MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET GLOBAL COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ANALYSIS

Medical devices are an integral part of the healthcare industry as they play an important role right from diagnosis up to the end stage of any disease management. Medical technology is already capable of diagnosing, monitoring and treating every disease or condition that is affecting globally. Technology innovators have focused on reducing costs for patients as well as healthcare professionals. Increased life expectancy, aging population, high prevalence of chronic diseases and associated comorbidities has been a driving force behind the innovation associated with medical technology. The Global Medical Devices Nomenclature (GMDN) Agency determines the categories under which a particular medical device falls. Few of the categories includes active implantable technology, dental technology, hospital hardware, and in-vitro diagnostic technology.

Mergers & acquisitions have been a strategic maneuver for the manufacturers to stay competitive amongst cutthroat competition. For instance, Abbott Laboratories’ acquisition of St. Jude Medical was the biggest merger of the year 2016, which was completed in 2017. This acquisition added chronic pain management business to Abbott’s portfolio and other cardiovascular offerings. This acquisition has converted Abbott into a major player in the cardiovascular business. The total revenue of top 10 global medical device manufacturers for 2016 accounted for US$ 166.4 billion.

Outlook of top 10 organizations in the medical devices industry (2016)

Top 10 medical device manufacturers in 2016, according to the rank include

• Medtronic Plc
• Johnson & Johnson
• General Electric Co.
• Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGAA
• Philips Healthcare  
• Siemens AG
• Becton, Dickinson and Co.
• Cardinal Health Inc.
• Stryker Corp.
• Baxter International Inc.

These rankings have been given according to the sales revenues for respective organizations for 2016 in global medical devices industry.

1. Medtronic Plc is a global medical device manufacturing organization and earned US$ 29 billion revenue through medical devices sales and distribution in 2016. The company currently functions in four main operating segments namely, cardiac & vascular group, minimally invasive therapies group, restorative therapies group, and diabetes group. Cardiac & vascular group accounted for highest revenues in the year 2016, i.e., US$ 10.2 billion, The major competitors in the cardiac and vascular group include St. Jude Medical, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Sorin Group, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, and C.R. Bard, Inc.
2. Johnson & Johnson operates through three major segments which include pharmaceuticals, consumer and medical devices. The company has planned to drive the growth further in the global medical devices sector through at least 12 planned product launches in 2017 and has capitalized on various acquisitions, in 2016, in the medical device sector. For instance, acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics and Megadyne Medical Products, Inc. in 2016, by Ethicon, a part of the Johnson & Johnson medical devices companies.
3. Fresenius Medical Care is global leader in providing products and services for chronic kidney failure management. Almost 70% of the company’s revenue comes from dialysis services which include dialysis machines, dialyzers, and bloodline systems. The dialysis products accounted for around 34% of the global market in 2016. The company’s strategy revolves around dominating select global medical device sectors through product innovation and internal market analysis. Fresenius Medical Care has developed its own tool, the Market and Competitor Survey (MCS) which is used to collect and analyze relevant dialysis market and competitor data once a year.
4. Becton, Dickinson, and Company earned US$ 12.5 billion sales revenues in 2016 through medical devices sales and distribution. The company operates through two segments, medical and life sciences segment, out of which, medical segment is the major revenue generator for the organization. The organization invests in acquisitions to compete in the market as well, as the company acquired CareFusion Corporation in 2015.
5. Baxter International, Inc. operates through two business segments, namely hospital products and renal products. These segments consist of medical devices as well as IV drug solutions and IV administration associated products and accessories. The company’s product portfolio has substantial breadth and depth in terms of product lines and penetration. The company’s strong marketing strategies associated with its customers, group purchasing organizations, and end users have helped them to create a diverse and strong customer base, which is how the company has retained its position in the global medical devices market.

Global medical devices market is impacted by various factors from macro to microeconomic with respect to individual organizations. However, competition, and price pressure has led to integration of information technology in healthcare, continuous innovation, customer centricity, and change in distribution channel. Top technological trends such as revolution in diabetes care, 3D printing, medical robots, and engineered blood vessels, are among other notable trends are expected to affect the global medical devices market over the foreseeable future.