Malaysia Has Potential To Become Asian Centre For Medical Devices

PUTRAJAYA, April 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the potential to become the Asian centre for medical devices, said secretary-general of the Ministry of Health, Dr Chen Chaw Min. He said last year saw a 25 per cent increase (RM19.78 billion) from 2016 in the export of the national medical device industry, with the government expecting a further five to 10 per cent increase this year. He added that there should be more research collaborations between universities and the industry to invent innovations to help reduce the country’s dependence on imported medical devices. “The Health Ministry is a major buyer of medical devices with 145 hospitals throughout the country which are constantly in need of medical devices. “If our industry develops and becomes strong, we will be able to compete with overseas companies, thus reducing the cost of medical devices in this country,” he said during the pre-launch ceremony of the Malaysia Medical Device Expo 2018 (MyMEDEX 2018) here today. MyMEDEX 2018 will be held for three days from Oct 23 to 25 at the Putra World Trade Centre. Dr Chen said the event was expected to draw about 500 local and foreign exhibitors and 10,000 visitors. Meanwhile, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said MyMEDEX 2018 will be the platform for discussions and information-sharing for the medical device industry. -- BERNAMA