A Domestic Medical Device Education and Training Support Center to Be Established in Incheon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A 'Metropolitan Domestic Medical Device Education and Training Support Center' that will lead the development of the domestic medical device industry is being established in Incheon.

Incheon Technopark (Incheon TP) announced on the 13th that the Incheon City consortium was selected in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's public contest for the 'Metropolitan Domestic Medical Device Education and Training Support Center Construction and Operation Project.'

The consortium includes 21 organizations such as Incheon TP, non-clinical service provider Notus Co., Ltd., Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Inha University Hospital, the City Medical Association, the City Dental Association, the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Foundation, and the Korea Medical Devices Industry Association.

Incheon TP will invest 15.8 billion KRW secured through this contest to build and operate a support center equipped with domestic medical device education and training, a permanent exhibition space, and usability evaluation facilities.

The center will provide various domestic medical device usage experiences to medical staff in the Incheon area and overseas trainees, leading to the expansion of medical device sales and revitalization of related industries. It will also support product performance verification and improvement.

Currently, most domestic medical device companies are small to medium-sized, struggling to develop sales channels as they are overshadowed by global medical device companies that utilize large-scale training centers, where product usage experience is possible, as a means of promoting new products.

An Incheon TP official said, "With the selection in the contest, a foundation has been established where industry, academia, research, hospitals, and government can participate together in the commercialization of domestic medical devices, including approval, demonstration, and sales," adding, "It is expected to play a significant role in marketing fields such as promotion and sales expansion of domestic medical devices."

Meanwhile, the domestic medical device market reached 10.1 trillion KRW in 2020, ranking 10th in the world, and continues to grow at a high annual rate of 10.34%.

However, with an import dependency rate of 62.1% and a strong preference for famous overseas products, about 80% of native medical device manufacturers fail to exceed annual sales of 1 billion KRW, struggling to increase their domestic market share.