Double-Digit Growth Forecast for Single-Use Endoscopes Market

A profitable future is in store for the global single-use endoscopes market.

GlobalData predicts the sector will more than double over the next nine years, swelling 10% annually to reach $2.5 billion in 2033 (from its current $990 million value). Citing its latest Endoscopy Devices market models, GlobalData expects the growth to be driven by an increasing demand for healthcare systems to reduce time, costs, and cross-contamination potential when using more traditional, reusable endoscopes.
 
“The endoscopes market in the past decade has seen a steady shift towards the adoption of fully single-use endoscopes at the expense of traditionally reusable, sterilizable ones,” GlobalData Senior Medical Devices Analyst Brian Hicks said. “This trend has already been well underway across various types of endoscopes, such as bronchoscopes, duodenoscopes, and cystoscopes.”
 
Henceforth, colonoscopes are also expected to experience this shift, given last fall’s U.S. debut of Ambu’s first generation single-use colonoscopes in the US. For the already existing types of endoscopes—such as single-use cystoscopes—newer generations with improved design and safety features being launched in global markets will also contribute towards greater product adoption, as exemplified by Ambu’s launch of its aScope 5 Cysto HD in Europe.
 
“The drivers for the rapid growth of the single-use endoscopes market include the lower purchasing costs of the devices and reduced maintenance expenses for the hospital departments. Even the cost of purchasing reusable endoscopes alone is often at least an order of magnitude higher than the cost of their single-use counterparts, let alone considering the direct and indirect costs of sterilizing them,” Hicks noted. “Therefore, the market growth of single-use endoscopes is expected to be driven not only by well-funded healthcare systems but also by more budget-conscious medical facilities worldwide.”  
 
The competitive landscape of the single-use endoscopes market has also been steadily growing, with a healthy mix of well-established medical device companies like Ambu, Boston Scientific Corp., and Olympus, as well as a slew of startup and medium-sized companies attempting to capitalize on the trend towards adopting single-use endoscopes.
 
“GlobalData expects more medical device manufacturers, especially the well-established endoscopy players, to invest more heavily in R&D, partner with smaller companies to develop new products, and acquire rapidly growing companies specializing in this field, all to further increase their competitiveness,” Hicks concluded.