ICMR Backs 7 Hubs With Rs 105 Crore To Develop Indigenous Medical Devices

With funding of up to Rs 15 crore per centre over the next five years, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified seven research hubs at leading Indian institutions across the country to develop priority medical devices and diagnostic technologies, with the focus on translating laboratory research into affordable products that can reach patients.

The move is part of the government’s plan to curb reliance on expensive imports as also to address gaps in India's healthcare technology ecosystem by supporting indigenous product development, clinical validation and commercialisation.

Its success, however, will depend on whether the selected centres can turn research into safe, effective and affordable technologies that meet clinical needs and secure the necessary regulatory approvals.

The seven institutions are the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at Kharagpur, Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur and Madras, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore.

According to a scientist from the ICMR, the Council has identified around 100 priority medical device and diagnostic technologies after consulting clinicians working across different healthcare settings, including tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Under the original call for proposals, institutions were required to propose developing at least eight to 10 technologies from this list, covering a mix of low-risk and high-risk products.

The selected centres will focus on a range of areas, including primary healthcare, frugal diagnostics, biomaterials, ophthalmic and vascular diseases, regenerative medicine and next-generation medical devices.

IIT Bombay's centre, led by Dr Abhijit Majumder, will develop portable screening, monitoring and point-of-care technologies for primary healthcare. These could support early detection and routine health monitoring, particularly in settings where access to advanced medical infrastructure is limited.

Similarly, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham's centre, led by Prof Gopal S Pillai, will focus on developing and validating technologies for eye and vascular diseases, while IISc Bengaluru will work on biomaterials and translational medical devices.

At IIT Kharagpur, the PRAGATICAR initiative, led by Prof Suman Chakraborty, will focus on frugal diagnostics, regenerative and personalised healthcare, artificial intelligence, digital health and advanced therapeutics. IIT Delhi's CAR-PATH centre, led by Prof Vivekanandan Perumal, will work on priority applied healthcare technologies.

IIT Kanpur's multidisciplinary project, led by Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, proposes to develop 10 priority healthcare products. IIT Madras will host TARaNGaM, a translational hub for next-generation medical technologies, devices and diagnostics, led by Prof Mohanasankar Sivaprasad, said the scientist.

ICMR has prioritised institutions with established capabilities in research, prototyping, technology transfer and commercialisation.

India imports 6,000 medical devices across 160 eight-digit HS codes. Of these, 40 HS codes with imports exceeding Rs 500 crore each account for Rs 77,000 crore – nearly 85% of the import bill.

The identified centres are also expected to use existing infrastructure, develop a skilled medical technology workforce and establish plans to sustain their activities beyond the five-year funding period.

The focus on commercialisation addresses a critical challenge in medical technology development: a promising prototype does not automatically translate into a product that can be used safely and effectively in clinical practice. Products must undergo appropriate testing and validation and meet regulatory requirements before they can be introduced for clinical use.

The programme's longer-term impact will depend on whether the centres can take technologies from research and development to manufacturing, adoption and wider availability, as per the scientist.

Affordable products that address unmet clinical needs could help strengthen domestic medical technology capabilities and improve access to diagnostics and healthcare solutions, added the scientist.