India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) posted a draft guidance for medical device software, providing some clarity about the agency’s expectations for this class of products even if it seems to break no new ground.

As is the case with the Made in China 2025 initiative, the Make in India program has at least a decade of history to look back on, with some benefits accruing to the nation’s med-tech sector. All the same, Gunjan Bagla, CEO of Los Angeles-based Amritt Inc., told BioWorld that the initiative could be more successful if the legislature would tweak the laws to create a more helpful environment for industry.

As is the case with the Made in China 2025 initiative, the Make in India program has at least a decade of history to look back on, with some benefits accruing to the nation’s med-tech sector. All the same, Gunjan Bagla, CEO of Los Angeles-based Amritt Inc., told BioWorld that the initiative could be more successful if the legislature would tweak the laws to create a more helpful environment for industry.

With a new medical device policy, India is laying the groundwork for a spurt in domestic manufacturing and to emerge as an innovative and globally competitive in the space, which is currently heavily reliant on imports. The new National Medical Devices Policy 2023, approved by the government at the end of April and notified in May, aims to place the Indian medical devices sector on an accelerated growth path.

India’s drug regulator has approved 31 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs out of more than 300 banned products, after an assessment by its drugs technical advisory board. It has also asked for more phase IV postmarketing data for 19 others.