NINE medical technology companies will pursue registrations with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) within the year, according to the Medical Device Association of the Philippines (MDAP).
MDAP President Luis Ramon V. Rodriguez said attracting investment from original equipment manufacturers and device assemblers will help reduce import dependence.
“There are companies that are trying to find their way to PEZA to do assembly. There is a Malaysian company, a Taiwanese company, an Israeli company, and a Korean company,” he said.
The companies include LKL International Bhd, Graceheal Medic Sdn Bhd, Star Medik Group, Bell Comm International, EPI Academy, Tyson Bio, Karuna Enterprise Sdn, Man&Tel Co. Ltd., and Tuttnauer.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said that aside from the medical device companies, some Malaysian pharmaceutical companies are also looking at setting up manufacturing operations in economic zones.
“So out of the nine companies, it is LKL that is ready for filing. It is a big Malaysian company specializing in hospital furniture and beds. The others are expected to apply this year,” he said via Viber.
“LKL has found an ecozone location; it is not Victoria Industrial Park (VIP), but I will convince the others to locate in VIP,” he added, referring to the country’s first pharmaceutical ecozone.
According to Mr. Rodriguez, the Philippine medical device market is forecast at P130 billion this year.
“However, we are too dependent on imports. I think (import dependence) is 99.2%, so almost everything,” he said, noting that the sources of imports are China, Japan, the US, South Korea, and Indonesia.
He said that currently local production is limited to prototype units and disposables such as surgical gloves, syringes, and needles.
“So hopefully we can have companies that would come to the Philippines and do assembly or even manufacture,” he added.
According to Mr. Rodriguez, opportunities lie in digital health and artificial intelligence integration, local manufacturing, and innovation. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
