Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Tuesday called for promoting industry and academia collaboration for developing affordable medical products.
"There is a need for promoting industry and academia collaboration for developing affordable medical products so that innovations and advances in medical sector can reach a vast population," said Nadda inaugurating "1st World Conference on Access to Medical Products and International Laws for Trade and Health" here.
The conference was in context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Highlighting the importance of transparency between regulatory authorities and pharma sector, Nadda said: "The coordination between the national regulatory authorities and pharmaceutical sector will enable launch and registration of new health technologies."
He further said that the dialogue on role of competition in competitive pricing and discussion on related WTO agreements influencing health should lead to a larger umbrella of suggested policy options for the government.
Nadda stated that the 2015 National Medical Device Policy would enable local manufacturing in the multiproduct, multidisciplinary industry.
"In India, nearly 150,000 orthopaedic knee procedures are done every day. More investments and more players in the medical devices sector will lead to lowering down of prices and access to medical products as most of the governments are sensitive to access and pricing of medical products," he added.
Present on the occasion, V.K. Paul, member, NITI Aayog, said there was a need for investment in medical products for preventive therapy and treatment.
He highlighted the importance of affordability, quality, domestic production capacity and creation an eco-system of policy and innovation for greater accessibility of affordable medical drugs and devices.
"Technology is an integral block for strengthening medical systems in any country and must also ensure timely maintenance of medical equipment by suppliers in remote and rural areas such that equipment functions effectively," said Paul.
--IANS
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