Pakistan charts path toward medical device manufacturing

Pakistan's medical device industry is moving steadily toward local manufacturing and export expansion, as experts and officials outlined a national roadmap at the 4th Annual SSF-EHTPL Conference held during the 22nd Health Asia Exhibition at the Expo Centre.

Organised by the Saman-e-Shifa Foundation (SSF) in collaboration with Easy Health Tech International Pvt Ltd (EHTPL), the conference was themed "Boosting Medical Devices Development in Pakistan" and brought together stakeholders from the government, industry, and academia.

Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal, who attended as chief guest, renewed the government's commitment to promoting locally manufactured medical devices through public procurement. He said indigenisation would help reduce costly imports while enabling Pakistan to tap into global export markets.

Appreciating the reforms undertaken by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), the minister said that over 800 device registrations were now being processed online within 20 days - a major improvement over the previous months-long manual system.

DRAP CEO Dr Obaidullah Malik announced that outdated, import-oriented regulations were being revised to better support domestic industry growth. He also signed a MoU with SSF to enhance collaboration in medical device development, stressing import substitution and export competitiveness.

A highlight of the conference was the unveiling of ALNO VENT, Pakistan's first locally produced next-generation ICU ventilator, developed by Alsons.

The ventilator was presented by Prof Dr Shahid Noor, Chairman SSF, and the federal minister to Abdullah Feroze of the Burns Centre Karachi.