Stent Market to Recover with New Products

The global market for coronary stents will recover from its recent decline due to new product innovations, exceeding USD 6 billion sales by 2017. These are the latest findings of Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA), an independent medical market research firm.

The report finds that the projected market growth will result from an increase in the utilization of stents in interventional cardiology, fueled by a growing prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and comorbid conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity worldwide, a result of global population aging and a longer life expectancy. Additionally, a growing acceptance of drug-eluting stents as a more effective treatment for CHD, along with increasing awareness about coronary stents among patients, is expected to boost procedural volumes.

New technologies, such as bioresorbable scaffolds and bifurcation and biodegradable polymers stents, are projected to enter major markets in the next few years and increase the utilization of stents in interventional cardiology. Such new devices, especially the bioresorbable stents, have the potential to eliminate the negative issues of current durable polymer stents, and they are therefore expected to bring about a significant shift in the treatment of CHD, as well as increasing the demand for stents.

The first bioresorbable stent to reach the market was developed by Abbott Laboratories (Chicago, IL, USA), the leading player in the coronary stents market, and launched in several markets, including Europe, in September 2012. Besides Abbott, several other companies, such as Boston Scientific (Natick, MA, USA), MicroPort Medical (Shanghai, China) and others are also developing bioresorbable stents, employing various technological approaches.

“In particular, bioresorbable stents are expected to be welcomed in the treatment of coronary heart disease by both physicians and patients, substantially easing patients’ discomfort of having a permanent metallic implant in their body,” said Kalorama Information report author analyst Adriana Rusu.

The major markets of the US, Europe, and Japan experienced significant challenges in recent years, including price declines, decreasing volumes of percutaneous coronary interventions, and lower penetration rates resulting from cost constraints and reductions in healthcare budgets. Additionally, the intensified competition among manufacturers contributed to the decline in average stent selling prices in these regions. Despite that, market potential in these regions remains attractive, given the aging population and high longevity. But decreasing reimbursement rates and intense competition for market share are expected to continue to lead to price declines and hamper market growth.

Related Links:
Kalorama Information
Abbott Laboratories
Boston Scientific