Med-Tech Industry Expects Strong Growth in 2010, Says Survey

The medical device and diagnostics industry is bursting with optimism as it heads into a new decade, according to a survey of industry professionals. Seven out of 10 respondents anticipate increased sales for their company in 2010 compared with 2009. “Companies are . . . bullish,” note the authors of the second annual Survey of the Medical Device/IVD Industry conducted by international consultancy Emergo Group in cooperation with BSI. Here are some highlights.

• When asked if they noticed a change in domestic sales during the three months prior to the survey, 31.6% said sales had increased, 19.7% saw a decrease and 29.6% said sales were about the same. When asked the same question about international sales, 37.4% reported an increase while 16.6% registered fewer sales. The order books were stagnant for 32% of respondents. Companies from Asia/Pacific said they had especially strong sales growth during those three months.
• Respondents from IVD companies are extremely positive about growth prospects going into 2010, with nearly all of them expecting sales to increase.
• More than 70% of respondents described themselves as having a very or somewhat positive outlook for the medical device and IVD industry’s overall business environment in 2010. That compares with 56% who responded favourably in last year’s survey.

The survey was conducted between 1 and 15 November, so the data is quite fresh. It should be noted, however, that respondents skew heavily toward the regulatory and quality assurance fields and tend to be located in North America (61.4% versus 21.6% based in Europe).

The survey can be downloaded free of charge from the Emergo website.

Tags: Emergo, survey