Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali

director of the MDDC at NUST

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali is the chief executive officer of Revive Medical Technologies Inc.. Ali did an internship at Shaukat Khanum, where he started his professional journey. He worked for about a year as an engineer at a private company in Pakistan.

Early life and education

Ali was born in Pindi. He graduated in biomedical engineering from UET Taxila. He completed a master's in biomedical engineering at Brunel. He also did an MPhil at Queen Mary University of London and a PhD at the University of Sheffield. [1]

Career

Ali did an internship at Shaukat Khanum, where he started his professional journey. He worked for about a year as an engineer at a private company in Pakistan. [1]

NESCOM and the cardiac stent

From Brunel, Ali wrote to President Pervez Musharraf saying he wanted to do something in Pakistan. His letter reached the chairman of the National Engineering Scientific Commission (NESCOM), Dr. Samar Mubarakmand. NESCOM wanted to set up a pilot-scale cardiac stent production facility. After interviews, NESCOM hired him, and he returned to Pakistan within three or four months. Within about two and a half years, the facility and the stent were developed. [1]

The stent was trialled in Rotterdam and certified by a UK regulatory body. After Samar Mubarakmand retired, the drive to take the stent to commercial scale ended, and Ali had to go back to the UK. He also built a stent for a company under a tripartite arrangement between the company, a university and a lab. [1]

Medical Device Development Center

Ali describes a 2016 stent scandal in which expired stents were used in Punjab, and the Supreme Court took suo motu notice. After the scandal, the Prime Minister's office looked for the person who had developed stents at pilot scale in Pakistan. In 2017 he and the NUST rector were called in by the Prime Minister's office. [1]

The centre was mandated to make cost-effective, good-quality medical devices such as cardiac stents and catheters. Ali says his team also works on electro-medical devices such as ventilators, respirators and oxygen concentrators. [1]

Ali says Innovative Health Technology is the first research driven medical device industry in Pakistan. He says DRAP inspectors inspected the company and granted it a manufacturing licence. He says inspectors from a registered notified body inspected and certified the company. [1]

Current work

Ali is the chief executive officer of a company. He says his work covers R&D in medical devices, biomaterials, functional materials, papers, patents, funding and running industry. [1]

Views

Ali says NUST has followed the triple helix model of university, industry and government for the last few years. He describes NUST's science and technology park as the only such park in the country. He says private sector industry has started approaching his side about equity-based partnerships. [1]

Ali says 80 to 85 percent of the raw material his medical device industry uses is imported. He says current production capacity is about 20 to 25 percent of the disease population. He says stent prices were once unregulated, with some sellers charging 1.5 to 2.5 lakh rupees. He says drug-eluting stents now sell for about 40,000 to 50,000 rupees after price regulation, and that imported balloon catheters cost about 7,000 to 11,000 rupees. [1]

Ali says opportunities lie within setbacks and unfavourable circumstances, and that consistency is all that is needed. He says one should not expect change to come from the top down, and that the problem is a lack of intent rather than timing. He says Pakistan has a lot of potential if its youth and national direction are set right. He says the aim behind his work is to enable people and make things easier for them, and that he wants unemployed graduates and PhD holders to find relevant platforms. [1]

Personal life

Ali was diagnosed with a tumour in 2013. He says the cancer was testicular, stage 1B, and not metastatic. He had surgery and then chemotherapy in 2013, and he resumed work at the end of 2013. [1]

Ali says he recently had a son. He says he started listening to Dr. Israr Ahmed and later met him. [1]

Timeline

2013
Diagnosed with a tumour, followed by surgery and chemotherapy, and resumed work at the end of the year.[1]
2016
A stent scandal in Punjab, which Ali describes, led to Supreme Court notice.[1]
2017
Called in by the Prime Minister's office with the NUST rector; the MDDC began at NUST.[1]
2020
The MDDC was completed and inaugurated by the Prime Minister.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-11-04 The engineer who wrote to Pakistan's president about stents Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali do?

Ali is a professor at NUST, where he teaches and supervises PhD and postgraduate projects. He is also director of the MDDC. He says his work covers R&D in medical devices, biomaterials, functional materials, papers, patents, funding and running industry.[1]

Where did Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali study?

Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali graduated in biomedical engineering from UET Taxila. He completed a master's in biomedical engineering at Brunel, an MPhil at Queen Mary University of London and a PhD at the University of Sheffield.[1]

Where is Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali from?

Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali was born in Pindi. He graduated in biomedical engineering from UET Taxila.[1]

What is the Medical Device Development Center that Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali directs?

The Medical Device Development Center (MDDC) is based at NUST. It began in 2017 and was completed in 2020, when the Prime Minister inaugurated it. The centre was mandated to make cost-effective, good-quality medical devices such as cardiac stents and catheters.[1]

What kind of company did Prof. Dr. Murtaza Najabat Ali run?

