BioVoice News September 2016 Issue 5 Volume 1 | Page 26

bio chat “MedTech industry in India awaiting to unleash its potential” In a chat with the BioVoice, Mr Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry (AiMeD), the apex body representing domestic medical devices manufacturers, spoke extensively on various issues concerning Indian medical technology industry. Read the detailed interview below: BY RAHUL KOUL How do you view the recent move by the government to put a price cap on imported stents? Are the Indian stents really of the matching quality? The long awaited move of government to step in to control the high prices of cardiac stents shall bring relief for many poor patients for whom the cost of affording a drug eluting stent (DES) had become prohibitive. A correction and price regulation in this market was long overdue and AiMeD supports government’s move to finally put a cap on the MRP’s which shall ensure fair practices in this important sector which was plagued with exorbitant prices charged from ignorant helpless patients. Current Indian Market is around 5.50 lakh Stents per annum out of which more than 90 percent are DES. The market is growing at a speed of around 15 percent every year and shall become the second largest market in the World after China by 2020. Drug Eluting Stents were launched in 2001 by US multinationals who ruled the market with more than 85 percent share until 2010 when Indian DES started getting acceptability. There was a general perception since last 10-15 years that that American Stents have better quality standards based on the clinical trials performed and thus they command a higher price. However, there are several Indian companies which have done extensive efforts to create Indian Drug Eluting Stents which have proven equivalent and even better than American DES in Large Clinical Studies (Randomized control trials where Indian DES is compared with American DES for its clinical performance and quality Standards). The clinical data of these Proven Indian DES with high quality standards have been audited and published by Top Journals of Cardiology worldwide. 26 BioVoiceNews | September 2016 “ There was a general perception since last 10-15 years that that American Stents have better quality standards based on the clinical trials performed and thus they command a higher price. However, there are several Indian companies which have done extensive efforts to create Indian Drug Eluting Stents which have proven equivalent and even better.