Boston Scientific eyes 10 per cent annual output growth after 2019
BATU KAWAN: US medical devices maker, Boston Scientific Corp, is looking at 10 per cent production growth annually after 2019 following the launch of its first production facility in Asia.
Its vice-president/general manager of manufacturing and distribution for Malaysia, Dave Mitchell, said the Penang facility was an expansion from the group’s global network of high-technology manufacturing facilities and would allow it to bring in the needed healthcare technologies to more patients.
He said the company, which has injected “several hundred million ringgit” into the new plant, planned to add as many as 400 employees by 2019.
“The initial products produce in Penang include devices from the cardiology, urology and endoscopy portfolio while the major demand comes from Asia.
“We have aspiration to grow by about 10 per cent annually after 2019 when our production lines are expected to go into full swing,” he told reporters yesterday.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Chua Tee Yong, officiated the opening of the plant.
Also present were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, US Ambassador to Malaysia, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir and Boston Scientific senior vice president/ president, Asia-Pacific, Warren Wang.
Mitchell said currently the group was focusing on manufacturing here but there were plans to set up a research and development facility by 2019.
“The facility will enable us to expand our presence in the region and provide support for local research and new business development so that we can both address unmet patient needs and tackle the increasing costs of healthcare,” he said.
Earlier, Chua said the opening of Boston Scientific’s first production facility in Asia marked a significant milestone in the company’s growth in Malaysia and reflected the confidence it has in Malaysia’s capabilities to address healthcare needs in the region.
He said to-date, Malaysia’s medical devices industry was made of over 200 companies, dominated by small and medium enterprises and the devices made in Malaysia were of high standards and accepted by hospitals worldwide.
“From 2012 to September last year, approved investments in the medical devices industry amounted to RM14 billion and the bulk of the investments came from foreign sources which contributed RM8.3 billion and the rest domestic,” he said. — Bernama