Kalam Institute of Health Technology (KIHT), India’s flagship institute dedicated to medical devices, is getting ready to launch its ambitious e-auction programme.  

The state-of-the-art institute, set up under the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) project initiative, aims at providing critical component knowledge to relevant institutions for focused research and development.

“Several prototypes, developed by researchers at IITs, universities and engineering colleges, are lying in these institutions. Unless they reach the prospective manufacturers, huge amounts invested for their research and development will not benefit the indigenous industry and the public at large. The e-auction programme will help resolve this issue,” a person with knowledge of the matter told Pharmabiz.

“The programme will go on stream anytime soon and the software is getting finishing touches,” the person added.

The institute has a separate cell for facilitating technology transfer and scientific cooperation. It intends to connect with knowledge networks such as national and international organisations, industry associations, business councils, regulatory agencies and trade departments.

KIHT is headed by a governing board comprising Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMED), Stanford-India Biodesign (SIB) Programme, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and other member institutions.

According to AiMED Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath, the association will be coordinating with the country’s top scientific institutions to compile a list of patents that have already been filed for various technologies and then seek the government’s permission to auction them. It will have strategies in place to decide the priority diseases in the country and see the unavailable technologies overseas. These unavailable technologies would be illustrated for research purposes in India.

Currently, the county imports more than 75 per cent of the medical devices required.  In the high-tech segment, the imports are to an extent of 95 per cent. Indian medical device manufacturers have been pushing for constructive measures to promote the domestic industry and reduce import dependency which would get reflected in healthcare cost.

While hundreds of prototypes developed by India’s top scientific institutions are lying idle in various labs, the import dependency remains at 85 per cent for products such as artificial dialysis apparatus and haemodialyser, defibrillator, lithotripsy equipment, ECHO, EEG, ECG, anaesthesia equipment, laparoscope and endoscope. The country imports even diagnostic imaging products like X-ray tubes, CT scan and MRI and consumables like cardiac catheter, syringe, suture and dialysers.