Europe’s traditional disinfection market slows but equipment disinfection on the rise
The sterilisation and disinfectant market in Europe has been witnessing slow growth despite hospitals efforts to tackle alarmingly high infection rates.
According to a new market study from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.medicaldevices.frost.com), The market is mature and saturated, offering little scope for technological innovation, and the complete lack of product differentiation is hampering competition. While the disinfection market has shown potential for expansion, the sterilisation market remains largely static.
The report European Sterilisation and Disinfection Equipment Market, states that the market earned revenues of over US$269.7m (€170m) in 2007 and estimates this will reach US$352m (€223m) in 2014.
"Though the sterilisation and disinfection equipment market is not characterised by a strong level of technological development, certain mutations are contributing to the overall positive growth," said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Kieu A. Vuong. "For instance, slack growth in the low-temperature gas steriliser segments is compensated by positive trends impacting the disinfector equipment sector."
The spurt in the number of surgical procedures utilising minimally invasive instruments such as endoscopes is also driving the need for sophisticated systems for proper disinfection and maintenance of such equipment. This demand for more efficient disinfecting methods is fuelling the growth of the automatic endoscope reprocessor segment. The washers and AER disinfection markets are exhibiting continuous growth due to advancements in surgical instrumentation and liquid chemical disinfectants as well.
However, emerging trends indicate increasing consolidation and centralisation of hospitals in Europe, drastically reducing the number of hospitals and the number of potential customers. End-user consolidation is a challenge for this market, as purchasing power is augmented.
"High prices along with slow rate of product replacement will force manufacturers to identify different revenue streams in order to maintain and increase their profit margins," said Vuong.