From potential to powerhouse – India’s MedTech sector in focus

The Indian medical technology (MedTech) sector is on a trajectory of remarkable growth, poised to touch USD 50 billion by 2030. India accounted for 1.5 percent of the global medical devices market share in 2020. With exponential growth of the healthcare industry and deeper penetration of health insurance, it is but a matter of time that India’s evolution as a global leader in the healthcare will actualize. As always, there are caveats and factors to consider. India is an extremely price-sensitive market, and healthcare has a mindset of safety embedded in it. Risk taking and innovation do not lend them easily to facilitate movement from tried and tested methods or technology adoption in this sector.

The sector is highly fragmented in India, with players focused on manufacturing low-priced high-volume devices, primarily focused on consumables and disposables where the competition is intense. On the flip side, overall import of medical devices saw an increase during 2021-22, reflecting continued dependence on global markets. Analysis of the sector broadly classifies products into – premium differentiated, premium undifferentiated, value, and basic. Products are mirrored ranging from being innovative with proven benefits and highly priced to products providing a basic service at affordable prices rather than optimizing outcomes.

Asia-Pacific is poised to be the second-largest market after the US going forward. Having said that, patients in India generally access not the premium products in medical technology, not purely due to the cost but also to the relatively underdeveloped infrastructure and lack of relevant trained healthcare professionals, after-sales service, etc. The complexity gets further muddied by sometimes a fragmented delivery system and an evolving regulatory and reimbursement regime.

MedTech companies need to introspect and design products that keep the above in mind. Being mindful of varying degrees of healthcare awareness and an inherent push back to adopt new technology by providers of care, it would be prudent for companies to build new capabilities, address gaps in after-sales service, and have cost-effective commercial models. Collaboration with users, regulators, and innovators will reap rich benefits for the industry and the country.

This then begs for a strategic focus on promoting research and development (R&D) investments alongside a surge in demand for high-end devices. With price pressures on cost of healthcare delivery and demand on the supply side for high-quality international standard of care, there is a growing emphasis on affordable, dependable, and indigenously manufactured high-value medical devices.

Initiatives such as the Medical Technology Assessment Board (MTAB) and the establishment of incubation centers and innovation hubs aim to catalyze this transformation. Moreover, advancements in technologies like IoT, 5G, Generative AI (GenAI), and 3D printing hold promise in customizing innovative solutions tailored to the Indian patient population. India has a demography of healthcare professionals raised on the internet and fluent in digital literacy. Businesses that engage in building multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, epidemiologists, AI scientists and engineers, taking on responsibility to shift toward value-based and innovation-driven manufacturing, thereby fostering self-reliance and accessibility in medical devices manufacturing, can make this happen.

Government initiatives like the promotion of research and innovation in Pharma-MedTech (PRIP), National Medical Device Policy (NMDP), National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, Assistance to Medical Device Clusters for Common Facilities (AMD-CF), and production-linked incentives (PLI) are pivotal in creating a conducive system of innovation. Government, as the custodian of public health, will play a pivotal role in this endeavor. Strategic interventions and creating a conducive regulatory environment are imperative.

India is at the crossroads, with a choice between continuing as a producer of low-end medical devices or high-value ideal versus realistic. With steadfast commitment, India is primed to emerge as a global leader in medical technology, propelling the healthcare industry into a power house of excellence.