INDIA MEDICAL DEVICE INDUSTRY

Health care and medical industry has become India’s one of the largest and important sector. This health care comprises of hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment. The Indian health care is growing at a brisk pace due to its strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public and private.

India healthcare system is categorized into two different sectors i.e., public and private. The public category has limited secondary and tertiary care institutions in key cities and focuses on providing basic facilities in the form of PHC’s in rural areas while the private sector has many secondary and tertiary care institutions with a major concentration in metro, tier 1 and tier 2 cities.

India’s competitive advantages lies in large pool of well-trained medical professionals. India is also cost competitive compared to its peers in Asia and Western countries.

Currently, India stands at a cross-road of high-end, multi specialty private healthcare services on one end and lack of doctors, support staff, medicines and facilities at the other. High-end facilities and education platforms are concentrated near metropolitan centers. The medical electronics industry has been witnessed a double-digit growth in recent years and this growth trajectory is expected to continue due to the rising incidents of chronic diseases, increased urbanization and a growing elderly population and increased awareness about latest technology solutions to save augment life and rehabilitation. The influx of medical electronics technology has also reinforced the existing healthcare infrastructure in various ways right from digitalizing medial test, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to enhancing the reach of healthcare through telemedicine and Health IT.

India is one of the top 20 markets for medical devices in the world and is fourth largest market in Asia after Japan, China and South Korea. Socio-economic factors such as an increase in healthcare spending, potential for insurance coverage increase in doctor’s density and the un-served population are some of the driving factors for this growth. These factors lead to a greater requirement of healthcare facilities, which in turn, leads to higher demand for sophisticated devices and equipment.

The domestic medical device industry is highly fragmented; however, it is highly dominated by the MNC’s. Currently, this sector is import dependent with 70-75% of demand being met through imports. However, approximately 30% domestically manufactured devices are exported, with the consumables and disposables segment having the largest share. Presently, the sector is largely unregulated, with only 14 products notified and regulated as medical devices. Recently, Indian Government is in the process of taking steps to strengthen the regulatory and policy framework, research, infrastructure and skill development.

INDIAN MEDICAL MARKET:

The Indian medical market is significantly smaller than other overseas markets. However, macroeconomic factors suggest a huge potential for double-digit growth in the Indian medical device sector. Upcoming developments in the regulatory and policy framework are expected to accelerate growth of the Indian medical devices sector at an estimated 10-year CAGR
The Indian medical device can be broadly categorized into four segments.

1. Equipment’s and Instrument’s: Diagnosing imaging and IV Diagnostics forms major part of equipment and instruments with a market size of 1 billion $. Approximately 51 % of medical device imports are from equipment and instruments category. Key medical devices are MRI machines, CT scanners, ultrasound machines, dental drills, dental chairs, dental-x ray machines.
2. Consumables and disposables: Syringes, needles and catheters form a major part of consumables and disposables with a market size of USD 2 billion. These are only trade surplus segment of the medical device sector with domestic players having a largest market share. Key products are syringes, needles, catheters, bandages and dressings.
3. Implants: Implants segment is highly import driven and expected to grow faster than the other segments in the medical device sector. Key products are knee and hip implants, artificial joints, dental fixtures. Domestic players are experimenting with proprietary technologies and technology tie-ups. Products customized for Indian market may gain a competitive advantage.
4. Patient Aids: Hearing Aids and pacemakers form major part of the patient aids segments and constitute 70 % of market collectively. Key products are hearing aids, pacemakers and artificial respiration apparatus. Most products are primarily sourced from Ireland, USA, Australia, Singapore, China and South Korea.

The Indian medical industry structure is characterized by import dependency and a highly fragmented domestic industry. Presently imports are preferred over domestic manufacturing mainly due to the inverted duty structure and a lack of favorable policies and regulated framework. Various medical devices have been clustered in major parts of India. States have been drawn strength from the availability of skilled/unskilled labor and accordingly developed state-level policies. The following figure highlights the strengths of the top states with medical device clusters.

Such as

1. Haryana: Low end Consumables, Dental equipment
2. Delhi: Med Tech Innovators.
3. Gujarat: Stent Manufacturing, the laser cutting technology used in diamond cutting was modified in India to manufacture Stents.
4. Karnataka: Insulin pens, Medical IT, cardiac stents and implants, PCR machines.
5. Tamil Nadu: Diagnostics, critical life support systems, ophthalmology.

There are 100’s of small medical equipment devices in India in different segments of market however the bigger foreign markets dominate the medical industry. This is because the entry barriers to the industry are very high because of technology.

SCOPE OF GROWTH:

Considering the demand, the domestic healthcare sector is expected to rise to 100 billion $, according to India Brand Equity Foundation and 71% of this growth is expected to take place in hospitals. Investments in private sector is also growing up too. The sector was the second favorite destination for foreign investment in 2013, receiving 27 investments worth $181 million from the US. Overall, hospitals and diagnostics centers received an FDI of $2191.91 million, while medical and surgical appliances received $741.80 million in the last 13 years according to department of Industrial policy and promotion. These funds are used in setting up new facilities, research and development into innovative practices, super specialization for chronic diseases like diabetes, hepatitis B and medical treatments for both the domestic patients and those from abroad. These mean rises in recruitment and acquisition of a skilled workforce too.

Low cost medical innovation is an Indian specialty too, attracting investment from both domestic sources and foreign companies. Currently GE is in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant in Pune, which will see production of medical and surgical product too.

CHALLENGES FACING INDIAN HEALTHCARE:

1. Year on year, the challenges facing the sector have remained the same. While we are looking at a 100 billion $ growth, the perennial problems facing India are still those arising from malnutrition, sanitation and access to affordable hospitalization and clinical care.
2. On the other end of the spectrum, availability of a skilled workforce-both doctors and nursing and medical staff is cringing. Doctor-nurse density per 10,000 of the Indian Population is an abysmal 19.
3. Most of the skilled medical force is being sought out by countries in Europe and the middle east and retained by attractive compensation packages.
4. Compliance to regulations is still a cause for concern in both government and private sector too. The most problem is system lack of response and readdressed system which lead to medical negligence.

CONCLUSION:

The Indian Medical Device sector is certain to witness impressive growth as access to healthcare facilities in the country remains limited at present. Soon, the sector will be buoyed by a strong and robust regulatory framework. Currently, largely undeveloped, the regulatory framework will only act as a catalyst for growth once the proposed laws and policy changes are implemented. While the sector is currently import dependent with limited or no access to new technology, with the government’s improved focus and favorable policy, domestic players are beginning to give tough competition to MNC’s in varied categories. With all upcoming market, regulatory, policy and technological developments, the ripe to attract investments across the segments.

Wevio Global Inc A major industry that Wevio is working on is the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. This is to promote global market entry and sales. In addition, Wevio is working with various companies, industry associations to establish corporate relationships, enhance R&D support and IP (Intellectual Property) commercialization.

Wevio Continuedly working with various India Korea Medical Devices companies for Business Development. Our motive is with the collaboration of Korean Medical Devices Innovations and Technology solutions with Indian companies to do Make in India to Explore in India Markets as well as exporting to global markets.