The potential of medical device industry in technological and economical context

Figures & data

Figure 1 Interest in the emerging markets.

Note: Data from Emergo Group.¹⁸

Figure 2 European medical technology market growth rates, based upon the manufacturer process, 2008–2013.

Note: Data from Medtech Europe.¹

Figure 3 Aging population.

Note: Data from Eurostat.²⁵

Table 1 Total number of people in tertiary education in the EU (%)

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
EU average	22.4	22.8	23.5	25.0	26.9	28.0	28.9	30.0	31.0	32.2	33.5	34.6	35.8

Note: Data from Eurostat.²⁵

Abbreviation: EU, European Union.

Table 2 SWOT analysis of the EU medical device industry

	Criterion	Significance	Total impact
Strengths
High expenditures on health care, particularly on medical technologies	5	0.15	0.75
Well-developed industry with a strong manufacturing base	3	0.08	0.24
Macroeconomic and price stability of the sector	2	0.05	0.1
Quality research centers	4	0.15	0.6
Increasing annual growth of science and research expenditures	4	0.12	0.48
Existing qualified workforce	4	0.2	0.8
Existing strategic development goals	4	0.1	0.4
Existing and new business incubators and science and technology research parks	3	0.1	0.3
Growth of the medical device industry	4	0.05	0.2
Total		1
Weaknesses
Disunited legislative environment in EU countries	4	0.1	0.4
Administratively demanding system of public support	4	0.08	0.32
Fragmented consultancy in the fields of public support subsidies and legislation	3	0.1	0.3
A lack of strong linkages between industries and academia	4	0.18	0.72
Insufficient coordination and standardization of the medical device industry development	3	0.12	0.36
Uncooperative research centers	3	0.17	0.51
Legislative difficulties of transferring scientific results in company practice	4	0.1	0.4
Low utilization of risk capital to financing	2	0.1	0.2
Total		1
Opportunities
Favorable demographics, namely an aging population in the developed world and a higher number of active elderly people will lead to an increase in demand for medical devices and medical services	5	0.2	1
Medical device industry is expected to grow in countries like the People’s Republic of China with their expanding middle class in emerging markets	4	0.1	0.4
Significant export potential to the developing as well as developed countries	5	0.05	0.25
Existence of clear visions, objectives and strategies for the future	5	0.08	0.4
Development of existing and new clusters in the field of the medical device industry	2	0.07	0.14
Increased accessibility of risk capital sources for financing companies’ developmental activities	2	0.1	0.2
Purpose-oriented financing of science and research	4	0.1	0.4
Coordination of scientific research institutes	4	0.15	0.6
Coordination and unification of law related to the medical device industry	4	0.15	0.6
Total		1
Threats
Continuing stagnation of the EU economy	3	0.1	0.3
Financial and time difficulties involved in the development of innovative medical devices	3	0.08	0.24
Underestimated significance of marketing for entering foreign markets	4	0.1	0.4
Underrated R&D cooperation in clusters	3	0.1	0.3
A lack of workplaces with efficient systems for transferring science and research results	3	0.18	0.54
Preference given to short-term development goals	5	0.15	0.75
Little use of cooperation and connections among universities, scientific research institutes and institutions supporting innovative entrepreneurship capacities	5	0.17	0.85
Total		1

Notes: Criterion of each item on the scale from 1 to 5. The total impact column was created as the product of “Criteria*Significance”.

Abbreviations: EU, European Union; R&D, research and development.

Table 3 SWOT analysis comparison in developed and developing countries

	USA, Israel, and UK	Mexico, Turkey, and People’s Republic of China	Authors’ study
Strengths	Powerful brand, strong R&D capability, large numbers of patents, licensed production	Production capacity, human resources, dynamics of export, supportive legislation	Existing qualified workforce, high expenditures on health care (on medical technologies)
Weaknesses	Quality management deficiency, large scale of fixed investment, poor financial managing ability	Lack of innovation, lack of industrial policy, low added value	A lack of strong linkages between industries and academia, uncooperative research centers
Threats	Global financial crisis, strong competition, customer bargain power, regulatory environment	Competing countries, insecurity in the country, cartels	Preference given to short-term development goals, little use of cooperation, stagnation of the EU economy
Opportunities	Aging global population, new health care system reform, international aggregate demand, entering new markets	Human resources, increasing aggregate demand, lack of supply and market expansion	Increased accessibility of risk capital sources, existence of clear visions, coordination and unification of law related to the medical device industry

Abbreviations: EU, European Union; R&D, research and development; SWOT, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Figure 4 Financing among individual entities.

Emergo GroupOutlook for the medical device industry in 2014Annual Survey2014 Available from: http://www.emergogroup.com/research/annual-medical-device-industry-surveyAccessed May 10, 2015

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Medtech EuropeThe European Medical Technology Industry in Figures2013 Available from: http://www.eucomed.org/uploads/Modules/Publications/the_emti_in_fig_broch_12_pages_v09_pbp.pdfAccessed May 10, 2015

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EurostatEuropean Database2015 Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostatAccessed May 10, 2015

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