Medical Polymers Market Size, Share & Trend Analysis Report By Product (Fibers & Resins, Elastomers), By Application (Medical Devices, Medical Packaging), And Segment Forecasts, 2012 - 2020

Industry Insights

The global medical polymers market size was estimated at USD 12.34 billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period. The market is expected to register growth due to high adoption of polymers for implants due to chemical inertness and superior fatigue resistance.

The industry is expected to be driven by the growth in the demand for light weight, high strength plastic materials. The demand is likely to register growth on account of the development of advanced polymers and composites used in components such as catheters, surgical instrument handles and syringes.

The rising demand for polymers, on account of being a key component in the manufacturing of medical devices & equipment and packaging, has resulted in the growth market in the past few years. The demand for such polymers is likely to be driven by the rise in the demand for in-house and advanced devices.

Polymers dominate the healthcare device manufacturing industry owing to their low cost, superior flexibility, easy replacement, and ability to prevent infection as compared to metals. The growing demand for plastic materials in innovations such as plastic surgery, body implants, and orthopedic surgery is expected to open new avenues for industry growth.

Fluctuating prices and demand-supply gap are the key issues faced by the industry in terms of raw material supply, which is likely to impact the profit margin of suppliers. However, the increasing demand for biocompatible and biodegradable products in medical device manufacturing is anticipated to drive the demand.

Monomers including styrene, propylene ethylene and vinyl chloride are some of the key raw materials used for manufacturing medical grade polymers. These monomers are polymerized to produce medical polymers. Medical polymers production is concentrated majorly in North America and Europe owing to advanced technology development and huge amount of investment in R&D. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market in the next seven years. Emerging economies including China are some of the largest producers of medical polymers.

Rise in demand for advanced and sophisticated medical devices coupled with growing aging population and growth of the home healthcare market has resulted in a very high penetration for these medical polymers. Medical elastomers such as styrene block copolymer, rubber latex and others are growing in importance owing to their increasing applications in medical and pharmaceutical packaging.

Product Insights

Fibers and resins emerged as the largest product segment in industry, accounting for 86.7% of total volume in 2016. Growing use of fibers and resins in various applications including spinal implants, cranial injuries, and hip and joint replacements, owing to benefits, such as improved biocompatibility and lower cost, over traditional materials is expected to drive the demand.

The demand for medical elastomers is expected to grow owing to increased substitution of traditional materials such as metals, ceramics and glass. In addition, superior characteristics such as low cost, processing versatility, absorbency, and some key features including high thermal and chemical resistance, toughness and dimensional stability.

Application Insights

The demand for medical devices and equipment is expected to grow over the forecast period driven primarily by the growing population coupled with the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases. In addition, high levels of consumer expenditure on healthcare primarily in the U.S., China and Germany is expected to drive the growth of the application segment.

Packaging is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% in terms of revenue over the forecast period. The segment emerged as the second fastest growing application segment, owing to the increased use of product in designing packaging systems and pharmaceutical packaging.

Regional Insights

North America is expected to be the largest market driven by the rising prevalence of chronic diseases coupled with the expansion of the insurance coverage. Rise in awareness of health benefits of such products, low-cost advantage over metals and ceramics and enhanced performance of such devices and equipment is also expected to boost the demand.

Emerging economies including India and China are expected to witness a considerable growth of healthcare devices on account of rise medical tourism. Growing support from Chinese government by increased investments towards research and development for producing such products has also contributed to the surge in demand in the region.

Medical Polymers Market Share Insights

The industry is characterized by extensive integration by key players through various stages of the value chain. The companies distribute their product through dedicated supply networks and provide customized products in accordance with the application for which the product is to be used.

The industry is subject to multiple technological advancements pertaining to the production of advanced polymers for use in the healthcare industry. The companies in the market resort to new product developments as one of the major strategies to achieve market growth and develop plastic based composite materials in order to propel growth.

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