'Disappointed' with draft norms for public procurement of medical devices: MTaI

The Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI), a body that represents leading medical technology companies, today said broad-brush criteria for public procurement will cause proliferation of manufacturing of low quality products in India.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) had issued draft guidelines for public procurement of medical devices earlier this month, stating that implants, hospital equipment and medical devices should have a minimum local content ranging from 25-50 per cent to qualify for it.

At present, India has got adequate manufacturing capabilities for products like syringes, cannulae, stop cocks, extension lines, blood bags, dressings, hospital furniture, and suction machines, but lacks the desired ecosystem for devices like heart lung machines, pacemakers, complex catheters etc, MTaI said in a statement.

"A uniform 25-50 per cent local content ask, preceding any meaningful scaling up of the missing sophisticated component ecosystem will create a risk of 'garage manufacturing' with low cost low quality Chinese knocked-down kits based assembly," MTaI Director Probir Das said.

Unlike several other sectors, medical devices are comprised of thousands of very varied products in engineering and design complexity, he added.

"Measures like price capping and preferential market access without taking into account the complexity of the sector are going to create obstacles in realisation of Make in India' goal." MTaI Chairman and Director General Pavan Choudary said.

Another medical devices sector representative body Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED) also expressed disappointment with the draft guidelines, albeit for different reasons.

"We are disappointed with the draft of PMA (Preferential Market Access) policy issued by DoP. It is a clear case of a lost opportunity to promote indigenous manufacturing of medical devices to boost 'Make in India' initiative, AIMED Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath said in a statement.