Innovation & Technology

DBT – AMTZ COVID Medtech Manufacturing Development

DBT-AMTZ COMManD [COVID Medtech Manufacturing Development] strategy is to address the shortage of critical medical equipment in India and move progressively towards a stage of self-sufficiency. This an excellent example of how supportive governance and progressive science could be brought together to address immediate and futuristic priorities.

AMTZ is an established medical equipment manufacturing ecosystem and DBT is a pioneer department within the government of India for support of medical technologies sectoral growth. Under this strategy, DBT is supporting Andhrapradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) which is Asia's first medical equipment manufacturing ecosystem, uniquely dedicated for Medtech. The COMManD strategy has 3 focal points.

1. Supporting the startups and innovators that have till now taken support from DBT/BIRAC for medical technology projects. All these innovators and entrepreneurs are being supported by AMTZ, technologically facilitated towards the next level of product realisation. This includes steps such as inclusion of their innovative technologies in the formulation of appropriate standards, providing subsidised infrastructure for testing and validation, facilities for prototyping, partnership with manufacturing units and provision of startup space and furthering their chances of development and market access.

2. Many medical device manufacturers have the potential to make critical equipment like ventilators and diagnostic kits, thermal scanners or medical textiles, which is much needed in COVID context as well post-COVID period. However, to rapidly scale up the manufacturing, it would require a huge investment in plant and machinery, without which such scale-up will not be possible. DBT, therefore, is supporting AMTZ to invest in the plant and machinery in these companies which are situated within AMTZ campus in Vishakapatnam so that their rapid scale-up of infrastructure and production capabilities could be achieved.

3. Drafting of appropriate standards and safety norms, validation protocols for these medical technologies such as Ventilators, N95 masks and so on. This would be an important area of support to ensure that their quality and safety are upheld, at the same time ensuring their registration on government e market place and through the orders received by AMTZ from the government of India is met. This provides industrial partners with an avenue for market access.

DBT-AMTZ COMManD strategy is therefore a three pronged approach which has been put in place by the support of DBT, GOI and the ecosystem support of AMTZ, to ensure that rapid infrastructure capabilities are used for progressively improving the manufacturing capabilities of domestic manufacturing in the medical technology sector in a rapid and quality assured manner.

The oucome of COMManD Strategy would be:

I) 10,000 kits (RTPCR) per day increasing upto 40,000 bits per day by May 30th
ii) 10,000 units (antibody) per day increasing to upto 60,000 units per day by May 30th
iii) 3000 ventilators per month from the month of May
iv) 1000 infra red non touch thermal scanner per day
v) 3000 PPE kits per day
vi) 40,000 (N95) masks per day