COVID-19 and its impact on Medical Devices

Since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the rise in the number of cases and mortality has thrown the medical community into a frenzy. The outbreak has spread to 200 plus countries and has resulted in one-third of the global population to be under the state of lockdown. Ever since the level of contagiousness increased, the demand for medical devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) has seen a major spike. 

    CDC/ Alissa Eckert

The medical devices industry has not escaped the pandemic’s impact. Medical devices like ventilators and pulse-oximeters are in a global shortage and these industries are facing a very tough challenge to meet the market demand. Since there is an extremely high demand for these devices, it is a positive sign for the medical devices industry in India. The approximate market size of the industry is estimated to be $11 billion, and experts have predicted that India’s medical devices industry is poised for significant growth in the next five years. On the flip side, patients who have severe symptoms and who are in critical condition are battling for life because of the global shortage in medical devices. Every day hundreds and thousands die because there is a significant shortage of these essential medical devices. (Fostering Innovation for Improved Health, n.d.)

    Express Web Desk | Chennai |

The impact of this pandemic has disrupted supply chains all over the world, but the worst has been the medical device industry. It is still continuing to get worse because some of the main and toughest challenges are limited supply channels, production and transportation costs. Normally medical devices like pulse-oximeters, oxygen concentrator and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and sanitizers were only used in healthcare facilities, but now, even the general public have started buying these. (Hiremath. T, n.d.)

Since the pandemic is still active and most cities and states are under lockdown, people want to ensure that their families are healthy and thus check the concerned parameters. These devices and equipment which were originally used in hospitals are being used in houses as well, this is another reason why there is a huge shortage in these medical devices. These challenges will either restrict the supply, which is what is taking place at the moment or will persuade the industry to increase the market prices for these products. Both will have adverse effects given the existing scenario. 

Medical devices not only include ventilators and different types of equipment for personal protection but also includes surgical equipment and artificial devices like valves, pacemakers etc. Most governments have cancelled all non-essential procedures and surgeries. This has had an adverse impact on the medical devices industry as there is an excess of stock, but the demand is very low, thus the industry incurred huge losses. 

       Nidek USA

In Chennai, all the non-essential surgeries and procedures were cancelled for more than two months. Only from the first week of June, these procedures started that too not in all healthcare facilities. Hence, we can deduce that the demand for medical devices used minimally invasive and elective procedures was hugely affected in the lockdown period. 

The level of impact of the virus outbreak varies across different medical devices market. For example, companies and brand which make orthopaedic implants and dental devices are primarily dependent on non-essential and/or elective procedures. Thus, these divisions of the industry have been impacted by the pandemic to a larger extent than the others. On the contrary, demand for respiratory medical devices and clinical diagnostics has witnessed high growth in the wake of this outbreak. This, in turn, promises a bright future for such segments of the medical devices industry. (COVID-19 Analysis, 2020)

                       India Mart

The following will clearly classify the segments of the medical devices industry which had low exposure and also the ones which had the highest of exposure to coronavirus; (COVID-19 Analysis, 2020)

Low level of exposure to COVID-19:

·         Diagnostic imaging

·         Respiratory devices

·         General hospital and healthcare facilities

·         Personal protective equipment

High level of exposure to COVID-19:

·         Cardiovascular devices

·         Orthopaedic devices 

·         Diabetes care equipment

·         Ophthalmic devices

·         Minimally Invasive surgical devices

Within the segment of medical devices, clinical diagnostics and imaging devices has contributed significantly in the early detection of the disease. A lot of hospitals have used CT scans for the initial imaging of patients who are getting admitted. This has helped curb the number of cases as the people who are suspected of the disease will be given immediate attention and will be treated accordingly. 

Another area where the pandemic has had an impact on the medical devices industry is the market strategies and plans made by the companies. Majority of them have not been very successful because of the effect of the pandemic. Companies will have to revise their growth projections. The pandemic has brought about a dual-toned effect; one in which non-essential procedures have been cancelled which has affected the surgical equipment and checking devices which are generally used. The other is a positive impact on the industry primarily because of excess demand for medical devices such as respiratory devices (ventilators). This, in turn, has resulted in companies reviewing their strategies and game plans as there is still uncertainty as to how long would the pandemic last. (An Overview of COVID-19 On This Market, n.d.) 

    Times of India

In essence, coronavirus has had an enormous impact on the medical devices industry not only in India but also all around the globe. There has been a positive side to it when we consider the huge demand for a few medical devices. Companies which are essentially into producing and marketing such devices have not had a very significant disruption. As opposed to this, the other part of the medical devices industry has suffered immensely. Due to the cancellation of all non-essential procedures, the types of equipment used are never employed. Thus, companies producing and marketing these devices have been affected by the pandemic. To sum it up, we can say that the impact of the coronavirus has had a dual-toned effect on the medical devices industry. 

References: 

“Fostering Innovation for Improved Health”, (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.investindia.gov.in/sector/medical-devices

Hiremath. T.- Impact of COVID-19 on Medical device Industry (2020) Retrieved from https://www.infoholicresearch.com/blog/impact-of-covid-19-on-medical-device-industry/

“COVID-19 Analysis”, (2020) Retrieved from https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/covid-19-impact-medical-devices-market-102629

“An Overview of COVID-19 On This Market”, (2020) Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/15/2016562/0/en/Medical-Devices-Market-to-Experience-Subdued-Growth-as-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-Fastens-Its-Grip-on-the-World-Fortune-Business-Insights.html