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Medizintechnik: Ein innovativer Markt mit Wachstumspotential

Press Release of November 24, 2004

The German medical-technology industry ranks first throughout Europe. On a world-wide basis, it is in 3rd place behind the USA and Japan according to the current weekly report of DIW Berlin 48/2004. The sales volume in the medical technology sector increased by 5.5 percent from 1995 to 2003 and is, as a result, significantly higher than the average of the manufacturing sector overall. World trade in medical technology increased by seven percent in the period from 1995 to 2001 - valued in US dollars - and is therefore twice as strong as trade in industrial goods. This indicates that the internationalization of the market for medical technology is further advanced. The proportionate shares in world trade have undergone a significant shift here: The USA notched up a positive change of four percent and therefore controls more than one-third of the world market. The proportionate share of Germany in world trade dropped by 3.5 percent to 12.8 percent, in contrast. These shifts are influenced to a considerable degree by changes in the exchange rates among the US dollar, the yen and the euro, though.
The market for medical technology stands out because of extremely fast development. According to estimates, medical technology companies earn up to 50 percent of their sales volume with products that aren't older than two years. The use of new technologies in product development therefore has a particularly high level of importance for the sector. The innovative power of German medical technology is also shown by the fact that products of German companies frequently have the prime position here. The economic dynamics of the industrial countries, the structure of the healthcare systems and the demographic trends are decisive for the market development. Products that can be financed by the healthcare system and that are oriented towards the needs of the aging society have the best market potential today.

Medical technology in Germany will also have to achieve growth above all in foreign markets in the future in view of the weak domestic demand. It has to be considered here that the companies in medical technology are not only significantly smaller compared to the US competition, they also have less added value per job. On top of this, there are also the dynamics involved when technology-oriented companies are founded, which are traditionally stronger in the USA vis-à-vis Germany. It's true that there are hardly any disadvantages vis-à-vis the USA with regard to market entry and market penetration because of the approval processes that are being handled on a Europe-wide basis in the meanwhile, but negative effects arise from the protracted process for establishing the compensation for services of the health-insurance companies for new products and processes.
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