ICMR launches centers at 7 IITs to foster Make-in-India product development in Medical Device sector

New Delhi: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) & Department of Health Research (DHR) have unveiled ICMR-DHR-Centre of Excellences (CoE) for fostering MedTech innovations at seven IITs viz., IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Hyderabad, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Madras.

These centres of excellence for Medical Device and Diagnostic development have been set to develop the products/technologies in synergy with the requirements of the National Health Mission, Ayushman Bharat and Public Health Programs of the Government of India for their potential deployment.

Currently, the Indian healthcare sector has 80% import dependency for its medical device needs. ICMR-DHR-CoEs at IITs will bridge the gap by translating research into action.

"IITs being pioneers in undertaking research, innovation and prototype development along with ICMR's strength in conducting clinical trials, validation and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) will usher a new paradigm in Make-in-India product development in the Country. The ICMR-DHR CoEs at IITs will in turn collaborate with the medical institutes to develop need driven, affordable and inclusive healthcare solutions for their wider adoption," ICMR said in a release.

To support pandemic preparedness, ICMR-DHR has established Medical Product Gateway of India (mPRAGATI) at IIT Delhi under Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission(PM-ABHIM) scheme to develop diagnostics and medical technologies for epidemiological preparedness.

Read also: ICMR to develop Phase 1 clinical trial sites at Govt Institutes

mPRAGATI under PM-ABHIM aims at providing medtech development support through its state of the art facility which will provide support for C-GMP compliant pilot batch manufacturing and testing.

On the occasion, Dr.Balram Bhargava, Secretary-DHR & DG-ICMR stated that the setting up of CoE at IITs is a new ecosystem driven approach with a mission of bringing high end healthcare technologies for underserved community, catering to the last mile.

Read also: ICMR to develop Phase 1 clinical trial sites at Govt Institutes