India’s medical device market is expected to rise five times to $50 billion by 2030 with appropriate regulation, according to a report released on Thursday by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi.
He was giving a speech in the nation’s capital at a symposium on the categorization of health items that was hosted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The DCGI highlighted the advantages of regulation, such as international recognition and quality control, which all contribute to industrial expansion.
“There are several benefits to regulating an industry, but the most important ones are quality control and standardization, which are vital in the healthcare sector because it involves people’s lives. Growth is accelerated by a regulated industry because it increases global trust in the manufactured goods. According to projections, the industry might double in size from its present $5 billion to roughly $50 billion by 2030 “said Raghuvanshi.
Aside from highlighting unethical activities and cautioning against sacrificing quality for profit, he also emphasized the necessity for industry-wide commitment to high ethical and quality standards, considering the healthcare sector’s crucial role in saving lives.
Currently, only 20% of medical equipment in India are made locally; the remaining 80% are imported. In order to change this equilibrium, the government has implemented a number of programs, incentives, and policy changes.
Raghuvanshi observed that tremendous progress had been made, as seen by the licensing of over 3,200 production facilities and 10,000 import licenses in just 1.5 years.
He emphasized the necessity of attaining a net positive trade in medical devices and reversing the import-manufacture imbalance.
We presently have roughly 280 manufacturing licenses and about 900 import licenses for in vitro devices. Nearly all of the reagents used in in vitro diagnostics are imported, even though many of them are manufactured domestically. There are a lot of commercial options and promise in this area,” he said.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Technical Officer, Madhur Gupta, emphasized that India must create its own reagents for diagnostic kits within the next three to five years.
Asserting that “this shift would not only reduce costs but also improve access,” Gupta advocated for a coordinated strategy to fortify diagnostic programs in cooperation with state governments.
A special session on the definition and classification of health products was held during the conference, which was attended by over 100 industry delegates from the healthcare sector. The session focused on the roles that health products play in preventing disease, promoting health, managing health problems, and providing rehabilitative, assistive, or palliative care.
