NIPERs to become world class research institutes by establishing Centres of Excellence, creating a talent pool of qualified and trained students

Dr. V K Paul said that the Union Government is working to ease life of elderly and public at large and is open to suggestions, including for making policy level changes. He said that the life expectancy in India has increased to 69 from 29 and it is going to increase going forward, so it provides both opportunities and challenges for healthcare. He further recommended developing smart and affordable solutions for the elderly population, especially for women.

The Union Government has notified a scheme for “Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector” with a tentative cost of Rs 700 crore over a period of five years which would help National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) in becoming world class research institutes by establishing Centres of Excellence and creating a talent pool of qualified and trained students. It would also help in launching of commercially viable products, thereby accelerating the growth of Indian Pharmaceuticals sector.

It was also informed that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and NITI Aayog are engaged in multiple initiatives around healthcare and welfare of the elderly in India to provide support and impetus to transform the Indian home and senior care landscape.

It was flagged that India has been importing 70 – 80% of medical devices despite having a long history of manufacturing medical devices. It was emphasized that there is a need to promote manufacturing in the country through greater investment, research, collaboration between industry and academia and promoting startups to be self-sufficient.

It was also observed that there are about 6000+ medical devices in the country under different categories. Noting that single domain knowledge is quite minimal considering the wide number of categories and products; and increasing public health expenditure and demand for medical devices, the need for a robust infrastructure to support the medical devices industry was highlighted.

Multiple Thematic sessions on MedTech were held on the occasion where participants from the Government, Academia and Industry deliberated on the future trends and challenges associated with the sector. Policymakers and Industry Experts advocated closer collaboration and partnerships between Industry and Academia in MedTech Sector. Industry speakers /Experts also shared their valuable thoughts and feedback during various sessions of the Medtech Expo 2023

The session on “Future Trends in R&D for MedTech Sector through Industry –Academia collaboration” highlighted the success stories as well as opportunities for future industry- academia linkage in medtech sector. The session ‘Future Trends in Skill development in MedTech Sector’ highlighted various initiatives taken by the Government for bridging the skill gap in the MedTech sector. Session on “Future Trends in MedTech for Geriatric & Home-based care” discussed about the opportunities and challenges of MedTech for home-based care, especially for the elderly. The session “Make in India for the World- Global Manufacturing Competitiveness” highlighted the initiatives taken by the government like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme towards strengthening indigenous manufacturing of medical devices and attracting greater investments for “Make in India”.

The session “Value based procurement (VBP): Ensuring availability of High-end MDs in Tier-II and III cities” highlighted the need to build awareness about the principles of VBP, its importance and relevance in the Indian healthcare ecosystem. All the key stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem like the Government, MedTech companies, healthcare providers need to work together to facilitate implementation of VBP in India.

The session on “Demand Forecasting with Procurement Agencies (Presentation)” saw presentations made by State Procurement Agencies of Government of Gujarat, Government of Tamil Nadu, ESIC and NEIGRIHMS, Shillong. Along with the procurement practices followed by these agencies, their estimated demand for coming years was also informed. Presentations on demand forecasting were also made by Private Hospitals & Diagnostic labs.

Dr Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Dr. N. Yuvaraj, Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Smt. Sonal Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Shri Manoj Aggarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Gujarat; Dr Sarah McMullen, Country Director, US-FDA.