European Heart Valve Repairs Market

Price erosion, budgetary constraints, reimbursement issues, and the cannibalization of mechanical valves by tissue valves are all challenges facing the European heart valve repairs markets. These are the latest findings from Frost & Sullivan (Frost, Palo Alto, CA, USA), an international consulting firm.

Market prospects will be hampered by the progressive erosion in prices, caused by cost-cutting measures to accommodate deficits in healthcare budgets. The market will also slow down due to declining growth in the mechanical valves market. As market participants are trying to optimize prices due to competition, government budgetary constraints are placing the onus of limiting prices on manufacturers. To sustain market growth, industry participants need to develop new technologies that reduce the risks for patients. Technologies such as the growth of tissue valves, paralleled by the rising popularity of minimally invasive techniques, will continue to drive the growth of the market.

Improved technology and nearly two decades of research studies have helped expand the use of tissue valves, with an increasing number of patients opting to use them. Percutaneous heart valve therapies (PHVT)-based measures for heart valve repairs will also boost this market because of the ease of implantation, resulting in the minimization of post-operative risks and complications. In addition to these clinical benefits, such new technologies should be developed with cost optimization in mind.

"Continuous inroads made by tissue valves and the development of minimally invasive techniques such as percutaneous heart valve therapies are driving the expansion of the heart valve repairs markets,” said study author Frost research analyst Sowmya Rajagopalan. "The risk to the patient is drastically minimized by these techniques, reinforcing the increased level of confidence in them.”

The heart valve repairs markets in Europe earned revenues of US$263.7 million in 2007 and is estimated to reach $400 million by the year 2014.


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