Malaysia’s medical device industry sees booms over contagious disease fears

Global Business

The growing threat of contagious diseases around the world has led to a boom in medical device sales from countries including Malaysia. CCTV’s Rian Maelzer reported this story.

Malaysia\'s medical device industry sees booms over contagious disease fears

The growing threat of contagious diseases around the world has led to a boom in medical device sales from countries including Malaysia. CCTV’s Rian Maelzer reported this story.

Malaysia produces two-thirds of the world’s natural latex and synthetic examination gloves worth more than $100 billion a year. The country was also the first to develop the lightweight synthetic nitrile glove, in line with the market shift away from latex gloves to stronger synthetic ones that won’t cause allergic reactions.

“The answer to better capabilities is technology, is innovation. It’s not about how many gloves we produce any more. It’s about what kind of gloves we produce to cater for the ever-changing market needs. It’s about the quality of the gloves. It’s about how efficiently we do it,” Kuan Mun Leong, of the Hartalega company, which developed the first nitrile glove, said.

Local small and medium enterprises, as well as multinationals including B Braun, also produce a large variety of other medical devices, from disposable catheters to finely hand-finished surgical instruments.

Malaysia also has an active association for medical industries which works to promote the country’s health care sector.

“We play the role from the aspect of building the competitiveness in manufacturing so the manufacturing excellence, operation improvements, we share some best practices among the members,” Lim Bee Leong of the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries said.