MRC Executive Director Grants and Innovation and Product Development, Dr Michelle Mulder reports back not he MRC Medical Device Landscape Analysis at the first Medical Device Stakeholder Forum event for 2022.
MeDDIC invited all stakeholders in the South African medical devices innovation and manufacturing ecosystem to join them for the first Medical Device Stakeholder Forum event for 2022. The session was hosted by Dr. Michelle Mulder Executive Director, Grants Innovation and Product Development at the South African Medical Research Council who reported back on the results of the South African Medical Devices Landscape Analysis undertaken by the SAMRC and collaborators.
The Medical Device and Diagnostic Innovation Cluster (MeDDIC) is a national initiative created to exploit a high concentration of skills, expertise, infrastructure and companies across South Africa within the medical devices field. The initiative, supported by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), is aimed at stimulating and intensifying technology innovation within the sector as well as encouraging an integrated ecosystem in support of increasing the competitiveness of the industry. It is hosted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) under the Global Health Innovation Accelerator (GHIA) program.
The cluster model advocates for the participation of both public and private entities, such as but not limited to the DSI, the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic), National Treasury, the National and Provincial Departments of Health, Industry Associations – South Africa Medical Device Industry Association (SAMED) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association of South Africa (MDMSA), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), science councils and the higher education institutions. The cluster will also seek partnerships with international organizations, where appropriate.
The intention is for an integrated ecosystem to be created by the cluster that can collectively address major challenges faced by the sector to achieve the common goal of a sustainable and competitive medical device industry.
All information presented on this post is attributed to Dr Mulder, the SAMRC and MeDDIC.
Mark Banfield is an independent Health Technology Consultant, providing consulting and advisory services in Business Development, Market Research, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance.