According to a recent report by Allied Market Research, the global surgical equipment market is anticipated to reach USD 15737.1 million by 2023. Factors driving the growth of this market include the rise in demand for surgical tools due to the increasing number of surgical procedures with rising prevalence and incidence of various chronic diseases. Furthermore, increasing health care expenditure, demand for plastic and reconstructive surgery, and surge in demand for technologically advanced minimally invasive surgical procedures are factors expected to boost the growth of the global surgical equipment landscape.
The global surgical equipment market is mainly dominated by North America followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The advent of new technologies, high-per capita income are the major factors fueling the growth in the North American and European countries. However, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to witness a substantial growth due to various factors such as the advancing medical tourism industry and rising need to fulfill unmet healthcare need.
Other factors include a rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases that require surgical procedures and improving healthcare infrastructure in the region.
The Indian medical devices industry is currently valued at around USD 5 billion, which is estimated to be around 6.9 percent of the USD 72.6 billion of Asia Pacific industry size. The Indian medical devices organizations have sought phase gated monitoring of output quality and product pricing, amidst the mounting concerns of price controls.
A meeting with stakeholders on the 1st of July, 2020 was held by the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority to make sure that medical devices sold locally would be treated as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act with effect from 1st of April, 2020. Therefore, now all medical devices will be regulated by the Government of India as drugs for quality and price control.
Representations were being sent by the medical devices industry associations to the NPPA concerning the regulation of medical equipment under the Drug Price Control Order in a phased manner. This was mainly for products where no MRP is required to be printed as provisions of Legal Metrological Rules 2011.
“At the last meeting we had recommended that for products with MRP less than Rs 5, the condition of a maximum 10 percent increase in MRP in the last one year be relaxed,” said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, Ai-MeD. “We have also suggested that NPPA may enforce the new regulations in a phased manner,” he added.
The various types of medical devices that include the syringes, needles, cardiac stents, knee implants, digital implants, digital thermometers, and machines for CT scan, MRIs, and dialysis will be regulated under the DCA.