Why is Outsourcing a Growing Trend for Medical Devices?
As a medical device CRO, we appreciate the medical device industry sector and look forward to its continued growth and expansion. So, a recent report that highlights the industry’s progression and outsourcing future caught our attention. While there looms uncertainty regarding the medical device tax and the effect on companies, one thing is certain - the medical device industry is experiencing tremendous growth.
In fact, according to a news-release on PR Newswire, “The medical device market is one of the fastest growing and the most dynamic sector in the life sciences industry due to its high profit margins and the increasing demand for advanced medical devices.” As a result of the tremendous growth, many are predicting an increase in outsourcing services to meet the demands of a fast growing sector.
According to a recent market report, “the global medical devices outsourcing market, amidst ongoing medical technology development is expected to rise from USD 21.1 billion in 2012 to USD 40.8 billion in 2018, registering a CAGR of 11.6% from 2012 to 2018.” Interestingly enough, the report also points to orthopedic devices and cardiac devices as the fastest growing device types being outsourced for manufacturing services.
What are some of the advantages of outsourcing certain services? The report points to:
- Competition amongst medical device manufacturers and the urge to increase profit margins is driving the demand for medical devices outsourcing
- Increased product recalls have also boosted demand for services such as testing services and validation services
- Outsourcing is helping companies to focus on other business activities and manage their product life cycles, which again is driving the market growth
It has been noted that US and Europe costs and regulation pressures continue to rise. Companies looking to outsource hope to reduce the time to market and save costs along the way. However; could there be hidden risks in outsourcing?
We are curious as to your thoughts on this topic. Are you excited about the continued growth in the medical device industry? Do you embrace the real possibility of increased outsourcing? Feel free to comment below.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Thompson1
