Thirteen Percent Revenue Shortfall Expected in Capsule Endoscopes Market

Nearly 13 percent of revenue from capsule endoscopes will be lost in 2020 due to COVID-19, as many elective surgical procedures have been postponed, claims GlobalData, a worldwide data and analytics company. 
 
Eric Chapman, a medical devices analyst at GlobalData, said: “GlobalData estimates an overall reduction of 12.9 percent of revenue for capsule endoscopes by the end of 2020, compared to previous forecasts before the outbreak of SARS-COV2. In Q1 2020, elective procedures were postponed from around mid-March (two out of 12 weeks), however, this two week period did not severely impact the overall sales of capsule endoscopes. By Q2 2020, as the number new COVID-19 cases had reached a peak and many procedures had been cancelled or postponed, the market was down 57.8 percent.” 
 
In Q3 2020, GlobalData estimated that the market began to experience a gradual recovery as elective procedures are rescheduled. Initially, GlobalData estimated an overall reduction of 15 percent of revenue for the quarter, compared to predictions before the COVID-19 outbreak, however, a resurgence of new COVID-19 cases might result in further delays in procedures. 
 
Chapman continued: “In Q4 2020, GlobalData anticipates the start of a ‘surge period’ for the robotic surgical systems market, to make up for sales that were postponed earlier in the year. However, this surge will not be enough to offset revenue losses until the end of 2021 or early 2022.”
 
Given that Medtronic plc is the market leader for capsule endoscope sales, most revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic will be experienced by this company. Other companies such as Olympus Corp and RF Co, will also experience the effects of sales declines.