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At G-P, our industry leading Global Employment Platform™ helps companies unlock their full potential by building highly skilled global teams in days instead of months. But how does the everywhere workforce work together best? Here we discuss the opportunities – and challenges – in achieving the kind of global growth and success we can all share.
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The term medtech is used to describe a product designed to impact positively on people’s health and healthcare, covering medical areas such as prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Examples of medtech products include body scanners, gene mutation tests, heart valves, and replacement joints for hips.
Medtech companies are some of the most innovative organizations worldwide, and have filed more European patents, at 8 percent, than any other industry. In total, over half a million medtech products have reached the market.
Why is medtech important?
Medtech allows for earlier and more accurate detection of health issues. This enables timely intervention to treat and improve the outcome of these illnesses in patients. Accurate diagnostic information helps healthcare professionals make better decisions.
By improving patient health and reducing recovery times, MedTech relieves pressure on hospitals by lowering demand. Overall, MedTech innovations enhance the sustainability of healthcare through efficiency.
What are the next trends in medtech?
Members of MedTech Europe, the European trade association for the medtech industry, have identified multiple research and innovation priorities. These include:
- Portable, wearable, smart devices to facilitate personalized care at home.
- Antimicrobial resistance tools and services that support the prevention and control of infection, as well as diagnostics that will guide antimicrobial treatment decisions.
- Precision imaging to improve the early detection of cancers and specify treatment for chronic diseases.
- Automated, robotic surgery for minimally invasive surgery.
- Automated, decentralized in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) will take advantage of digitalization, genomics, and biomarkers.
How big is the medtech market in Europe?
The medtech market in Europe is estimated to be roughly EUR 150 billion, with Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain dominating the market. According to manufacturer prices, the European medtech market makes up 27.3 percent of the global market. After the U.S., Europe is the second largest medtech market.
Meanwhile, the sector employs 800,000 people across 34,000 companies. This accounts for 0.3 percent of the employment figures in Europe. While Germany employs the highest number of people (235,000), Switzerland and Ireland employ the highest per capita.
Which country is best for medtech?
Germany is Europe’s largest medtech market and the third largest globally. A Germany Trade & Invest report from 2020 credits this success to collaboration between private sector companies, hospitals, research institutions, and academia. There is no one center for medtech innovation in Germany. Instead, the industry is spread across more than 30 locations. These locations include Stuggart, Dresden, Nuremberg, Hamburg, and Berlin.
Again, the Germany Trade & Invest report cites market factors for Germany’s strong interest in medtech as an aging population (31 percent of Germans will be 65 and over by 2035) and tackling chronic diseases (80 percent of German healthcare spending is dedicated to chronic illness).
Medtech companies in Europe
A sample of medtech companies in Europe today include:
- Albomed is a German company that develops viscoelastic from the initial idea to production and the certified product.
- B Medical Systems is a Luxembourg company creating innovative solutions to store and transport vaccines, blood components, and laboratory specimens across the world safely and reliably.
- Photon, with European offices in Slovenia, accelerates accurate and timely communication among healthcare providers by pairing mobile access to a focused patient chart with the ability to asynchronously communicate.
- Dornier MedTech is a German company and the world’s first MDR-certified integrated urology company.
- Nela Biodynamics is a Spanish company creating joint and bone implant technology.
Why is Europe’s medtech so successful?
In the European Union, medical technologies are tightly regulated by laws that govern the safety and performance of devices across their lifetime, pre- and post-market. medtech companies and medical device manufacturers must meet directives and coordinate system regulations to carry out their business.
As a result, medical technologies that reach consumers in the European market are known to be safe and trusted. Thus, these tight regulations contribute greatly to the success of the sector in the long run as consumers know there is this quality assurance with all devices.
Moreover, medtech gets significant financial backing from the EU. The EU’s Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is a public-private partnership between the European Union and Europe’s life sciences industries. With a total budget of EUR 2.4 billion until 2027, it is the most significant partnership of its kind.
How G-P can help
Medtech has become a thriving sector within Europe. Moreover, medtech companies are more than manufacturers. They’re large, global companies with commercial, business, and technical roles.
To combat the talent shortage that has shadowed the tech industry of late, medtech companies should look to partner with global employment platforms that will enable them to hire talent globally. A global employment platform can help medtech companies find, hire, onboard, pay, and manage team members swiftly and smartly, regardless of geography.
G-P’s technology and in-country expertise enable businesses worldwide to access talent in 180+ countries without needing subsidiaries or local branches. Built-in legal and HR functionality mitigates the cost, time, and pain of establishing your own.
Access to diverse talent is critical for growing businesses. We connect ambitious companies to global skills and talent to opportunities. And we never forget that behind every hire is a human being. That’s why, as we make employment opportunities accessible to everyone, everywhere, we deliver a connected and supportive experience for all.
G-P takes care of the hard part so you can focus on the best part – growing your company globally. Download G-P’s eBook, “The Guide to Choosing an Employer of Record Model,” to discover more about making the best decisions for your company.
