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Organized by APACMed, Singapore in collaboration with CNBC-TV18, this landmark edition featured an engaging conversation – The India MedTech Opportunity – in which global CEOs discussed why India is a top priority market and what it takes to transform the country into a global hub for MedTech innovation and manufacturing.
With CNBC-TV18’s Managing Editor, Shereen Bhan, anchored, the panel included leading industry voices – Gary Steven Guthart, Executive Chairman, Intuitive Surgical Board of Directors, Intuitive, Kevin Lobo, President and CEO, Stryker and Katarzyna Mazur-Hofsa, CEO Care Enablement and Management Board Member, Fresenius Medical Care.
India’s medtech potential
The conversation began with Gary Guthart highlighting one of India’s biggest medical-tech success stories and establishing India’s huge potential. “Right now, robot-assisted surgery is in hyper-growth mode. We can see it in the data, and we can even feel it when we’re here. It’s very tangible.” He pointed out that while the global growth in soft-tissue surgeries averages around 18-20%, India is growing at twice the pace. According to him, this rapid growth was driven by underlying need, a favorable policy environment and rapid adoption by hospitals, supported by substantial advances in human capital and business infrastructure.
Supporting his view, Kevin Lobo said, “India is probably the most tech-savvy country in the world. Productivity per robot here is already the highest globally.” While robotics accounts for just 10% of Stryker’s portfolio, he said other areas, from fluorescent imaging to vascular interventions, are also growing much faster in India than elsewhere.
Development Engine and Prerequisites
To become a global medtech hub, growth must be sustained on both the demand and supply sides. Explaining that India has everything it needs, Katarzyna Mazur-Hofsa said, “India is being driven by a powerful mix—demography, epidemiology, growing middle class and policy support. For medtech, it is the right place.”
Still, scaling up high-end manufacturing poses challenges. Manufacturing a surgical robot involves 5,000–10,000 components, of which 300–400 are typically sourced, making a stable policy environment and strong supply chain essential.
AI-based innovation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key driver of medtech transformation and is an area in which India can lead. “There is no way to avoid AI in health care innovation,” Mazur-Hofsa said. “And India, with its IT depth, is well-positioned to become a global AI hub.”
Panelists highlighted progress that reflects India’s growing role in medtech innovation driven by AI and analytics. Lobo described a mobile tool that guides postpartum blood transfusion decisions in real-time, while Guthart discussed AI-powered surgeon training and predictive maintenance. Mazur-Hofsa also shared how her company uses self-learning algorithms to personalize dialysis care – turning vast data into actionable insights.
Tapping the potential of medical tourism
The panel explored the promise of ‘Heal in India’, the government’s flagship effort to position the country as a global healthcare destination. Gary Guthart emphasized that when outcomes, quality and cost align, patients will naturally gravitate to India; What matters now is to eliminate friction and create a seamless care journey.
For Kevin Lobo, medical tourism is already thriving because the domestic market is strong, but India’s advanced infrastructure and cost advantages could make it a magnet for global patients as well. Katarzyna Mazur-Hofsa introduced a note of realism, highlighting the glaring gap between urban and rural access – particularly in dialysis care – not as a drawback, but as a powerful opportunity to bridge the gap and expand access.
Inclusion – a strategic lever
The Forum concluded with a compelling case for inclusion as a driver of innovation, performance and relevance. Katarzyna Mazur-Hofsa highlights how inclusive teams drive stronger results. Kevin Lobo traces Stryker’s transformation, linking increasing female representation on boards from one to five women to better business outcomes. Highlighting how customer diversity is reshaping design priorities, Gary Guthart said products are also no longer designed solely with male users in mind – a shift that reflects wider evolution of both markets and mindsets.
pulse of progress
At the APAC MedTech Forum – The India MedTech Opportunity in 2025, the recurring tone of the conversation was loud and clear: whether in robotics, AI, talent or policy, India is growing as a force to be reckoned with. As Mazur-Hofsa rightly concludes, “India has the scale, it has the spirit, and it has the momentum. The goal now is to expand reach – and that is the future towards which this country is rapidly moving.”