The market for stents has expanded, not shrunk, after price control

While multinational Abbott remains the market leader, Indian players have also established a toe-hold; only the middleman and the patient in corporate hospitals have been hit

Just about 17 months after the Union government brought stents and orthopaedic implants under price control, three unexpected developments in the health care industry have puzzled experts and patients alike.

Growth in the use of stents has been healthy in spite of the earlier fears expressed by hospitals that manufacturers of the device, particularly the multinational firms, would withdraw the products since the price control was so ‘draconian’, and that patients would end up suffering due to lack of choice. The reality is that stent manufacturers continue to do good business today.

It is the distributors of these devices, however,