india.medtechinsider

Analog Devices Continues to Grow Medtech Footprint in India

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:40:28 +0000

Analog Devices India (ADI), a global manufacturer of high-performance semiconductors, has said that it is keen on enhancing its medical-related business in India. “We monitor the Indian market closely, as it is one of the fastest growing in the world, and we continue to build relationships between our medical electronics system experts and key design companies through seminars, training and direct support,” says Tom O’Dwyer, Director of Technology, Healthcare Group, Analog Devices. Through its design center in Bangalore, ADI has worked on some of the new-generation components aimed at healthcare markets, a role that is likely to expand.

ADI’s India medical devices revenue currently is relatively small but it is poised to grow significantly as multinational companies (MNCs) and design houses develop medical equipment for local and global markets.

Many MNCs are doing a substantial amount of their product development in India. While they originally redesigned existing equipment to reduce costs for distribution in India and the other BRIC countries, they are increasingly developing original products. Moreover, medical equipment designed in India is finding its way into mature markets, where healthcare costs are coming under increased scrutiny.

Design houses in India have made inroads as subcontractors, particularly in the vital signs monitoring equipment sector. They have matured from a software-only business model to providers of full turnkey solutions. Several now are established world players performing R&D work for global medical electronics companies.

US, European Suppliers to Medtech Industry Weigh Opportunities in Indian Market

GE Healthcare to Expand R&D Team in India

— Meera Kay

India’s Domestic Medtech Manufacturing Champion Sells Ortho Company to Smith & Nephew

admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:46:51 +0000

UK-based orthopaedic implant manufacturer Smith & Nephew has announced the acquisition of Pune-based Adler Mediequip Pvt Ltd, including the brands and assets of Sushrut Surgicals Pvt Ltd, a leader in mid-tier, orthopaedic trauma products for India. The transaction was made for an undisclosed sum to the Pitre family. The announcement stunned some in the industry, as Sushrut-Adler Group Managing Director Ajay Pitre has been an outspoken champion of domestic medical manufacturing.

The acquisition will give Smith & Nephew a well-established platform to develop products for India’s mid-tier market and for export. In particular, it gives Smith & Nephew an entry point to India’s fast-growing trauma segment.

“Sushrut-Adler’s trauma portfolio strongly complements our established positions in orthopaedic reconstruction and sports medicine in India, giving us an enhanced platform from which to continue to build a sustainable business,” said Olivier Bohuon, CEO, Smith & Nephew.

Adler employs 116 people; approximately 50 Sushrut employees also will transfer as part of the arrangement. Products include trauma implants and instrumentation, as well as spine and limb products.

The news sent shock waves through India’s device industry, as Pitre is Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries, Medical Equipment Div., and member of a core committee advising Indian regulators on medical device regulations and implementation strategies. (Medtechinsider interviewed Pitre in April 2012 in an article titled, Developed and Emerging Markets Benefit from Innovation Made in India.)

Pitre has waved the banner for an indigenous medical manufacturing base, declaring the need for a strong, vibrant and cost-effective domestic industry and urging the abolition of tariffs that disadvantage the medical device industry in India.

Nepal Gets Second Telemedicine Centre

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:57:49 +0000

The UK-based Swinfen Charitable Trust and Char Bhanjyang Tamu Samaj, a nonprofit social group made up of people from Bhangara, Dadra, Laame and Thanamaula in the Parbat district of Nepal, who currently reside in the United Kingdom, have contributed to the establishment of a telemedicine centre at Thanamaula VDC in a remote part of the South Parbat district of Nepal.

Funded by a donation of six million rupees from Lord Roger Swinfen and Mrs Patt Swinfen of the Swinfen Charitable Trust, the centre started operating on 8 April 2013 with the aim of bringing telemedicine services to the region from doctors in 65 countries.

This is the second telemedicine centre to be established in Nepal. In 2011, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) set up a telemedicine centre at Kathmandu with financial assistance from the government of India under the SAARC telemedicine network project. The SAARC was established on 8 December 1985 when the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter for the promotion of economic and social progress and cultural development within the South Asia region.

Although telemedicine typically is seen as a cost-effective way of providing healthcare services to remote locations, some experts feel it does not live up to expectations.

