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The
medical devices market
The highly segmented medical devices market (chart
1) extends from cardiovascular and orthopaedics devices (together
with little less than 40% of the market) to endoscopy and
visualization devices (1% of the market), going over drug delivery
(9% of the market) and other devices. This segmentation has created
a predisposition for SMEs to be active in the medical devices market
due to the production volume limitations and a wide range of
products manufactured in different economic sectors. Not only
suppliers but also providers and sub-contractors contribute to the
medical devices market with engineering, equipment assembly,
packaging, adhesives and coatings, material technology, circuit and
sensor technology…
The
expected 190 bn US$ (2003) medical devices market growths steadily (6%)
within global healthcare costs surpassing the 2'500 bn US$ mark. The
USA contributes to approximately 50% of the global medical devices
market (chart
2), followed by Europe (27%) and Japan (11%). Europe is
characterized by a mosaic market with a strong growth and Japan by
high margins on medical products. Germany, France, UK and Italy
constitute more than 50% of the European medical devices market (chart
3).
Switzerland’s
contribution to the European market is approximately 8%, thanks to
numerous Swiss and international companies which have their
headquarters in the country. More than 500 companies employing over
30’000 peoples export goods for 2 bn US$, whereas 90% of the
medical devices needs in Switzerland are covered by imports valued
at 1.3 bn US$, mainly coming from neighboring countries such as
Germany, France and Italy. |
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Driving
Influences
The strongest driving forces influencing the medical devices market
are:
- Demography
(ageing population, economic status),
- Soaring
healthcare costs vs clinical outcomes,
- Necessity
of “evidence based medicine”,
- Establishment
of home-care and self-care,
- Evolving
regulatory issues (local and global),
- Emergence
of BioTech in medical devices,
- Advanced
information technology and communication,
- Patient’s
awareness.
These
forces emphasize the necessity to offer new and better products to
clearly address clinical problems and satisfy customers’
requirements. |
