Indian medical device industry set to hit £4.5 billion

The Indian medical device industry has a potential to grow by £1.7 billion by 2016

The US-India Business Counsel has said  that this industry could grow from current £2.8 billion to £4.5 billion by 2016.

The US-India Business Council (USIBC)  also stressed yesterday that there is a need for a separate regulatory framework for medical devices.

The business body, that recently led a three-day medical device trade mission to New Delhi and Gandhinagar, said there are opportunities for collaboration to attract investment and talent to the sector.

The USIBC delegation said India had strong potential in developing innovative industries in the medical devices sector.

Maulik Nanavaty, senior vice president and president for neuromodulation at Boston Scientific, said: "Through this series of fruitful discussions, we have identified opportunities to continue collaborating with the government of India in support of its priorities to attract investment and talent to the medical device sector.

The delegation encouraged the government to pass legislation that would provide specific regulations for medical devices, which are currently treated as pharmaceuticals under India's Drug & Cosmetics Act.

USIBC director and legal policy council, Amy Hariani, said: “The medical device industry, which forms a critical segment of the healthcare industry, is going through rapid transformation in India and is projected to grow at a higher rate as health insurance becomes more widely available and the country's consumers continue to demand better healthcare services.”

Nanavaty said: "India has made considerable strides in developing innovative industries across a number of sectors and maintains strong potential to do the same in medical devices."