Indigenous stents manufacturing to start in June 2019: Prices to be lower than imported ones

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will start manufacturing fifty thousand medicated stents per annum from June next year. The stents will match the international quality and its cost will be very low as compared to the imported ones.

National Engineering and Scientific Commission (Nescom) and National University of Science and Technology (NUST) have played a vital role in manufacturing process of these medicated stents.

Nescom was established in 2004 in which over twenty five thousand nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians were performing their duties. Nescom was established with the approval of former president General (R) Pervez Musharraf with the merger of four different sensitive defence institutions – NDC, AWC, PMO and MTC. Renowned nuclear scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand made its founding chairman.

A German-made stent manufacturing machine was first time installed at Nescom hospital to manufacture inexpensive stents for the heart patients in the country. It cost Rs37 million, while Rs7 million spare parts, raw material and necessary equipment were also imported with it. It was the state-of-the-art stent manufacturing machine of international standard. Its sensitive clean-room was built at Nescom.

The then commandant of AFIC was included among the consultant team of the doctors who manufactured from 1,000 to 1,200 stents and sent it to Germany for its CE certification. Germany sent it back to Pakistan after issuing its certification after one and a half years. Before certification Germany used Nescom’s stents on different animals and studied its performance and certified it for the use on heart patients.

After getting stent certification, a contingent of 400 stents were used on heart patients under the supervision of renowned surgeon and Commandant Major General Masoodur Rehman Kiyani of AFIC. These all stents were made with high quality standard steel and its performance was highly successful. It was proved that Nescom-manufactured stents matched the standard of international stents. It cost only Rs15,000 and available in Pakistan.

Then Nescom Chirman Dr Samar Mubarakmand retired after bringing the stent manufacturing programme at this level.

Dr Irfan Barni took the charge of Nescom as its next chairman. He held an important consultative meeting with the officials of Ministry of Science and Technology and NUST and it was decided in the meeting that firstly the capacity of manufacturing of stents would be increased from 10,000 to 50,000 per annum and secondly the capability of producing balloon used with stent should also be carried out and thirdly stent centre should also be shifted to NUST University which would make easy for marketing and visiting of foreign consultants.

For implementation of all these three steps, Ministry of Science and Technology first provided Rs33 million to NUST to buy balloon manufacturing machine and in second phase federal government provided Rs200 million to NUST to buy medicated stents. After the commission of balloon manufacturing machine, NUST sent the first contingent of balloon for CE certification to Europe which would be qualified and certified within three to four months and after that NUST could sell complete kit along with stent and balloon in Rs15,000.

NUST Stent Centre Project Director Dr Murtaza said that the state-of-the-art medicated stents would be available in the market with complete kit at the rate of Rs40,000 to Rs50,000 in June 2019. He said that this welfare project would supply inexpensive and longstanding facility to the people. This project would save huge foreign exchange. The imported stent costs from Rs100,000 to Rs1250,000.

Now the time has come to prefer Pakistan-made high quality scientific products manufactured by Nescom and NUST as the stent matches the international standard and costs very less in the use.

Pakistan will start manufacturing 50,000 medicated stents in June next year. NUST will not only manufacture medicated stents but also start their export. Patriots said that national heroes would be given special respect on their meritorious services in this regard.