The forecast for the Medical Device Market in 2016 in the Americas is $166.6 billion and is expected to grow to $208.6 billion in 2020. The U.S medical device industry expects to remain highly competitive globally which is due partially to the fact that the U.S has been able to effectively bring new and innovative technologies to market, according to the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration’s report, “2016 Top Markets Report: Medical Devices” http://trade.gov.
The industry has increasingly embraced globalization, so that an ever growing number of multinational firms are aggressively pursuing markets around the world. These firms are focusing greater attention on international sales, joint ventures, plus mergers and acquisitions.
Global demand for medical devices is driven by increasing expenditures and activities in healthcare markets in developing countries. This has occurred with the building of new hospitals and clinics, the establishment of public health insurance, and a greater focus on maintaining good health.
In addition, global demand should continue to grow due to diseases resulting from different lifestyles, aging populations in major markets, new and significant emerging markets, and rising global income levels in developing countries. Furthermore, global convergence of standards and regulatory requirements should help facilitate growth in the global market and provide more trade opportunities.
In some developing countries, demand for medical devices is growing at double digit growth in contrast to certain larger slower growing markets in more developed countries. Underserved populations in developing markets often grow steadily and have an increased awareness of health technology developments.
Furthermore, many markets deemed as developing have highly urbanized population centers with rising expendable wealth, making certain sectors of the market interesting to exporters. U.S exports should investigate both larger developed markets as well as emerging raw markets in order to find the best export.
The report points out the need for U.S companies to:
- Negotiate strongly to reduce or eliminate tariffs on medical devices
- Address foreign governments’ regulatory policies that are inconsistent with international regulatory convergence efforts
- Educate the industry on how to comply with foreign regulatory requirements
- Provide export assistance opportunities similar to what foreign governments provide for their industries.