The Road to Recovery for MedTech – Analysis for Q2-2021

September 2021

Vamstar’s first quarter analysis of the medical technology market revealed that overall medical technology sales had rebounded nearly 20% compared to the same period in 2020, despite the toll that the pandemic continued to take on many countries around the world. However, the rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID tempered our forecasts with cautious optimism. Results for the second quarter now indicate that the overall market continues to build on those first quarter gains, albeit at a more typical growth rate of 3.5% compared to the first quarter—at 25.6%, overall medtech sales are still up significantly from the same period 2020. And based on the first six months of 2021, it is likely the industry will see double-digit growth for the full year compared to 2019. This updated second quarter analysis replaces Vamstar’s preliminary analysis which included reporting from only 35% of the overall medtech market.

Looking at the first quarter 2021 compared to the second quarter for the same segments in Vamstar’s preliminary analysis, final second quarter results show that:

• Cardiac rhythm management continued to rise by 3.2% in the second quarter. Less of an increase than originally estimated but still growth related to a slow return in surgical procedures.
• Clinical Laboratory declined 5.4% as COVID-related diagnostics has declined. However, as vaccination rates are slowing, testing may still be necessary in the mid to long-term as a means of controlling the virus.
• Diabetes care grew by only 2.6%, while CGM continues to experience double digit growth the overall segment is weighted by lower growth in the traditional consumer segment.
• Infusion and renal therapy grew by 2.6%, stronger results than the preliminary estimates.
• Medical imaging equipment grew by only 1.6%, falling behind the pace of the overall medtech market.
• With the inclusion of all the top neuromodulation companies, results show growth of 2.3%. This is not as strong as anticipated due to early results from Abbott and Boston Scientific, both with double digit growth in the product segment. Neuromodulation has become an important area of patient care, particularly for reducing dependency on pain alleviating oral medications.
• Patient monitoring and respiratory therapy grew by 2.5% and 0.7% respectively, lower growth than exhibited during most of 2020.
• Surgery grew by 7.8% due to the slow return of non-emergency procedures, albeit with varying results across geographies. Boston Scientific noted the largest increases occurred in Latin America, Canada, and the US while Japan and other countries in the Asia Pacific region were more negatively impacted by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases which required that hospitals once again delay non-emergency procedures.

Vamstar is continually updating its forecasting models as new financial information is released, and our third quarter analysis will be provided at the end of October. Vamstar’s medtech research portfolio splits the market into twenty segments that total $800 billion in annual revenue. Vamstar’s marketplace aggregates $2 trillion of demand for healthcare products and services using machine learning, providing real-time market insights to enable faster bidding. Vamstar provides clients with insights and perspective on what really matters by isolating cause and effect, as well as risk and opportunity, in ways that empower clients to make well-informed decisions.