Ali says he ran his own company for some time, operated from NUST. He says the company made neonatal ICU baby incubators in Pakistan and bid for military and government hospital tenders. He says it also started automation work in Sialkot's surgical industry.[1]

References

  1. The engineer who wrote to Pakistan's president about stents . Thought Behind Things , 2022-11-04.
Show the source passages (55 statements)
  1. He is the chief executive officer of a company. he is the CEO of Innovative Technologies
  2. He is the director of the Medical Device Development Center (MDDC), which is based at NUST. He is the director and the head of Medical Device Development Center, MDDC. Is that based out of NUST as well? Yes.
  3. He says he is still a professor at NUST, teaching and supervising PhD and postgraduate projects. I am still a professor there. I am teaching there and supervising numerous PhD and post-graduate projects
  4. He was born in Pindi. Main idhar hi Pindi mein hi paida hua
  5. He graduated in biomedical engineering from UET Taxila. graduation ki biomedical engineering mein. Kahan se? Yeh idhar hi jo apna UET Taxila hai
  6. He did an internship at Shaukat Khanum, where he started his professional journey. Aur phir uske baad Shaukat Khanum mein internship ki. I started my professional journey in Shaukat Khanum
  7. He worked for about a year as an engineer at a private company in Pakistan. Ek ek company mein saal kaam kiya as a as an engineer. Idhar Pakistan mein? Private company thi
  8. He completed a master's in biomedical engineering at Brunel. Brunel mein masters kiya biomedical mein kiya
  9. From Brunel he wrote to President Pervez Musharraf saying he wanted to do something in Pakistan. Brunel mein masters kiya biomedical mein kiya aur phir wahan se president ko letter likha, General Pervez Musharraf the, ke yahan pe main kuch karna chahta hoon
  10. He built a stent for a company under a tripartite arrangement between the company, a university and a lab. Toh maine wahan pe stent banaya tha aur woh stent ki jab cost costing wagera ki, ek company ke liye banaya tha. It was a tripartite arrangement between company and in university and lab
  11. His letter reached the chairman of the National Engineering Scientific Commission (NESCOM), Dr. Samar Mubarakmand. phir NASCOM, National Engineering Scientific Commission hai jo aapka yeh Islamabad mein hai, inke chairman Dr. Samar Mubarakmand ke paas bhi aaya
  12. NESCOM wanted to set up a pilot-scale cardiac stent production facility. ek pilot scale cardiac stent ki production facility NASCOM mein lagana chaah rahe the
  13. After interviews, NASCOM hired him, and he returned to Pakistan within three or four months. Toh bas wahin pe phir unhone saara interviews wagera ho gaye aur then unhone mujhe hire kar liya aur I went back, backup ki cheezein aur teen chaar mahine mein Pakistan wapas aaya aur start kiya
  14. Within about two and a half years, the facility and the stent were developed. Aur do dhai saal mein woh saara center pilot scale production facility, stent sab kuch develop ho gaye
  15. The stent was trialled in Rotterdam and certified by a UK regulatory body. Rotterdam se uske trials ho gaye, UK ki ek regulatory body ne aake uski certification kar di
  16. After Dr. Samar Mubarakmand retired, the drive to take the stent to commercial scale ended, and he had to go back to the UK. Dr. Samar Mubarakmand unfortunately retire ho gaye aur aage phir usko commercial scale mein leke jaane wali woh drive khatam ho gayi. Toh then I had to go back to UK
  17. He did an MPhil at Queen Mary University of London. Phir main Queen Mary University of London mein chala gaya, wahan MPhil wagera kiya
  18. He did a PhD at the University of Sheffield. wahin se phir University of Sheffield mein PhD ki
  19. He then did a postdoc at the same university, combining teaching with research. wahin se phir University of Sheffield mein PhD ki, post phir wahin pe post-doc kar raha tha, teaching aur yeh saara R&D activities kar raha tha
  20. He joined NUST and set up its biomedical engineering department. maine NUST join kiya aur NUST pe phir aake biomedical engineering department pehle establish kiya
  21. He voluntarily stepped down as head of department to pursue industrial work. maine voluntarily step down kiya from the HOD position because mere dimaag mein tha ke maine industrial kaam karna hai
  22. He says he ran his own company for some time, operated from NUST. kuch arsa apni company chalayi, NUST se hi chalayi
  23. He says the company made neonatal ICU baby incubators in Pakistan. hum neonatal ICU ke baby incubators aur yeh cheezein banate the. Pakistan mein. Pakistan mein indigenously
  24. He says the company bid for military and government hospital tenders. hum saare tenders jitne military hospitals ke hain, government ke hain unmein participate karte the
  25. He says the company also started automation work in Sialkot's surgical industry. Uske saath hi Sialkot industry mein humne automation ka kaam shuru kar diya, jo surgical industry hai
  26. He describes a 2016 stent scandal in which expired stents were used in Punjab, and the Supreme Court took suo motu notice. stent ka scandal hua 2016 mein. Woh kya scandal? Woh Punjab mein expired stents dale aur Supreme Court ne bada suo moto notice liya
  27. After the scandal, the Prime Minister's office looked for the person who had developed stents at pilot scale in Pakistan. Prime Minister office started looking for that individual jis jo Pakistan mein pehle pilot scale level pe stents develop kar chuka hai
