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The India-UK free trade agreement, signed in the presence of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on July 24, is expected to bring in more opportunities for Indian pharma and medical devices players, according to experts.
The pharma and medical devices industry is expecting the agreement to help reduce the regulatory burden when it comes to exports of products to UK.
According to experts, considering that the exports of medical devices to UK are already duty-free, the drawback has been the costs related to regulatory approvals and the delay in attaining the approvals.
The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has already been calling for the UK regulator to recognise the approvals from the Indian drug regulator and the quality control organisation, in order to improve the situation.
Pavan Choudary, chairman, Medical Technology Association of India, MTaI said, "The UK-India FTA is a landmark agreement that goes beyond tariff reductions, it signals India’s strategic ascent as a trusted partner in the global healthcare and technology value chain".
As part of this agreement, import duties on MedTech products will be reduced from approximately 15% to around 3%, significantly lowering costs and improving access to advanced medical technologies.
"This partnership also opens doors for technology transfers, joint ventures, and skilling - which is a key ingredient for building a resilient healthcare ecosystem for both the countries," he added.
The trade agreement also comes at a time when the UK is trying to distance itself from the Chinese imports and the Indian products could be a better alternative to replace this market.
For the pharma industry, this is expected to result in more partnerships in bulk drug production, contract manufacturing and joint research.
UK is the second largest importer of Indian drug formulations and biologicals, only after the US. India exported drugs formulations and biologicals worth $773.34 million in the fiscal year 2025-26, second to the exports of $9.7 billion to US, according to the ministry of commerce and Industry.
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