US medical devices market set to grow
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
ROCKVILLE, MD: The United States is home to the world’s largest medical device market, estimated by US-based market analysis firm Espicom at US$94.9 billion in 2010.
The firm’s Healthcare Intelligence Division’s latest report The Medical Device Market: USA suggests recent developments have made the market even more lucrative.
Already operating with a per capita expenditure at US$306—the third highest in the world—President Obama’s healthcare reform bill will eventually extend health insurance cover to an estimated 32 million Americans who don’t have any form of health insurance.
Much of the market is in private hands; there is no single health system. Public healthcare systems, known as Medicaid, for those on low incomes, are operated by each State.
The US is home to many of the world’s leading medical device manufacturers, such as Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Baxter, Covidien and Medtronic. Seven out of the world’s top ten device manufacturers are US companies.
However, the report states that imports are forming an increasingly significant part of the market, and now account for around 31 per cent of the total. This growth is partly explained by US manufacturers using cheap locations abroad, such as Ireland or Mexico, in order to re-export to the US market.
While the market is highly regulated and can be an expensive in which to operate, It is transparent and ‘rules-based.’
