Kerala to house one of the first medical device parks in India

Kerala will soon house one of the first medical device parks in India, focusing on the high-risk health device sector to provide a full range of services like R&D support, testing, and evaluation, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has said.

MedSpark is going to be established at the Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district. The medical devices park is envisaged as a joint initiative of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), an institute of the DST, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), according to a statement.

"This medical device park will stand out with its emphasis on the high-risk medical device sector involving medical implants and extracorporeal devices, in which SCTIMST scores with its knowledge," it said.

The park will create an enabling support system for R&D, testing, and evaluation of medical devices, manufacturing support, technology innovation, and knowledge dissemination.

These services can be utilised by the medical device industries located within MedSpark, as well from other parts of India. This is expected to benefit small and medium-sized medical devices industries, which dominate the medical devices sector, it added.

ALSO READ

How tele-ICU monitoring services are addressing the shortage of ICU specialists in remote areas

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will lay the foundation stone for the park on Thursday.

"Sree Chitra has made substantial contributions to the biomedical devices sector over the last 30 or more years and has established itself as a pioneer in this field," SCTIMST president V K Saraswat said.

"This is a milestone for biomedical devices industry in the country and is fully aligned with the prime minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India)," the NITI Aayog Member said.

Kerala has currently a number of medical device companies with an annual turnover in the excess of Rs 750 crore, most of them operating with technologies transferred from the SCTIMST.

The aspect, which will distinguish the park from the few other similar projects proposed, is that it will focus on the high-risk medical device sector involving medical implants and extracorporeal devices, the domain in which the SCTIMST has considerable expertise and experience, DST Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said.

When completed, MedSpark will have a medical device testing and evaluation centre accredited to international agencies, and also an R&D Resource Centre, according to the statement.

The project is expected to provide direct employment to 1,200 people, besides generating up to 4,000-5,000 jobs through supporting industries, it added.