A Whole System Demonstrator study that compared the cost effectiveness of telehealth supplemented by standard treatment services with only standard support and treatment services showed that telemedicine is not cost effective for patients with long-term conditions, at least not when it is used in addition to standard treatment. The study, which was recently published in BMJ, indicated, however, that if equipment costs are reduced and working capacity is increased, the probability that telehealth is cost effective increases to about 61%.

— Meera Kay

More Bad News for Telehealth: Study Demonstrates It Is Not Cost-Effective

Telemedicine to Reach 1.8 Million Patients by 2017, Study Finds

Australian Software and Electronics Consultancy Seeks Partnerships with Indian Device Manufacturers

admin — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:27:07 +0000

Hydrix Pty Ltd, a software and electronics design consultancy based in Australia, has said that it is open to collaborations with Indian device manufacturers. “We are exploring companies that may be currently developing devices for the local market but intend to expand to international markets and lack the certification know how required for US FDA approval or CE marking,” said Peter Lewis, Director. “Hydrix will provide high-level design support and, in the process, transfer the design-for-manufacture expertise that is required for western markets.”

Lewis participated in Victoria’s fourth major trade mission to India and took part in BioAsia 2013 at Hyderabad. Lewis said that he has spoken to about 30 companies in India and that five to eight talks resulted in detailed conversations about new product ranges or improvement to current products to suit US and European market requirements. Hydrix may be able to assist, he added, but it was too early to be specific.

Hydrix’s range of services include technical feasibility, IP landscape review, project and risk management, systems engineering, electronics and software development, human factors engineering, design for manufacture and regulatory compliance.

— Meera Kay

Cellenium 19 First Indian-Made Haematology Analyser to Receive CE Mark

admin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:56:38 +0000

Trivitron Healthcare, headquartered in Chennai, has announced that its Cellenium 19 is the first haematology analyser designed and manufactured in India to receive CE marking, allowing its sale throughout Europe. This is a significant milestone for India’s medical device industry, as most indigenous manufacturers produce low-value products such as syringes, needles, catheters, blood collection tubes and medical electronics.

The Indian medical device market is expected to be worth $11 billion by 2023, according to London-based business analyst visiongain, but most of the economic activity historically has relied on imports, which benefits multinational medical device manufacturers. However, Indian startups have begun to produce prototypes and launch pilot projects aimed at this market, from inexpensive portable ventilators to diagnostic and drug-delivery devices. In the past few years, more manufacturers are turning to the development of high-end medical devices. Trivitron Healthcare is among them.

Cellenium 19 is already exported to Middle Eastern countries and Southeast Asia. CE marking enables distribution of the device to countries throughout Europe via Trivitron’s newly acquired Trivitron-Ani Labsystems in Finland.

— Meera Kay

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. Expands Global Shared Services Centre in India

admin — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:00:53 +0000

Sigma-Aldrich Corp., a supplier of chemical products and kits for high-technology scientific research, recently announced the expansion of its Global Shared Services (GSS) centre in India, which will offer value-added capabilities to drive business growth and accelerate operational excellence. The announcement comes at a time when economic and research-funding uncertainty in the United States and Europe has made customers wary of mature markets. Many are turning to India as a key location for growth.

“India remains a major focus for Sigma-Aldrich,” says Karen Miller, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Corporate Communications. “With GSS, we will leverage our capabilities, talent and infrastructure in India to better serve our global customer base.”

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. has made noteworthy Asia Pacific investments during the last few years, including the opening of a packaging facility in Bangalore and a new facility in Wuxi, China, which is now fully operational, and the completion of a new SAFC Hitech precursor manufacturing facility in Taiwan.

India is one of the company’s key locations and its activities include material sourcing, manufacturing, QC testing, packaging and distribution. The GSS centre, located in Bangalore, spans 45,000 sq ft and is fully operational. The opening of the facility followed on the heels of Sigma-Aldrich’s recent 20-year anniversary of doing business in India.

Sigma-Aldrich manufactures biodegradable polymers for medical devices, drug-delivery systems and tissue engineering.

— Meera Kay

Indian Healthcare Providers Boost Spending on IT

admin — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:25:52 +0000

Healthcare providers in India will spend Rs 5700 crore on information technology (IT) products and services in 2013, according to a study published by Gartner Inc., an IT research company. The 7% rise over 2012 is attributed to healthcare providers adding or upgrading internal (including personnel) and external IT, hardware, software and telecommunications.

