More Evidence of the Strength of the German Market

The world market for medical technologies is approximately 220 billion euro. Germany is the third largest market, valued at 22 billion euro, after the United States (90 billion euro) and Japan (25 billion euro), states the just published 2008/09 annual report from BVMed, the German industry trade association.

Healthcare spending in Germany increased by 3.2 percent to reach 252.8 billion euro in 2007. The total business volume of medical technology manufacturing companies that year increased by 6.9 percent to 17.3 billion euro. Domestic sales volume rose by 7.3 percent to 6.2 billion euro and export sales rose by 6.7 percent to 11.1 billion euro in the same period. In exports, Germany is ranked second in the world with a share of 41.6 percent, behind the United States with 30.9 percent and ahead of Japan with 5.5 per cent.

The country has outstanding innovative capability. German medical technology manufacturers achieve approximately one third of the business volume with products that are less than three years old, says the report. They invest on average approximately 9 percent of their sales revenues in research and development. According to the European Patent Office in Munich, medical technology heads the list of registered inventions with more than 15700 patents; 11.4 percent of patent applications originate from the medtech field.

The mood of the industry has deteriorated since 2008, however. The BVMed member companies registered average sales growth of 5.4 percent in 2008, which is primarily based on quantity increases. The profit situation is strained. Although sales trends remain positive, with turnover increasing by 7 percent, there is a persistent downward pressure on prices and greatly increased raw material and energy prices, says BVMed. Staple products show continued stagnation or a decline in sales, yet some innovative sectors produce double-digit growth rates. Of its member companies, 84 percent expect to launch a new product in 2009.

As well as the status of the domestic market, the 24-page annual report includes the findings of a recent market survey, discussion on topics such as how Germany’s leading market position can be expanded in the long term, the reorganisation of statutory health policy, the introduction of a health pool in 2009 and finance reforms, and it lists the BVMed membership.

The report can be downloaded by clicking here.

Tags: BVMed, German medical technology market