French Medical Device Market to see moderate growth

The latest has been drawn up by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who took office in May 2007, states Research and Markets in their latest report. New measures have recently been taken to control spending on medical devices, similar to those already in force for pharmaceuticals. For this reason, the medical market is only likely to see moderate growth, rising from US$8.6 billion in 2008 to US$11.0 billion by 2013. Prospects for medical equipment manufacturers remain promising as a result of several initiatives intended to allow France to make good its shortfall in some equipment areas, most notably imaging and radiotherapy equipment, as part of a ten billion euro hospital investment programme. A second programme with similar levels of investment is set to run from 2008-2012. The medical manufacturing industry has seen an influx of foreign companies; most larger manufacturers are now subsidiaries of multinational groups. The acquisitions process has opened up new distribution channels for foreign-manufactured equipment, increasing the market share of imported products. There has also been a rise in re-export activity. Medical device imports reached US$10.3 billion in 2008, although not all imported products are destined for the domestic market. In recent years, there has been a marked rise in re-exports in certain sectors, most notably pacemakers.