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NIPER Ahmedabad to be developed as centre for bio-compatibility testing for implants
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
July 11 , 2017
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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.
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