Universal Health(Coverage) Could Be Game Changer For Med Devices Sector

Swaminathan Jayaraman, Chairman, Vascular Concepts, in an interaction with Viveka Roychowdhury, elaborates on the turning points of Vascular Concepts and how it has helped form the foundation for the growth of the medical devices sector in India

- Viveka Roychowdhury

Congratulations on Vascular Concepts receiving the 2017 Asia-Pacific Coronary Care-Drug Eluting Stent Growth Excellence Leadership Award this March from Frost & Sullivan. Vascular Concepts will be completing two decades in 2018. What have been the major turning points in these two past decades?

Thank you very much for the wishes.

The two significant turning points have been the introduction of the Drug Eluting Stent (DES) (ProNOVA) in the Indian market and bringing in regulation in the medical devices sector in the last two decades.

Vascular Concepts has played a significant role in the growth of the DES market in India when the market was duopoly with restricted pricing with the MNCs in India. When the DES was launched in India, the Maharashtra FDA passed an order that only US FDA approved products should be sold in the state of Maharashtra. Vascular Concepts challenged the decision in Mumbai High Court and the court ordered the DCG(I) to include medical devices into the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. These have been very significant turning points in the last two decades for Vascular Concepts, which have helped form the foundation for the growth of medical devices sector in the country.

What do you see as the possible inflection points in the next five years, both for your company as well as the endovascular devices sector in general?