On November 14, 2024, the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Institute (STIPI), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), in collaboration with Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), organized a hands-on training program under the project “Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Manager for Policy Level”
Dr. Teerawat Wiwatpanit, a research program manager and researcher from the MIDAS, participated in the Policy Forum on the topic “Elevating Research to Implementation: Transforming the Future of Thailand’s Medical Devices”. The forum also included a medical device innovator from the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC), a program manager from the public funding agency Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI), as well as an industry representative from CT Asia Robotics Co., Ltd. and the Medical Device Industry Group of the Federation of Thai Industries.
This forum aimed to gather insights from key stakeholders, including public and private sectors, researchers, research supporters, policymakers, regulatory agencies, and agencies responsible for translating research into real-world applications. The goal was to propose collaborative strategies and address obstacles hindering the commercialization of research outputs.
MIDAS representative Dr. Teerawat shared his experiences and discussed the current state of medical innovation development in Thailand, from the laboratory level to market access and public reimbursement programs. He also introduced the concept of Early Health Technology Assessment (Early HTA) as a tool to guide the development of medical innovations that align with the needs of the healthcare system. Furthermore, he discussed the importance of prioritization in the health innovation landscape to inform policymakers and funders to support the growth of medical device industry and promote high-potential technologies for the inclusions in the public health benefit schemes.
