Joint efforts sought to boost medical device industry

Experts at a workshop suggested that the industry, academia and regulatory body should work together to boost and enhance the medical device industry in the country.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on May 16, 2023, hosted the workshop titled “Towards a Sustainable Medical Device Industry in Bangladesh”, which aimed to bring together regulatory bodies and industries to discuss the urgent need for collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders to drive the medical device industry forward in Bangladesh, reads a press release.

The event was attended by a wide range of professionals from the medical device industry leaders, government, and academia. The programme was presided over by the Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Satya Prasad Majumder and the chief guest of the programme was the Director General of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) Major General Mohammad Yousuf.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Abdul Jabbar Khan was the special guest of this event.

In the keynote speech, Prof Dr M Tarik Arafat highlighted the importance of collaboration between academia and the medical device industry. He has mentioned the expertise of BUET BME in the evaluation of medical devices ensuring the required standards for biocompatibility, performance, and safety.

To create a sustainable medical device industry, he mentioned that, the BME department at BUET is dedicated to developing highly skilled human resources who are capable of addressing the industry needs, conducting research and development and innovating new medical devices in close partnership with medical device industries and regulatory bodies.

In an interactive session with the industry stakeholders, mentioning the barriers against the flourishment of the medical device industry, they urged to host such seminars regularly. To address the local needs, the industry stakeholders extended an invitation to BUET BME students to visit their industries to provide hands-on training. They expressed their desire to invest in medical devices that meet the local needs of the population.

By doing so, they believe that they can work towards building a sustainable medical device industry that is both locally relevant and globally competitive.

In his speech, the special guest, Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Abdul Jabbar Khan, said that BUET has always been recognized as the centre of excellence in engineering in Bangladesh. He emphasised that collaboration among stakeholders is crucial to overcome these challenges.