Canadian Health Care System Pressuring Manufacturers to Lower Drug-Eluting Stent Prices in US$55 Million Market

TORONTO, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the Canadian interventional cardiology device market is a highly competitive and dynamic market, with a small number of large competitors fighting for market share in this extremely profitable area. As of 2010, the drug-eluting stent segment represented a $55 million market -- the most lucrative of the interventional cardiology device markets.  

Entering the Canadian health system is, however, not easy for device manufacturers. One of the biggest determinants of device adoption in Canada is price because of the setup within the Canadian public health care system. Facilities receive a budget from the government that they must use to purchase devices in a way that allows universal access for Canadian citizens to health care. This means that the most advanced, and also premium-priced devices, are often not used because hospitals and facilities cannot afford to purchase them and still provide treatment to all patients. This not only limits Canadian interventional cardiology device market revenues, but also further deters manufacturers from entering or launching new products in the Canadian interventional cardiology device market because it is not viewed as cost effective by manufacturers.

"Growth in drug-eluting stent procedure volumes -- which will occur at the expense of bare-metal stent procedures -- will be sustained through 2015," says Adrienne Ma, Analyst at MRG.  "According to interventional cardiologists interviewed by MRG, drug-eluting stent prices are falling dramatically in Canada because of competitive pricing pressures caused by manufacturers fighting to bolster their market share by maintaining and establishing new contracts with hospitals. The upside to the pricing declines is that facilities are able to afford more drug-eluting stents within the same constrained budget that is applied by the Canadian public health care system."

With increasing competitive pressures among products, as well as from alternative treatment options, prices in the drug-eluting stent market have been reduced. Prices will also drop as a result of pressure from the Canadian government, which is aiming to reduce health care costs by entering into a pan-Canadian purchasing alliance to better negotiate lower prices from drug and medical equipment companies.

MRG's Canadian Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices 2011 report provides critical insight into trends that will fuel market growth for drug-eluting and bare-metal stents, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty balloon catheters, and accessory devices through 2015.

About Millennium Research Group

Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources, Inc. company (www.DecisionResourcesInc.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and the leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector. The company provides specialized industry expertise through multiclient market research, ongoing Marketrack™ projects, customer behavior tracking, facility-level procedure forecasting, and customized solutions.

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SOURCE Millennium Research Group