In order to develop a dedicated centre for testing implants and drug eluting stents under one roof, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Ahmedabad is planning to develop itself as a centre of excellence for bio-compatibility testing and material testing as part of the proposal sent to the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) recently.

This would help medical device sector to have a dedicated set up for testing of high end medical devices like implants, cardiac stents and intra-ocular lenses. Plans to develop NIPER as a testing hub will further be strengthened with the government’s mandate to set up a National Centre for Medical Devices (NCMD) in the same campus to provide the much needed skilled preparedness to the medical device sector.

“Government has identified NIPER Ahmedabad to be developed as a centre for testing, research and human resource development in medical devices for the development of skilled manpower for the industry,” says Dr Kiran Kalia, director, NIPER, Ahmedabad,

NIPER Ahmedabad is also planning to collaborate with leading medical devices manufacturers nationally and internationally to develop skilled manpower for the industry who will also be equipped to handle testing modalities. “This will drastically reduce our dependence on foreign companies for doing testing of indigenous medical devices,” she added.

High quality and skilled manpower is one of the critical requirements in the pharma sector today. This has gained further impetus as government of India is planning to expand NIPERs across the country to nurture manpower and hence boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices in the country. More than 70 per cent of medical devices are imported as of today which has impacted the development of the domestic industry.

Gujarat Government is also in the process of setting up India’s first dedicated medical device testing lab in partnership with the Union Health Ministry and with technical support of Healthcare Technology Division of National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), a technical support institution under the Union health ministry.

These testing labs will allow manufacturers to overcome deficiencies in their products and enhance product value in the market which has been a hitherto neglected aspect. It will also ensure safety and efficacy of medical devices marketed in the country.

NHSRC, which had surveyed 16 testing labs in the country and nine medical device testing labs across the globe had submitted a report to the government specifying the need and also the modalities required for setting up such a dedicated medical device testing lab based on the standards existing globally.