News & Publications Archives - Page 7 of 8

May 8, 2015

Paramit Announces Groundbreaking Ceremony

Bayan Lepas: Paramit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. announces that the groundbreaking ceremony for its new 162,600 sq. ft. facility,

the “factory in the forest” will be held on June 1, 2015, at 9:00am.

The facility will be located at Plot 372 Penang Science Park, Lorong Perindustrian Bukit Minyak 21, 14100 Simpang Ampat. The estimated completion date is June 2016.

Paramit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is a subsidiary of Paramit Corporation. Paramit is an FDA registered outsourced manufacturer of complex, finished medical devices that provides a range of services to medical device and instrument OEMs.

Paramit specializes in sophisticated devices that require expertise in FDA compliance, mechatronics, fluidics, optics, RF, PCA assembly, sub assemblies, system integration, final system assembly and test. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Morgan Hill, California and Penang, Malaysia.

The new facility in Penang will be the main manufacturing facility in Asia for Paramit which will position them for rapid growth and expansion to become one of the leading Medical Device and Instrument Manufacturer in the region.

Nov 14, 2014

St Jude Medical to expand production, services here.

GEORGE TOWN: St Jude Medical Inc (SJM) is looking to expand its production and services activities in Malaysia by enhancing its product offering and developing a local vendor eco-system.

The Minnesota-headquartered company, which develops medical technology and services for those treating cardiac, neurological and chronic pain patients globally, has an investment presence in Penang since 2011 with cumulative investments totalling RM2.1 billion.

St Jude Medical Operations (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Tobjorn Andersson said owing to the very stringent requirements placed on its suppliers, the company only has one United States-based vendor, which has followed it to Malaysia to support its operations since 2011.

“We are looking at local sourcing and creating a supply chain because up till now, we have been slightly conservative and not too eager.

“However, we think many vendors, here, can do things for us although our requirements are very stringent,” he said in an interview.

SJM has previously gone on record to say that as much as the company would like to get its manufacturing components from local companies, but it still has to obtain supplies from its foreign suppliers due to the uncertainties over quality and rigid regulations such as a processing and waiting period of more than one year.

In Malaysia, SJM manufactures and exports items such as cardiac pacemakers, leads and defibrillators. It has recently added neuro-modulation products (such as pacemakers for the brain) to its portfolio.

Malaysia is one of SJM’s major manufacturers of the pacemakers with the United States and Puerto Rico hosting the company’s other facilities for the product.

“We are willing to make investments in developing a local vendor eco-system, but the suppliers must be able to do likewise in meeting our quality control and stringent documentation requirements,” Andersson added, saying that SJM is seeking bigger companies as suppliers.

“We hope the government can assist in developing our vendor base by creating a cluster of suppliers as this will help in getting other companies similar to ours to invest here.

“This will turn Penang and Malaysia into a strategic hub for the medical devices industry with benefits all around,” he added.

Meanwhile, Andersson said SJM is expanding its services segment and has set up a regional information technology centre.

The centre, whose operations are similar to that of a call centre, has been providing remote care operations to both international and Asia-Pacific patients, and physicians who can call in.

“The Asia Pacific is growing for this business and we are now able to provide time-zone support and a follow-the-sun global workflow from here,” Andersson noted.

As seen in New Straits Times.

(13 November 2014)

By Marina Emmanuel

Oct 14, 2014

Budget 2015: MMA wants GST removal on medical indemnity insurance

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has expressed concern that doctors may have to pay more in premiums for their medical indemnity insurance once the Goods and Services Tax (GST) comes into effect.

Its president Dr H Krishna Kumar said the association called on the Government to remove the GST imposed on medical indemnity insurance, both in premiums and payouts.

“Doctors will be burdened by the increased cost of medical indemnity insurance as a result of it being subjected to GST,” he said.

Dr Krishna said while insurance would be subjected to GST, doctors could not pass it down to patients as healthcare had been exempted from it.

Doctors, he said, would have to bear the burden as doctors’ fees were fixed and governed by the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

Citing an example, he said, the premium cost for obstetrics and gynaecology could be as high as RM80,000 per annum and the additional RM4,800 for GST would increase the cost of healthcare.

“Doctors will then start charging for other services that are currently not charged and, eventually, patients will end up paying for it, increasing the cost of healthcare,” he said.

Meanwhile, Association of Malaysian Medical Industries chairman Hitendra Joshi urged the Government to put medical devices in the same GST zero-rated category as pharmaceutical drugs.

He said medical devices should be categorised “zero-rated” on the GST because they save, improve and prolong lives.

“If a medical device is zero-rated, retailer or hospital will claim back GST (as output tax) and will not charge it to the consumer,” he said.

On the other hand, “GST exempted” would mean retailer or hospital would have to “absorb” the GST and while there was no GST in the final bill to consumer, there could be a possibility that businesses might increase the price to cover the GST they paid, he said.

As seen in the Star, 9 October 2014

Click here to download article.

Sep 25, 2014

Healthy Medical Device Sub-Sector

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, the leading producer of catheters and surgical gloves globally, can expect employment opportunities in the medical devices sub-sector to double by 2020.

Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said the billion ringgit sub-sector is set to create up to 85,000 jobs from 46,000 now, following the gradual shift towards higher-value and higher-order medical devices.

The industry is shifting from rubber-based products to plastics, silicone and metal alloys. “Among the growth areas being promoted are electro medical equipment, cardiovascular devices, orthopaedic devices, in-vitro diagnostic products and wound care products — most of which are being imported now,” he said. Contract manufacturing for research and development and medical devices and equipment is also another potential growth area.

The medical devices industry has attracted RM23.6 billion in investments, mostly foreign direct investments, while exports have been exceeding RM10 billion annually, mostly to the G3 markets — the United States, Europe and Japan. Malaysia supplies 80 per cent of world market for catheters and 60 per cent for rubber gloves, including medical gloves.

The country also produces hospital “support” products, such as medical gas, anaesthesia sets, operation theatre tables and examination tables and surgical gowns, drapes and masks. Renal products is potentially another area that Malaysia wants to promote.

The sub-sector has been included in the healthcare National Key Economic Area and has the capability to generate RM17.12 billion in revenue by the end of this decade.

“Supporting industries ranging from sterilisation services, sterile medical packaging, precision engineering and tool and die making to contract moulding and assembly and machinery fabrication, as well as electronics manufacturing services, enhance our position as an outsourcing destination and global supplier,” Azman said.

Malaysia has also become a preferred location for medical devices and products in Asia. Not only can the country be a clinical devices champion, it can also become a turnkey production “orchestrator” for multinational corporations, while attracting them to set up local authorised medical equipment refurbishment facilities for CT scanners, MRI and molecular imaging.

Azman said there are more than 190 medical devices makers locally with the majority involved in the production of surgical and examination gloves.

By Rupa Damodaran, New Straits Times, 24 August 2014

Aug 12, 2014