|
Mr. Amit Dave,
M. Pharm, MBA,
Former CEO - Brazil Operations/ Vice President Export
– Zydus Cadila/Claris Lifesciences |
Country profile Singapore is
positioned at 12th number in the health care
innovation world index. Singapore population stands at
5.6 mn which is quite small compared to that of India.
However, close to 10 % Indian population as part of
the total population makes it an easy place to explore
and approach. Ethnic Diversity of the population is :
74.3% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9% Indian and 3.2% other.
Singapore is also a gateway to south east Asia market,
being a business hub for this region, adding to its
importance.
In the whole region, Singapore
spends maximum on healthcare on per capita bases now,
and this will further rise in the coming years. Ageing
population is seen as the most important reason for
this change. In the next few years, Singapore will be
a “super-old” or “grey” country in 2035 with 27%
population in above-65 age group, and this will demand
higher medical care focus. Its national health
expenditure is expected to grow to 43 bn US dollar
(For a quick comparison, Pharma market of India today
is valued at 42 bn USD). |
Singapore is the healthcare hub for the region and
attracts many medical tourism (now known as medical
value travel) clients making the market larger in
proportion to the population. Close to 500,000 medical
tourists (compare this with 5.6 mn population!) were
visiting Singapore (majority - about 60% - came from
Indonesia) before the pandemic.
MediSave and MediShield Life are the most popular
healthcare providers in Singapore where employed people
contribute regularly on monthly bases for health
coverage for them as well as their dependents.
Regulatory framework
Health Sciences Authority (HAS, under the Ministry of
Health) is responsible for the regulatory control of
healthcare products including Medical Devices. The law
controlling and guiding medical devices in Singapore is
the Health Products Act (HPA) and its Health Products
(Medical Devices) Regulations 2010. Their website link
for Medical Devices is https://www.hsa.gov.sg/medical-devices
and is one of the most user-friendly website as per the
experience of this author. As discussed earlier in this
column, the evaluation route for Devices is governed by
the risk classification of the device. The risk
classification system falls under -
Class A – Low risk devices (example – wheelchairs)
Class B – Low to moderate risk devices (example –
hypodermic needles)
Class C – Moderate to high risk devices (example –
ventilators)
Class D – High risk devices (example – heart valves)
An exporter from India can sell registered medical
devices directly to end users in Singapore with the
support of a licensed importer (holding ISO 13485 and
Good Distribution Practices) required to clear goods
through the customs. A distributor dealing with only
Class A devices may submit a declaration of conformity
to a Quality Management System (QMS) in lieu of ISO
13485 or Good Distribution Practices (GDP)
certification. This is important and useful for home
care / patient care products suppliers from India which
is a big market in Singapore which is a big
opportunity).
Medical Devices market
Medical devices industry of Singapore is estimated at
US$1.3 billion and the main drivers are increasing
government spending, an ageing local population, as well
as its supplies to cater the demand from the region.
A big opportunity is demand for home care devices such
as Elderly Care -Monitoring Systems (sensors at home,
applications, and wearable devices). 85% of the
country’s medical devices are catered by overseas
suppliers. The main suppliers are from the USA, Japan
and Germany. The market in Singapore is fragmented,
however, with supplies to the end users (public
hospitals, private hospitals, and others) being more
common.
The supply chain in Singapore is short and efficient.
There are agencies which do Indian suppliers’ product
match with Distributors at some fees and this service
may be worth looking into, mainly because frequency of
new distributors opening and going off from the market
is quite high here in this market. Singapore is a key
hub for manufacturing a range of advanced medical
technologies for global markets, including implanted
pacemakers, contact lenses, and mammography equipment.
Opportunities and Challenges
Singapore offers some very good opportunities -
- Home care and Elderly Care devices governed by elderly
population is clearly an opportunity. Almost all of
these products fall in Class A making importation by a
local party are easier.
- Singapore is an entry point for the whole southeast
Asia market. A stable political and economic environment
adds to the attractiveness of this market.
- Singapore’s strong base for research and innovation
can help med-tech companies in framing collaboration
models in healthcare. Also, unique and bubbling start-up
culture of Singapore can offer various financial support
opportunities for growing companies.
The main challenge is competition from the most
developed nations in the med-tech field. |