  28. In 2017 he and the NUST rector were called in by the Prime Minister's office. unhone mujhe aur jo rector NUST hain unko Prime Minister office ne bula liya aur 2017 mein
  29. The MDDC began at NUST in 2017 and was completed in 2020, when the Prime Minister inaugurated it. 2017 mein yeh MDDC start hua aur 2020 mein complete hua jab Prime Minister ne aake iski inauguration bhi ki
  30. The centre was mandated to make cost-effective, good-quality medical devices such as cardiac stents and catheters. Aur mandate yeh tha ke cost effective aur good quality aap jo hai na medical devices like cardiac stents aur jo catheters hain
  31. He says his team also works on electro-medical devices such as ventilators, respirators and oxygen concentrators. abhi electro-medical devices mein bhi hum kaam kar rahe hain jismein ventilators hain aur respirators hain, oxygen concentrators hain
  32. He says Innovative Health Technology is the first research driven medical device industry in Pakistan. this Innovative Health Technology is the first research driven medical device industry in Pakistan
  33. He says DRAP inspectors inspected the company and granted it a manufacturing licence. subsequently DRAP ke inspectors ne aake inspection karke humein manufacturing license diya hua hai
  34. He says inspectors from a registered notified body inspected and certified the company. jo notified body hai registered uske inspectors aake iski inspection karke certification ki hui hai
  35. He says NUST has followed the triple helix model of university, industry and government for the last few years. So NUST has started following for the last few years yeh triple helix model pe woh follow isko kar rahi hai
  36. He says private sector industry has started approaching his side about equity-based partnerships. private sector industry jo hai they have started approaching to us towards equity based partnership
  37. He describes NUST's science and technology park as the only such park in the country. Ab science and technology park hai NUST ke andar that is the only park in the country
  38. He says 80 to 85 percent of the raw material his medical device industry uses is imported. main apni medical device industry ki agar baat karoon to hum kya naam hai 80 to 85% jo raw material hai woh bahar se le rahe hain
  39. He says current production capacity is about 20 to 25 percent of the disease population. abhi hamari production capacity jo hai, it is about 20-25% of the disease population
  40. He says stent prices were once unregulated, with some sellers charging 1.5 to 2.5 lakh rupees. Pehle to bilkul deregulated thi aur jiska dil karta tha 2.5 lakh rupaya, 2 lakh rupaya, 1.5 lakh rupaya charge kar leta tha stent ka
  41. He says drug-eluting stents now sell for about 40,000 to 50,000 rupees after price regulation. Ab regulated hain, ab 50,000 rupees, 40,000 rupees ki range mein aapko drug eluting medicated stent mil jata hai
  42. He says imported balloon catheters cost about 7,000 to 11,000 rupees. Balloon catheter jo is waqt market mein American hai ya European hai woh taqreeban 7,000 to 11,000 rupees ki range mein hai
  43. He says opportunities lie within setbacks and unfavourable circumstances. Setbacks ke andar aur ek ek badi ek unfavorable circumstances ke andar hi opportunities bed padi hui hoti hain
  44. He says consistency is all that is needed. to iska matlab yeh hai ke all you need is consistency
  45. He says one should not expect change to come from the top down, and that the problem is a lack of intent rather than timing. Don't expect ke top down koi aayega. Problem yeh nahi hai ke Pakistan yeh kab karega ya Pakistan woh. Problem irade ki hai
  46. He says Pakistan has a lot of potential if its youth and national direction are set right. Dekhein Pakistan mein bahut potential hai. Sirf yeh hai ke agar hum thoda sa hamari jo youth hai aur hamara specially jo as a qaum direction theek ho jaye
  47. He was diagnosed with a tumour in 2013. in 2013 I was diagnosed with tumor
  48. He says the cancer was testicular, stage 1B, and not metastatic. It was a testicular cancer stage 1B uh aur ek bahut zyada advance nahi tha, metastatic nahi tha
  49. He had surgery and then chemotherapy in 2013. 2013 mein I went through surgery and then chemotherapy
  50. He resumed work at the end of 2013. 2013 end mein hi maine kaam shuru kar diya
  51. He says the aim behind his work is to enable people and make things easier for them. jo objective hai iske peeche woh yeh hai ke enabling, enable karna Allah ki makhluq ko, aasani paida karna
  52. He says he wants unemployed graduates and PhD holders to find relevant platforms. unko relevant platform mile, woh mile toh yeh koshish meri hai aur yeh main objective hai
  53. He says his work covers R&D in medical devices, biomaterials, functional materials, papers, patents, funding and running industry. main medical device mein R&D kar raha hoon, materials, biomaterials kar raha hoon, functional materials bana raha hoon, papers publish kar raha hoon, patents file kar raha hoon, funding leke aa raha hoon, industry chala raha hoon, products develop kar raha hoon
  54. He says he recently had a son. Because pichle dino na maine ek I had a son recently
  55. He says he started listening to Dr. Israr Ahmed and later met him. I started listening to Dr. Israr Ahmed, I eventually met him