High Smoking Rates in China and Japan Fuel Tissue Heart Valve Sales According to an iData Report

According to a new report by iData Research (http://www.idataresearch.net), the leading global authority in medical device market research, the Chinese cardiac surgery market will almost triple in value by 2018 due to high double-digit growth rates of tissue heart valves, on-pump coronary artery bypass devices (ONCAB) and endoscopic vessel harvesting devices. The Asia-Pacific cardiac surgery market, which includes Japan, South Korea and Australia, is also expected to see strong growth within the tissue heart value, ventricular assist device (VAD) and artificial heart segments.

“Access to healthcare in China has been greatly facilitated by the rapidly growing economy, opening up huge untapped healthcare markets,” says Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. “In addition, China is the world’s largest consumer of tobacco products followed closely by Japan. This is leading to higher rates of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks and fueling the market for cardiac surgery devices. Companies such as Medtronic, Maquet and Edwards Lifesciences are moving in to capitalize on these lucrative segments.”

Read more here.

Cortical fixation devices were the most commonly used devices in 2010 and with their high ASP, took up the majority of the femoral fixation market. Although the intratunnel fixation market was the smallest segment in 2010, it experienced the fastest unit growth at 14.7% over 2009. Unlike the tibial intratunnel fixation devices which had several products available in 2010, there were only two femoral intratunnel fixation devices including the AperFix^® II Femoral Fixation device by Cayenne Medical and the Femoral INTRAFIX™ Sheath & Screw System by DePuy Mitek. This segment will continue to experience the fastest growth and will comprise 11% of the femoral fixation market by 2017 as shown in Chart 5‑3.

Since the introduction of Smith & Nephew’s ENDOBUTTON^® CL in 2004, other similar cortical fixation devices have emerged and led to increased growth in this market segment. Other such products include the ToggleLoc™ and EZLoc™ by Biomet and the RetroButton^® by Arthrex. The increased innovation of these products drew many surgeons attention and adoption of these devices was quick.

Intratunnel devices also exist for femoral fixation, however the number of these products available are more limited than for tibial fixation. In 2010 the only two femoral intratunnel devices available were the Femoral INTRAFIX™ Sheath & Screw System by DePuy Mitek and the AperFix® II Femoral Fixation by Cayenne Medical.  Femoral intratunnel fixation devices will continue to grow.

According to a new report by iData Research, the leading global authority in medical device market research, the U.S. bracing and support market was valued at over $2 billion in 2012 and will grow to reach almost $2.5 billion by 2018. Growth will be fueled by sales of spinal orthoses devices due to an aging population, growth in the number of spinal surgeries and a rising interest in conservative treatment options. The pain management market is also expected to grow quickly, in large part due to the increase in cold therapy sales.

“The number of spinal surgeries performed each year is increasing as a result of technological advancements, including major improvements of minimally invasive surgical techniques,” says Dr. Zamanian, CEO of iData. “In addition, sales of back braces are being used as an alternative to expensive and invasive spinal fusion surgery in some patients with instability. This will further fuel growth in this market.”

The report states that Aspen was the leading competitor in the spinal orthosis market due to its diverse product range, and strength in the prefabrication market. The company was followed closely by DJO and Spinal Technologies.

The pain management market, which consists of cold therapy devices and infusion pumps, also experienced rapid growth in 2011. This growth is expected to continue through 2018 due to strong sales of cold therapy devices, particularly powered devices because of their convenience and ease of use.

“The largest segment of the pain infusion pump market in 2011 was the single use ambulatory pump segment, which represented over 68% of the total market,” notes Dr. Zamanian. “Market growth will be driven by increased ASPs and unit sales in the ambulatory infusion pump segments due to new technological innovations that increase medication safety.”

The report states that CareFusion and Hospira were market leaders within the infusion pump segment, while DJO, Breg and Biomet battled for control of the cold therapy market.

For more information, register free on iData’s website at:
http://www.idataresearch.net/idata/registration.php

iData’s market report on the: “Markets for Orthopedic Bracing 2012” covers knee bracing and supports, ankle bracing and supports, spinal orthoses, back soft goods, upper extremity bracing and soft goods and pain management (including cold therapy and pain infusion pumps).

Twitter announced yesterday that they will be implementing what they refer to as the “IPA” later this year. The initiative will strive to keep the control of patents in the hands of the engineers and designers that are responsible for their creation.

The blog post stated that “it is a commitment from Twitter to our employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. We will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission.”

