To provide relief to patients undergoing orthopedic surgery requiring knee implants, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) extended the timeline of price cap on these devices by one more year. The move is likely to drive the sale of knee implants in India, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report Knee Reconstruction (Orthopedic Devices) – Global Market Analysis and Forecast Model (COVID-19 market impact) reveals that the medical devices market in India, which accounted for more than 11% of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) medical devices market in 2019, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% through 2028.

Rohit Anand, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The number of knee replacement surgeries are expected to come down in 2020, impacting the sales amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The decision to continue the price cap on knee implants for another year will encourage patients to advance knee replacement procedures and we may see a surge in these procedures in 2021.”

Large multinationals including Stryker, DePuy Synthes, Smith & Nephew and Zimmer Biomet currently hold majority of the market share. GlobalData expects these four players to continue to dominate India’s knee replacement market.

Mr Anand concludes: “Price cap on knee implants may impact supply of these devices in the long run as shrinking profit and trade margins may discourage multinationals to bring innovative products. Subsequently, they may not see India as an attractive location to do business. However, this may also encourage multinational companies to invest in manufacturing in India.

“On the other hand, the move will ultimately benefit millions of patients if the government takes steps to reduce the overall procedure cost. The government may control prices at import and retail levels but fixing the cost of procedures at hospital level in private set-up will be a challenge. Since most of these surgeries are performed in private hospitals, we may see a rise in out-of-pocket expenses for patients undergoing knee implant surgeries.”