The move to have an unfavourable impact on the
Make in India initiative and FDI inflow in the medical devices sector
The
Health Ministry notification to include coronary stents in the National List of
Essential Medicines (2015) is likely to weaken the industry sentiment further,
according to FICCI. The government took the decision after the sub-committee
looking into issues involving stents recommended their inclusion in the NLEM
(2015).
“As the
Indian medical device industry braces up for new opportunities, it remains tied
up in the restrictive business environment. With the recent announcement on
inclusion of coronary stent of all categories in National List of Essential
Medicine the industry sentiment has further weakened,” said FICCI in a press
statement.
Pharmaceutical
formulations and medical devices are two inherently different sectors and
cannot be dealt with by the same formula. “Unilateral and unsuitable price
controls on stents and medical devices will adversely affect the usage of innovative
and high quality products in India and thus reduce the levels of patient
outcomes. This will have an unfavourable impact on the Make in India intentions
and FDI inflow in the sector,” said Probir Das, chairman, FICCI Medical Device
Forum.
Industry
feels that with the recent notification the access to latest technologies to
patients in India is likely to be prohibited and will hugely impact both
medical tourism which thrives on availability of latest medical technology, and
clinical outcome for Indian patients. Attracting global investments for
realising Make in India would need a mature handling of policy decisions for
this sector, to keep investor sentiment high and a positive outlook on
investing in India for this sector.
Das
informed, “Innovation and incremental improvement is the foundation of the
medical devices sector that has to regularly invest in research and development
for upgrading medical technology for the benefit of the patients. Price
controls create disincentive for manufacturers to bring new technology to
market.”
Stents
are wire-like mesh that are inserted into blood vessels to remove blockages in
patients having heart problem. There are various types of stents available in
India such as old generation bare metal stents, drug-eluting stents (DES) and
new-generation absorbable stents. Some consumer groups claim that doctors,
hospitals and retailers charge high commission for stents increasing the cost
of stents to ultimate user (ie patients). It is alleged that a stent with ex-factory
cost of Rs 30,000 is sold at Rs 40,000-45,000 by distributor to a hospital,
while the patient has to pay Rs 1,00,000 for the product. This prompted
government to look at ways to bring price regulation of stents under the
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, which monitors the prices of
medicines.
However,
the industry experts believe that the price control will not improve access.
“In no market around the world has access to high quality medical treatment
improved without a combination of strong reimbursement mechanism and high
quality medical technology adoption. It is time for the government, insurers,
manufacturers, and providers to embrace common objectives and to acknowledge
and fully support the crucial role of medical technology assessment in the
enhancement of the quality of health care,” FICCI added.
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