Joint initiative of SCTIMST and KSIDC, to be based in Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram
Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala, will lay the foundation stone for one of the first medical device parks in the country, MedSpark, on Thursday, September 24.
To be established in the Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram, MedSpark will be a joint initiative of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC), as per a release from the Ministry of Science & Technology.
Kerala reportedly has a number of medical device companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs. 750 crores, most of them operating with technologies transferred from SCTIMST.
“This is a milestone for biomedical devices industry in the country and is fully aligned with the Honorable Prime Minister’s Vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, said Dr. VK Saraswat, NITI Aayog Member and the President of SCTIMST.
“The aspect that will distinguish this Medical Device Park from the few other similar projects proposed in the country is that it will focus on the high-risk medical device sector involving medical implants and extracorporeal devices, the domain in which SCTIMST has considerable expertise and experience,”
According to Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DST, “The aspect that will distinguish this Medical Device Park from the few other similar projects proposed in the country is that it will focus on the high-risk medical device sector involving medical implants and extracorporeal devices, the domain in which SCTIMST has considerable expertise and experience.”
“The park is being established under the Technical Research Centre for Biomedical devices programme of the DST, through a knowledge partnership with KSIDC, Government of Kerala, tapping the ecosystem that exists in the city with several research and academic institutions and health care centers. It was possible with the support of various departments of the Central Government and Niti Aayog,” said Dr. Asha Kishore, Director, SCTIMST.
When completed, the MedSpark is expected to have a medical device Testing and Evaluation Centre accredited to international agencies, an R&D Resource Centre for facilitating R&D in medical device domain, the services of which would be shared by the entities within the Park, a centralised Knowledge Centre for skill up-gradation with facilities for conducting training and providing support on regulatory issues, clinical trials, etc, a techology business incubation centre for promoting start-ups and early-stage companies, and a set of modular manufacturing units for lease by the industries coming to the park or land modules for setting up manufacturing units.
Operational expenses for MedSpark will reportedly will be generated from these revenue streams, while funding from the state and central governments (both Kerala State and Central) through various schemes will meet the capital expenditure and deficit in income against expenses during the initial stages, as per the release.
It is expected that the project would provide direct employment to 1200 people, besides generating employment of up to 4000 – 5000 jobs through supporting industries like OEM suppliers, service providers, and marketing/post marketing support activities.