The European trauma device market will grow at a steady pace through 2016, according to recent findings from the Millennium Research Group, the Toronto, Canada-based market research firm.
Cost-containment efforts by the public health sectors of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the rise of public tenders and the influence of group purchasing organizations will limit average selling prices and reduce profits, the report's authors noted. Nevertheless, an increase in the size of the elderly population and the related increase in the incidence of osteoporosis will help lead to an increase in procedure volumes, causing the market to grow at an average rate of a little more than 3 percent per year through 2016.
Despite downward pressure on prices leading to relatively stagnant market growth for most markets, the intramedullary (IM) nail market will remain dynamic. Procedures increasingly will shift away from plates and screws to IM nails for the treatment of shaft fractures. In addition, IM nails are designed specifically for percutaneous insertion and are thus becoming increasingly favored as interest in minimally invasive surgery grows, according to the report.
Major players in the European trauma device market are focused on capturing market share in this dynamic segment, leading to new products and to procedural improvements for femoral, tibial, humeral and trochanteric fractures of the hip.
“The incorporation of IM nails in trauma procedures is significantly more advanced in Germany than in the rest of Europe,” said MRG analyst Kyle Verleyen. “Trauma device manufacturers have been aggressive in pushing IM nails for hip and shaft fractures, and German physicians have been willing to incorporate these devices into their procedures more than the other countries. The companies that hold strong positions in the IM segment in Germany—Synthes, Stryker and Smith & Nephew—will see sustained sales volume growth through 2016.”
Despite the growth of the IM nail segment, some competing plate and screw devices will also see growth, such as locking plates and anatomic plates for the extremities. Polyaxial locking plates in particular have seen smaller competitors enter the market with a focus on physician training to increase the uptake of their products.
Millennium Research Group’s European Markets for Trauma Devices 2012 report includes procedure, unit, average selling price and revenue information, along with market drivers and limiters and competitive landscape for plates and screws, IM nails, cannulated screws, conventional hip screws, ancillary trauma devices, external fixation devices, and long-bone growth stimulation devices in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Millennium Research Group is a Decision Resources Group company.