Centre to aid development of indigenous thrombectomy device for stroke

Technology Development Board to fund S3V Vascular Technologies for manufacturing India's first thrombectomy device, aiming to reduce import dependency and boost stroke care

In a push for India’s medtech innovation landscape, the Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), on Friday announced financial support for the development of India’s first indigenous thrombectomy device for stroke care.

 

A thrombectomy device is a specialised medical tool used to remove blood clots—also called thrombi—from blood vessels, particularly in the brain, to treat ischaemic strokes.

 

Under the support programme, the TDB will sanction financial assistance to Mysuru-based S3V Vascular Technologies for the establishment of a state-of-the-art upstream integrated manufacturing facility at the Medical Devices Park, Oragadam, in Chennai’s Sriperumbudur.

 

Commenting on the development, TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said the project reflects the continued commitment to making India a global hub for affordable, high-end medical technology, especially in areas of critical public health need like stroke care. 

 

According to a study recently published in The Lancet Neurology journal, India registered over 1.25 million new stroke cases in 2021, a 51 per cent increase compared to 650,000 cases in 1990.

 

Dr N G Vijaya Gopal, Managing Director of S3V Vascular Technologies, said the company’s integrated manufacturing facility will not only reduce dependency on imports of the finished medical devices used in mechanical thrombectomy but also reduce India’s reliance on the import of raw materials required for the manufacturing of these complex, life-saving devices.

 

The company stated that it aims to integrate these devices into government reimbursement programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, thereby unlocking a domestic market estimated at $2 billion. 

 

“As part of its outreach, S3V also plans to collaborate with leading hospitals to offer simulator-based training for young interventionalists—especially in Tier-II cities, where the stroke burden is high,” it said.

 

Gopal added that S3V has initiated the CE and USFDA approval process for these devices to expand access to cutting-edge stroke care solutions across India, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the United States.

 

The company also intends to file patents for critical innovations such as the clot retriever head design, braid-over-coil aspiration catheter structures, and several advanced process technologies.