The Greek medical devices and supplies market is slowly recovering

The Greek medical devices and supplies market is slowly recovering

The market for medical devices also shows a recovery in 2017 with an annual rise of 2%, valued at 1,65 billion Euro. The value of the market decreased from over 2,68 Billion in 2009 to 1,61 Billion in 2016, at a negative average Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 4,27%.

The evolution of the Greek market is shown in the following table.

Data sources:
* Institute of Supply Chain & Hospital Technology, based on input from companies annual financial reports and industry executives
** Estimation

From 2010 onwards, austerity measures and health expenditure cuts, had a substantial impact on the medical device market.  Because of the difficult economic situation over the past few years, demand for products had decreased and cost-efficiency has become a determining factor in many cases. Pricing continues to be a deciding factor when it comes to procurement for most of medical equipment and for all medical supplies.

Public healthcare institutions (public and private hospitals, health centers, diagnostic centers, clinics, private offices) are the main purchasers of medical equipment and supplies. For some product categories, demand comes, also, directly from individual consumers through the National Organization for Healthcare Provision policy (EOPYY).

In the Greek medical device and supplies market, more than 800 companies are active, mainly as importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers. The medical devices and supplies sector continues to rely heavily on imports, since there are limited number of medical supplies manufactures focused mainly on low-value products such as bandages, gauze, and basic hospital furniture.

Small and medium sized companies make up 30 percent of the market and account for more than 70 percent of the sales.  Large companies account for only 1 percent of the market but they generate approximately 15 percent of the sales.  Most of the multinational companies (European and from USA are well established in Greece).

Data sources:  Institute of Supply Chain & Hospital Technology, The Pulse of the Greek Medical Devices Market
*defined by the European Commission
** The number corresponds to the financial reports published by the companies. It is the sample of the report

It is forecast to grow at a CAGR of around 11% from over 1.62 Billion € in 2017 to around 1.80 Billion € in 2018. The main segments in the market are medical Imaging equipment, In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD), cardiovascular devices, and orthopedic devices.

There is an unevenly diffusion of the high-end medical equipment over Greece, with the high concentration in the Attica region. There are two pending tenders valued at 40 million euro for imaging equipment (CT-MRI Scanners, Angio systems, PET-CT etc).

Product prices (mainly consumables such as diabetes) have fallen to 60% in the last 3 years, mainly due to their registration in the EOPYY and the prices, which have been negotiated by the Organization.

The amounts paid for the maintenance of medical equipment in public hospitals will reach € 32 million in 2018, giving an additional surge to the sector’s businesses.