Examining Barriers to the Commercialization of Medical Technology in India

It is critically important for cost-effective and efficacious products to be developed indigenously within India. The Stanford-India Biodesign (SIB) program is designed to bring to market novel medical devices for India’s medically underserved, including those living in poverty. The purpose of the study is to identify the barriers that exist in India to commercializing low-cost medical technologies. The current work developed by SIB will be used as case studies, along with a literature review and ecosystem assessment, to determine the key issues that prevent or slow device commercialization in this environment. By studying these issues, new strategies and risk mitigation techniques can be designed to help more of projects succeed. The results are expected to have a wider impact beyond the SIB program given the number of entrepreneurial medical technology opportunities that are just beginning to be developed in India.