Medical Device Development – A Novel Experience in Patenting and Technology Transfer

The Biomedical Technology Wing of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) was set up to develop appropriate technologies to meet the health care needs of India with a variety of facilities for research and development in biomaterials and medical devices. The institute has developed and transferred 12 technologies for commercial production and six others are in advanced stages of transfer. Apart from the direct savings in foreign exchange, the lower price of these competitive indigenous products has in every instance, helped to keep down the price of the imported counterparts. Novel methods of technology transfer have been developed to ensure successful commercialization in the country, where a medical devices industry hardly existed. The strategies using novel approaches and their development and changes with time are described in the paper.