After cardiac stents were successfully used in local hospitals, Pakistan started exporting them commercially in small amounts to Iran, Afghanistan, and other African nations, according to information obtained.
Stents are usually composed of medical-grade metals such as nickel-titanium alloys, cobalt-chromium, or stainless steel. These materials were selected due of their biocompatibility, strength, and flexibility.
At the 21st Health Asia International Exhibition and Conferences, Dr. Syed Shahid Noor, Chairman of the Samane Shifa Foundation, told ProPakistani confidentially that Pakistan’s production facility is limited because it only makes stents in a single shift.
The capacity should progressively grow to three shifts when it has been scaled up from several possible investors. Patients can now obtain and afford treatment thanks to the use of Pakistani-made cardiac stents at prestigious local institutions like NICVD and Combined Military institutions.
In contrast to the imported brand, which can cost up to Rs. 150,000, local cardiac stents cost Rs. 25,000. For the establishment of the Medical Devices Development Centre in 2020, NUST (Islamabad) received Rs. 331 million from the federal government.
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The institute recently obtained a production licence from DRAP, and the stents have been approved by both European and Pakistani authorities. The facility can produce Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty Balloon Catheters (PTCA balloon catheters) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) in addition to Bare Metal Stents (BMS).
According to Dr. Noor, more than 20 medical gadgets are now in the development stage, and ten have been produced by local businesses in partnership with top universities.
According to him, the rules governing the promotion of medical devices should be updated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). Similar to pharmaceutical factories, DRAP requires 4,000 acres of land to establish a factory or facility for the manufacturing of medical devices.
In order to promote medical device facilities locally, the government should change its restrictions. He said that in order to create high-tech jobs and stabilise the nation’s macroeconomic indices, the government should design a comprehensive plan to grow the medical device industry.