Self monitoring blood glucose & insulin injection devices will see increased demand, spurred by an increased level of awareness as well as an increase in the number of diabetic patients within the country which are currently standing at about 1.8 million people, though a good 80% more of diabetics in need of treatment, are yet undiagnosed.

The pressing need to address and curb an increasing number of infectious diseases & hospital-acquired infections such as H1N1, MRSA, will naturally result in a strong move toward disposables, signifying this is an area of high growth potential. Malaysia manufacturers are already implementing technological advances in disposables esp. medical gloves, catheters, etc., and many companies have already set the stage to become leaders within the industry.

Opportunities are also abound to set up design & manufacturing innovation clusters for high-end medical devices e.g. cardiovascular, orthopedic implants, etc. There has been a global push for implantable devices based on the Asian physiology. For example, Malaysia by market forces has developed a dynamic cluster focusing on the entire value chain of orthopedics from biopharma growth factors & natural supplements to implantable devices. In order to fast track this sector, centres of excellences in orthopedics are required so that products can move from bench to bedside much quicker. Under the Industrial Malaysian Plan 3 US$ 234 M (RM 800 million) has been targeted as investment in medical devices/equipment for 2010

Given the right incentive and the right timing, investors may be well placed to capture and capitalize on the abundant opportunities that may be reaped in the medical devise industry within Asia Pacific and Malaysia.

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan