1 In search of the missing hand of the ‘State’: The case of the Indian medical device industry

Abstract

Over the last decade the Indian pharmaceutical industry has emerged as a leading supplier of generic drugs to both developing and developed countries, while the biotechnology industry made the country self-sufficient in vaccine needs. The movement of the Indian pharmaceutical industry along the R&D value chain represents a remarkable shift from public sector driven to private sector oriented innovation. The Indian industry moved from being an importer of drugs to imitator of drugs and a major supplier of medicines to other developing and advanced countries. The Indian government’s industrial policies and adoption of a weak regulatory system played a crucial role in shaping development of innovation capability. However, compared to the success of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, other crucial sectors in healthcare industry such as the medical device industry have not witnessed similar growth. This paper studies factors that supported growth of the pharmaceutical industry and issues that hampered development of the medical device industry in India