- Over 100 Indian companies to visit Arab Health 2017 in Dubai
- 100,000 professionals from 160 countries, 4,000 exhibitors to participate
- Largest exhibition and congress in Middle East from January 30
New Delhi, Jan 30, 2017 – More than 100 Indian companies will participate in Arab Health 2017, the largest healthcare exhibition & medical congress in the Middle East and the second largest in the world, being held from January 30 to February 2, 2017 in Dubai. The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) and EEPC India will showcase India’s strengths in the medical devices sector with the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) being the branding partner for India’s participation at Arab Health 2017.
Over 100,000 healthcare professionals from 160 countries are expected to attend the event being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 4,000 exhibitors will showcase their products at Arab Health 2017. Professionals visiting Arab Health belong to a wide gamut of segments including medical technology, laboratory equipment, diagnostics, physiotherapy and orthopaedic technology, commodities and consumer goods for hospitals, information and communication technology in healthcare, surgical products and services, facility management, medical disposables, healthcare building technology, medical services, radiology, consulting services in healthcare, cardiology and medical publications.
Indian industry
The Indian medical devices market is currently valued at around US$ 10 billion and is expected to reach US$ 25 billion by 2025. The Indian medical device industry ranks as the fourth largest in Asia and comprises over 800 Indian manufacturers. Nearly 65 per cent of them have a turnover of over INR 10 crore (US$ 1.5 million).
“India has steadily widened the ambit of markets and now exports medical devices to more than 150 countries. Participation at Arab Health 2017 is expected to catapult the country’s status in manufacturing capabilities by highlighting the country’s competitiveness, credibility and service commitments,” according to Ms Anu P Mathai, CEO, IBEF.
Competitive advantage
Medical device manufacturers have significant focus on ‘designing-to-cost’ factor owing to the price sensitivity in the Indian market. The range of predominantly low-value to high-end medical equipment caters to one of the most diverse set of consumers. “Segment of Indian medical devices has gained competitive position in a majority of global markets. The brand campaign designed for the medical devices sector is expected to further improve the perceptions and awareness of Indian medical devices in global markets,” as per Mr Tarvinder Singh Bhasin, Chairman, EEPC India.
“India has obtained Market Authorizations from highly regulated markets like USA, Europe for high technology products viz., inhaler of Salmeterol and Fluticasone combination placing itself on par with the best in the industry even in class of high technology products” said, Mr Madan Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Pharmexcil.
Government initiatives
The manufacturing ecosystem across various sub-segments of medical devices industry has been improving at a rapid pace. The country is in the process of setting up three med tech parks in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. With common manufacturing facilities and consolidated raw material procurement, the parks will reduce cost of production.
Many skill development and training programmes are underway. As India has a large pool of doctors, a strong foothold in the medical devices manufacturing sector will further improve India’s reputation in the global arena.
Bright future
With a strong focus on technology, innovation and a conducive regulatory framework, the medical device sector is expected to attract strong investments in the coming years. Many international companies in this field are using India as a manufacturing base by either setting up facilities of their own, or by acquiring domestic manufacturers.