Medical textile is one of the fastest growing sectors in technical textiles. It includes textile materials used in hygiene, health and personal care as well as surgical applications.
Medical textile market in India is estimated to be Rs 2,298 crore (FY 11) and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent to reach Rs 5,719 crore by 2016.
The products included under Meditech are: Baby diapers, incontinence diapers, sanitary napkin, surgical sutures, disposables, surgical dressing, contact lens and artificial implants. Of the various end products within medical textiles, sanitary napkins and surgical dressings contribute to two-thirds of the total market size.
The major growth drivers for medical textiles in India are:
* Increasing health consciousness.
* Rising disposable income.
* Rising living standard of the people.
* Increasing interest in healthcare issues based on ageing, comfort, longer-living and affluent population.
Feminine hygiene products are rapidly becoming accepted in the developing regions. The uptake of disposable bed sheets and surgical drapes, gowns and caps is also increasing gradually and these are widely used in hospital wards now.
Because of high initial investment required in R&D, there are very few manufactures of Meditech products existing in India.