“Rising demand from the growing middle class in India’s large cities is fueling growth in private sector healthcare,” says Anurag Gupta, Research Director at Gartner. ”Large national and state government programmes will spur growth in the primary (and secondary) care sectors and in the public health domain.” Hospital information systems, picture archiving and communications systems, electronic health records and mobile technologies will be high on the agenda, according to Gupta. “We expect to see providers benefit by offering cost-effective business models that show quick returns on capital by improving patient coverage and quality of care. Health insurance growth also will catalyse technology adoption,” he adds.

Telecommunications, which includes networking equipment and services, will remain the largest overall spending category throughout the forecast period within the healthcare providers sector. It is expected to grow 3.9% in 2013 to reach 17.2 billion rupees in 2013, up from 16.6 billion in 2012. Most of this growth will be in enterprise communication equipment.

Internal services will achieve the highest growth rate at 18% in 2013. Internal services refer to salaries and benefits paid to the information services staff of an organisation. The information services staff includes all company employees that plan, develop, implement and maintain information systems. IT services ranks second, with 9.7% growth in 2013 to reach 14.5 billion rupees, up from 13.2 billion in 2012. Process management and consulting lead the charge in that category.

— Meera Kay

Regulatory Conference Explores India’s Economic Future

admin — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:50:27 +0000

India’s initiatives to encourage the enforcement of regulations will be central to discussions at the sixth Regulatory Conference of DIA, India. Rajiv Gulati, President of the Global Pharmaceuticals Business at Ranbaxy Laboratories, is scheduled to deliver a keynote address titled, “India, the Upcoming Economy: Encouraging Enforcement of Regulations,” at the two-day event, which runs 5 and 6 April 2013 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Other notables scheduled to speak include K. Anand, President, Global Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Zydus Cadila, and Rajiv Desai, President, Quality, Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd. Also participating will be the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), Dr. G. N. Singh, and Zoher Sihorwala, Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Dr Reddys Lab.

The conference will focus on the challenge of keeping India’s pharma industry competitive in the world market. While there have been significant achievements in reaching global standards, more needs to be done for India to stay competitive in the world market, say event organisers.

Thought leaders from local and multinational pharmaceutical companies, clinical research professionals, academics, regulators and key healthcare stakeholders will debate regulatory and related issues and discuss their impact on India’s economy.

— Meera Kay

India, China Drive Growth in MRI Market

admin — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:50:48 +0000

A bright future is forecast for manufacturers of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems selling into China and India, even as some mature markets stagnate or even enter negative territory, according to GBI Research. The business intelligence agency reports that China’s MRI systems market will grow from US$306 million in 2012 to U$574 million in 2018, achieving a CAGR of 9%. India’s market is expected to grow from a value of US$87m to US$148m during the same period, at a CAGR of 8%. By contrast, Germany projects 6% growth and Japan is forecast to achieve a paltry 2% growth. Worse, the UK MRI market is expected to contract by 6% CAGR.

The number of MRI machines per person across India and China is significantly lower than in many developed countries, but the introduction of cheaper components is steadily driving down prices and boosting sales, reports GBI. The continued growth of Asian economies is also boosting standards of healthcare and raising treatment expectations, further promoting the use of MRI machines.

GBI Research predicts the combined MRI systems market revenue for the 12 countries covered in the MRI report to hit US$6.3 billion by the end of 2018 from US$4.4 billion in 2012, at a CAGR of 5%.

Medical Technology a Neglected Part of Healthcare in India, Says Zimmer India Managing Director

Norbert Sparrow — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:08:35 +0000

“Medical technology is critical to improving health outcomes, but it is an often neglected component of healthcare in India,” says Sanjay Banerjee, Managing Director, Zimmer India, in an interview published by MEDTEC Connection. “Medical devices, in particular, need to be considered in a wider context of a complete healthcare package targeting the public health needs of India,” he stresses.

In this wide-ranging interview, Banerjee discusses the many challenges facing India’s healthcare ecosystem—a small indigenous manufacturing base, regulatory delays and the burden of healthcare costs on individuals—as well as the opportunities, which are legion.

“Medical technology is one of the fastest growing sectors of Indian industry,” says Banerjee, noting that its growth has been driven by a healthcare sector that has been expanding at 15 to 20% per year.

Read the full interview on MEDTEC Connection.

Banerjee is scheduled to speak at MEDTEC Europe 2013 in Stuttgart, Germany, on 28 February, as part of a conference track on global regulations.