NSTDA, the Department of Medical Services and the Department of Intellectual Property signed an agreement to promote the development and exploitation of medical innovation. The collaboration aims to improve access to quality medical products and services for Thai people by supporting the development and commercial manufacturing of medical innovations in Thailand. The signing ceremony was presided by Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul and attended by leaders of the three organizations, namely Dr. Somsak Akksilp, Department of Medical Services Director General, Mr. Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, Department of Intellectual Property Director General and NSTDA President Dr. Narong Sirilertworakul.
NSTDA established Assistive Technology and Medical Devices Center (A-MED) to create medical innovations for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and wellbeing. Under this 5-year collaboration, NSTDA plans to develop, for instance, orthopedic implants for bone cancer patients, cardiovascular stents, the production technology of epidermal growth factor (EGF) for medical and cosmeceutical applications, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools for disease diagnosis. In addition, NSTDA will support scientific information pertinent to the quality assessment of medical products and facilitate the registration of medical innovations with the Thai Innovation List.