Infusion Pumps: A Shift in Market Dynamics as Uncertainty Prevails

Written by Kelly Patrick

Cranfield, UK, 01/12/23 – Signify Research recently updated its analysis of the Infusion Pumps market. In the second edition of the global report, Signify Research noted a downgrade in its previous market projections for 2022 on the basis of purchasers being more cautious post-pandemic. Product recalls, supply constraints, market saturation and ongoing inflationary pressures continued to hamper revenue growth.

However, year-on-year revenue growth for infusion pumps is forecast in the next two years, with revenues reaching $2.6 billion by 2027.

The Hangover Affect

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact market dynamics in many healthcare segments. Product demand surges seen during the pandemic’s height affected the product mix equilibrium, with solutions required for COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment prioritised. The infusion pumps market experienced an uplift in sales for Large Volume and Syringe infusion solutions, whilst Ambulatory and PCA pumps were less critical due to their prominent use in the surgical market. In 2022, the overall market started to rebalance, indicating a slow return to normal. With surmountable patient backlogs, the treatment of surgical patients remained the priority and this drove demand for post-operative pain management solutions.

However, thanks to government stimulus packages, many hospitals had over-bought during the pandemic, with several pumps stored away unused. This has created a saturated market which, coupled with intensifying economic woes in several geographical regions, resulted in fierce competition. Recent updates to economic forecasts suggest that many purchasers face critical decisions on which solutions to prioritise, especially with elevated inflation expected for two more years. In this environment, healthcare providers are expected to become savvier with their purchase options and demand the most competitive price so they can afford to provide care to the levels expected.

Regulations Beneficial for Some

Healthcare is subject to strict regulation to maintain patient safety. In response, Infusion vendors have developed additional software-based safety features to ensure optimal infusion provision. However, this has come at a significant price for many vendors, with many leading players, including BD, Baxter and Smiths Medical, succumbing to FDA product recalls, often due to software glitches. Signify Research highlighted some major recalls in this insight discussing BD’s recent bounce back. Several players in the US, battling renumeration and product evolution issues, have subsequently seen their market share take a hit in recent years. Others, however, have seen short-term gains, further affecting supplier mix.

In Europe, the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) ((EU) 2017/745) was enacted in May 2021. All solutions to be sold into Europe must be certified through the MDR process. There is a 2027-2028 deadline for recertifying Class IIa and Class I devices. Vendors must now provide additional technical information to support new product launches, and this requires additional resources to be submitted annually. Vendors have reacted by claiming the process hasn’t improved patient safety, generates additional work and stifles innovation. However, emerging vendors have been quicker to the starting blocks here, and the market has seen a flurry of approvals recently.

Elsewhere, localised policies continue to evolve in many faster-growing emerging countries. With strict rules stipulating preference for domestic players in China, India and ASEAN, many larger vendors are being shunned. This is having a knock-on impact on market share within these regions, with domestic players further solidifying their presence. These vendors are also enhancing their digital platforms, making them more attractive to purchasers outside their traditional markets. As price-point becomes increasingly important in many purchase decisions, their presence is increasingly felt.

Light at The End of the Tunnel

In many countries there is a clear focus on reducing overall healthcare costs by improving patient outcomes. The overarching technological themes within the infusion market focus on innovations in solutions that help reduce errors and improve patient safety. In 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) identified that the global cost of medication errors was estimated to be $42 billion annually.

Much of the impetus behind interest in digital solutions that reduce medical errors is from the WHO’s third Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm. In this, many healthcare providers pledged to improve their monitoring of medication delivery to reduce the risk of errors. This continues to stimulate interest in digital infusion solutions that integrate with devices and IT solutions to collect relevant data, to ensure optimum care provision. With fewer errors, it is hoped that overall care costs are driven down. This creates further opportunities for development globally, as purchasers transition to connected solutions and show growing interest in supporting infusion software.

Future Outlook

Despite the challenges and hurdles the infusion industry is facing, the future still looks promising. Vendors have launched newer, revitalised solutions that tick the boxes of concerted purchasers. Greater focus has been placed on ensuring devices and associated software are thoroughly assessed so that potential risks are diminished. The evolution of care provision is also driving the need for solutions in newer care settings. As more patients are shifted to low-acuity settings, portable and easy-to-use solutions will be in increasing demand. Many new solutions are expected to launch in the next few years and Signify Research forecasts that this will expand the industry further. However, what will always be paramount is the need for solutions that can reduce overall care costs in an increasingly overstretched healthcare system.

Related Research

Signify Research is due to publish its Infusion Pump – World – 2023 report. The report builds on our 2022 edition of the research and provides a data-centric and global outlook of the market. The report blends primary data collected from in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals and technology vendors to provide a balanced and objective view of the market.

About Kelly Patrick

Kelly joined Signify Research in 2020 as a Principal Analyst. She has over 15 years’ experience covering a range of healthcare technology research at IHS Markit/Omdia. Kelly’s core focus has been on the clinical care sector, including patient monitoring, diagnostic cardiology, respiratory care, and infusion and associated IT solutions. Kelly holds a BSc degree with honours in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds. In her spare time, Kelly has a passion for running and outings with her husband and three children.

About the Clinical Care Team

The clinical care team provides market intelligence and detailed insights on the clinical care equipment and IT markets. Our areas of coverage include patient monitoring, diagnostic cardiology, infusion pumps, ventilators, anaesthesia devices, and high-acuity IT. Our reports provide a data-centric and global outlook of each market with granular country-level insights. Our research process blends primary data collected from in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals and technology vendors, to provide a balanced and objective view of the market.

About Signify Research

Signify Research provides healthtech market intelligence powered by data that you can trust. We blend insights collected from in-depth interviews with technology vendors and healthcare professionals with sales data reported to us by leading vendors to provide a complete and balanced view of the market trends. Our coverage areas are Medical Imaging, Clinical Care, Digital Health, Diagnostic and Lifesciences and Healthcare IT.

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