The Outlook for Medical Devices in Central & Eastern Europe

12 Major Markets Covered!

Belarus, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine

Highlights from the region

THE REGION

Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia represent the five largest markets in the region. The Russian market has the potential to expand much further due to its large population, but it suffers from a lack of wealth and the consequent inability to increase public health expenditure. Poland and Slovenia are also among the fastest-growing markets in the region, although they fall behind Croatia and Bulgaria. Slovenia is the wealthiest country in the region, which is able to spend 8.8% of GDP on healthcare expenditure; this is the second-highest rate, behind only Serbia. The Hungarian and Russian markets are growing at slower rates, hindered by under-investment in healthcare facilities.

BULGARIA

Although the Bulgarian medical device market is one the smallest in Central and Eastern Europe, it possesses a high rate of growth, at 13.0%. The pace of reform can be expected to increase now that the country is a full member of the EU and the market will continue to grow as healthcare facilities are modernised. This will inevitably lead to an increase in imports, which only rose by 3.6% in 2005. Medical equipment is mainly sourced from Germany and the USA, due to poor local production standards. Due to the receipt of international aid, health sector reform will be economically viable until at least June 2008, by which time the World Bank will have granted over US$87 million to the industry.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic was one of the larger and richer former Soviet bloc countries to join the EU in May 2004. The market is valued at US$769 million in 2007 and its per capita expenditure of US$76 is one of the highest in the region. Czech medical device regulations are largely in line with EU standards and EU membership has made the CE mark mandatory for local manufacturers. The country has a small but skilled manufacturing sector, with production geared towards the low to medium end of the technology scale. Domestically produced devices are of increasingly good quality.

POLAND

The Polish market is estimated at US$1,563 million in 2007, placing it in the world's top 20. This impressive market size can be partly attributed to the population of 38 million, although per capita expenditure is average. Poland has a strong industrial base but still imports around 80% of its medical devices. This is similar to the situation in other neighbouring countries, where local production does not meet the demand for equipment. Poland experienced medical device import growth of 26.5% in 2005, the second-highest rate in the region.

HUNGARY

Hungary is a highly developed Central European market. The recent loosening of regulations governing the ownership of healthcare facilities has provided a gateway for private organisations into the healthcare sector. To date, privatisation has largely been confined to the management of facilities, although heavier investment in equipment is expected to follow. This will increase the market size further, as private facilities tend to purchase the best, and therefore most expensive equipment available. The Hungarian medical device market stood at US$666 million in 2007 and is expected to reach US$900 million by 2012, assuming that the current annual growth rate of 6.2% is sustained.

ROMANIA

The Romanian market is performing well and expanding at a rate of 7.8% per annum. Romania joined the EU in January 2007 and has worked hard to meet the accession requirements. The rate of market growth may increase over the next few years as the benefits of EU membership are felt. The degree to which the health sector will improve however, will depend on the coalition government's ability to curb the political meltdown that has occurred since EU accession and recommence reforms.

UKRAINE

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, yet represents only a small, if fast-growing, medical device market. Per capita expenditure is valued at only US$6 in 2007 and the market size is an estimated US$281 million. Due to the growth rate of 12.8% however, the Ukrainian market is expected to reach US$521 million by 2012. This stands well above the projected US$308 million for Serbia and US$337 million for Belarus. The market growth rate remains high but has fallen slightly to reflect the value of imports, which fell by 17.8% in 2005, the largest decrease in the region. Despite this, the rate of reform and privatisation within the healthcare sector is expected to rise under the current President and this will in turn boost the market size. ..... FOR EVERY MARKET

MARKET OUTLOOK

Current market size Unique 5-Year market projections to 2012 Market outlook Market structure Statistical data on imports and exports Market developments, covering recent and impending developments with respect to key issues such as regulation, health facilities, funding and government policy Key national data projections International market comparisons

FOR EVERY MARKET

BACKGROUND DATA

• Population data, including growth trends and age structure
• Demographic indicators detailing principal causes of death and morbidity

HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

• Organisation & administration
• Health expenditure
• Expenditure by source of funding and type
• Hospital services
• Hospital data such as beds by type, region, specialty, patient admissions and surgical procedures
• Outpatient care
• Medical personnel
• Data on healthcare professionals covering such areas as doctors by specialty, nursing staff and dentists

ACCESSING THE MEDICAL MARKET

• Regulatory environment
• Distribution guide and trade fair information
• Domestic production

CONTACT DETAILS

• For healthcare organisations and trade
• associations