; Approvals of state and central government
  4. Clinical Investigations/Clinical Performance Evaluation
  5. Product Standards- BIS, ISO, IEC
  6. Labeling
  7. Quality Management System (QMS)
  8. Export-Import restrictions
  9. Advertising and sales promotion
  10. Anti-Competitive practices
  11. Patient protection
  12. Data Exclusivity
  13. Trademarks
  14. Pricing of medical devices
  15. Penalties

Common Logistics

  1. Warehousing
  2. Road/rail infrastructure
  3. Inland Port services
  4. SEZ facilities

Other facilities

  1. Water Supply
  2. Power Supply
  3. ETP
  4. Drainage

Read more on >> Medical Device Park

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