Export Growth in Medical Devices Driven by Innovation

With its overriding philosophy of seeking to make tomorrow a healthier one for all, Malaysia’s medical devices industry has seen tremendous growth in the design and manufacture of world-class products. The sector benefits from the support of the country’s strong ecosystem in the semiconductor, machinery & equipment, electrical & electronics, metal stamping and plastics industries, which provide the necessary environment to make it an ideal manufacturing location for medical devices.

In 2020, Malaysia’s export of medical devices saw double-digit growth valued at RM29.99 billion or USD7.16 billion. Over 90% of medical devices manufactured in Malaysia are exported to its top ten export destinations: the USA, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Belgium, China, Netherlands, Brazil, UK and Australia. These countries account for more than 70% of the total exports of medical devices. 

Malaysia’s position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of rubber gloves has been a decades-long endeavour to produce the very best quality medical gloves and it currently accounts for 60% of the world’s market. This undertaking towards excellence has paid dividends, allowing the country to expand into other areas of medical consumables including a variety of other quality medical products such as appliances and apparatus, syringes, sutures, needles, catheters, pace makers and others. Malaysia currently accounts for 80% of the world’s catheter supplies.

This vibrant and highly innovative sector also supplies higher value-added and technologically advanced products such as cardiac pacemakers, stents, orthopaedic implantable devices, electro-medical, therapeutic and monitoring devices as well as rapid diagnostic test kits. Malaysian companies are currently also producing capnography items, a highly indispensable component of anaesthesia and intensive care monitoring procedures.

As Malaysia moves towards Industry 4.0, its companies are increasingly undertaking Research & Development especially in incorporating robotics, automation, integrated processes and IoT into their manufacturing processes. This has resulted in accelerating the pace of innovation and revolutionising product development, manufacturing processes and business models.

The production of medical devices in Malaysia is highly regulated by the Medical Devices Authority (MDA), a body under the Ministry of Health that is tasked with ensuring that all medical products from Malaysia adhere to international standards as well as global regulatory compliance systems. This has seen its products receive the recognition of various quality standards including the Food and Drug Administration (United States), CE certification (Europe) and Department Of Health (United Kingdom).

MATRADE has been providing assistance by way of ensuring Malaysian companies’ participation in global trade exhibitions such as Arab Health and Europe’s Medica. It has also been conducting extensive virtual meetings during this period of restricted movement via its eBizMatch programme between Malaysian suppliers and potential buyers from the USA, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, UAE, South Africa, Hong Kong and Australia. Recent sales have included rubber gloves, personal protective equipment (PPE), facemasks, syringes, catheters and sutures.

The tagline, “Choose Malaysia”, carries with it a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence in the production and manufacture of outstanding products in a variety of medical devices and supplies. 

For more information about MATRADE, please visit www.matrade.gov.my.