Medical devices hit peak season, output value rises nearly 10%

The Industrial Technology Knowledge Service program (ITIS) under the Department of Industrial Technology of the Ministry of Economic Affairs released its review and outlook for the medical device industry in the third quarter, stating that driven by the peak season effect, third-quarter medical device output value is estimated at about 22.3 billion yuan, up 9.6% quarter-on-quarter, setting a new single-quarter high. ITIS noted that the main growth products in diagnostic and monitoring medical devices include blood pressure monitors, thermometers and ear thermometers, mainly because winter is approaching, which has increased the procurement rate of such products.

In addition to OEM orders, many domestic manufacturers also sell under their own brands for the domestic and overseas markets, driving output value growth. In the third quarter, in vitro diagnostic medical devices were affected by cuts in National Health Insurance reimbursement and an increase in export orders, with output value growing 21.2% from the previous quarter to 4.195 billion yuan.

Looking at output value by category of medical device, auxiliary and compensatory medical devices remained the category with the highest output value, reaching 5.811 billion yuan in the third quarter, but affected by a slight decline in exports of artificial joints and electric mobility scooters, output value slipped 0.2% from the second quarter; it still grew 33.6% year-on-year, with the main growth items being artificial implants such as contact lenses.

ITIS noted that in recent years, exports of dental implants, artificial bone and other artificial implants have gradually shown results. Looking at the subcategory of body-part compensatory devices, third-quarter export value grew 14% from the previous quarter and 30% year-on-year, showing that manufacturers' years of research and development and market expansion efforts for such products have paid off well.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, as the peak season has passed, ITIS estimates medical device output value this quarter at 20.5 billion yuan, down about 8% from the previous quarter. For 2013, the estimate of 7% annual growth in medical device output value is maintained, reaching 81.4 billion yuan.