Growing Asian Healthcare Market Expands Opportunities for Devicemakers

Per capita healthcare spending in Asia is expected to increase by almost 64 percent by 2010, expanding markets for medical devicemakers, according to a new report from Kalorama Information.

The report, “Asian Medical Device Markets,” says the market in Asia has experienced “constant growth” over the last decade, despite evolving regulatory and technological factors.

For the 13 countries in Asia, the report said the combined healthcare expenditure was $753 billion in 2005. But the report specifically focused on the healthcare sectors in five countries — Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea — which Kalorama said have a combined value of approximately $31.63 billion in 2007.

For Australia and India, imports make up as much as 90 percent of the medical device market. Similarly, imports, primarily from the U.S. and Europe, make up almost 70 percent of the medical device market in China, the report said.

In China, imports make up almost 70 percent of the medical device market, which is expected to grow, the report said.

The medical device market in India increased from approximately $550 million in 1993 to roughly $1.3 billion in 2006 and is expected to grow at a rate of roughly 7.2 percent annually until 2010, the report added.

The Japanese medical device market, worth $19.27 billion in 2006, is the largest in the region and the second largest in the world, Kalorama said. However, it is expected to show the least growth over the next five-year period among the five countries.

Finally, the South Korean medical device industry is estimated to have been worth $2.61 billion in 2006, and is expect to reach roughly $3.18 billion by 2010.