Though a noble idea, many are left wondering if this is a sound or risky business decision. Companies in the past have used patents in a strategic manner, such as Yahoo’s recent lawsuit against Facebook and AOL’s plans to sell over 800 patents to Microsoft.

Is this a glimpse of the future for other companies as well? Will businesses that thrive on research and development put employee recognition and empowerment at the forefront of their business practices?

Read more about this exciting new development in the press release here.

Recent cases have shown that when companies lose a segment of support from the scientific community, their market shares tend to suffer significantly. The European dental implant and bone graft substitute market has been further challenged by recent economic instability and Eurozone crisis, which has created a permanent demand for lower-cost dental implant products.

As a result, many lower priced competitors have begun to seize larger market shares in almost every European market. In many markets, these competitors are either regional or sourced from international markets such as Brazil, Korea and Israel.

Regenerative products and barrier membranes have been particularly affected by consumer austerity, as these products are discretionary in many cases. However, many consumers continue to demand high quality products, guarantees of service and scientific improvements that only premium manufacturers are equipped to offer. Conical internal connections are one such recent innovation, and currently constitute the fastest growing connection type in the dental implant industry.

Many dental implant and bone graft substitute companies have looked to expand their product portfolio or create new markets while they create package deals to offset competition from rapidly emerging lower-priced competitors. Significantly, many European and U.S. companies involved in this market have begun to invest in rapidly emerging periphery markets such as Turkey.

Increasing Prevalence for Conical Internal Connections

Dental implants are connected to final abutments in one of three ways: internal connections, external connections or single-unit devices where the implant and abutment are already attached. Furthermore, internal connections have two sub-segments: butt-joint internal connections and conical internal connections.

Research has shown that a lack of an intimate fit of the implant into the abutment or movement of the implant can provide an area for bacterial growth. Conventional butt joint connections provide a connection that can result in micro movement between the implant and the abutment, creating a pump effect for bacteria into the connection area. When bacteria are present in the micro-gap, they can cause inflammation, tissue recession and bone loss.

Recent clinical studies have shown that on average, conical connections offered a smaller micro-gap than butt joint connections in addition to a greater mechanical level of stability. As a result, conical connection types have become hugely successful in the dental implant market, and the majority of leading dental implant manufacturers have introduced conical internal connection products. Conical connection types will continue to represent one of the fastest growing segments of the dental implant market.

According to a new market monitoring service from iData Research (http://www.idataresearch.net), the leading global authority in medical device market research, Cordis, Boston Scientific and Abbott Vascular were the preferred stent brands in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa, while Medtronic had a strong market presence in Russia and Asia. The market monitoring survey also revealed that the majority of cardiologists in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa would use a bioabsorbable stent for the treatment of coronary angioplasty. In contrast, the majority of cardiologists in Asia-Pacific would not use a bioabsorbable stent.

These results come from a comprehensive market monitoring service that tracks physician brand and product preferences, usage statistics and impressions and combines these with sales and procedure data on an ongoing basis. Hundreds of cardiologists were surveyed worldwide for bioabsorbable, bifurcated, drug-eluting and bare metal stents, stent-grafts, vulnerable plaque and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) treatment.

“The survey results revealed dramatic differences between geographical regions in usage trends,” says Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. “Cardiologists in the U.S. and Europe are more willing to use new technologies such as bifurcated and bioabsorbable stents, while Asia-Pacific and Latin American cardiologists are more resistant, citing the lack of long-term clinical data, early recoil and technical challenges as drawbacks to these technologies.”

The results indicated that drug-eluting stents have become the dominant stent type used in Europe. Their use is expected to continue to increase, with their market penetration growing from the base of almost 62% of the total stent market in 2010. In addition, interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and general practitioners in the United States and Europe stated that drug therapies were the most effective treatment for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) citing their preferred brands, while vena cava interruption was a popular treatment option among Latin American physicians.

iData’s market monitoring service for global stent usage revealed trends on procedure volumes, stent brand choice, stent length and diameter preference, types of lesions and vessels stented, preferred stent delivery type and preferred drug coating. An accompanying market report states that the market for interventional cardiology is expected to exceed $4 billion by 2017, with increasing drug eluting stent sales as well as the emergence of bioabsorbable and bifurcated stents fueling market growth.

iData’s global cardiologist survey is a 4 report series and includes: “U.S. and International Vulnerable Plaque Treatment”, “Global Physician Survey: Stents by Brand, Length, Diameter, Type and Coating” and “International Deep Vein Thrombosis Treatment and Screening”. These surveys accompany iData’s global 3-report series on the “Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices”.