Is Your Glass Half Full?

This certainly has been an interesting year—and, as usual, it went by in the blink of an eye. American
columnist and author Bill Vaughan wrote: “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A
pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” As we enter a season of giving thanks, the events
of the latter half of the year are put into rather murky perspective. It may seem like beating a dead horse, but the state of the economy, the credit crisis and its impact on Wall Street seem to be all we read in the papers, hear on the news, blog about online and chat about during drinks with friends. At times, it feels all consuming—but with good reason. This isn’t an isolated event that impacts a few. We’re all, ultimately, affected in some way. Medtech, of course, is not immune to current market forces. During the recent Orthopedic Design & Technology Conference and Exhibition held in Fort Wayne, IN, Paul Olson, a director at Viscogliosi Bros., LLC, an New York, NY-based orthopedics-focused merchant bank, told attendees that the “show me the money” mentality in private equity investment is gone.

“Times certainly have changed,” he said. “In the past, perhaps there was too much emphasis on
the exit [the sale of a company or its shares following an equity investment] and not enough on the
entry, product development or growth.”

Whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist, I’m sure there are many people who will be ready to
show the old year to the door, lock up firmly behind it (and then cautiously look through the peephole
to see what 2009 has in store). It seems, however, based on a recent study by global medical device
consulting firm Emergo Group, Inc. (based in Austin, TX), that the medical device industry is
populated with optimistic folks ready to see the old year out not because they’re fed up, but because
they’re prepared and eager for opportunities that await. Emergo surveyed medical device
manufacturers, distributors and industry service providers about the current state of their respective
companies and prospects for 2009.

A majority of respondents, 61%, said they expect overall sales—both domestic and international
revenue—for their company to increase in 2009, and 84% expect the company they work for to
employ the same number or more people one year from now. Only 9% of survey takers expect sales
to decrease. When asked about their personal outlook for the medical device industry, 56% said they
were “somewhat positive” or “very positive” about the prospects for 2009. Only 17% noted that they
were “somewhat negative” or “very negative” about next year. More than 61% indicated that domestic
sales/orders have been about the same or higher in the last three months, and 66% said international
sales/orders have been the same or higher during the same period. A total of 74% said expansion
in international markets was part of next year’s plan.

The survey was conducted October 13-20 and emailed to more than 11,000 people (with a 10%
response rate) in the medical device and in-vitro diagnostic industry. Among the respondents, 60%
work for small medical device companies with fewer than 100 employees, and 40% are employed
by midsize or large companies. Approximately 67% are from North America, 18% from Europe and
10% from Asia. Nearly half—48%—work in medical device regulatory compliance or quality
assurance for their company (an area that certainly will see more growth in years to come, which
may be a possible reason why the data trend upward); 21% in general management and 14% in
sales/marketing. More information on the survey can be found at www.emergogroup.com.

With all the promise that medical technology holds (despite gloomy financial forecasts), there’s a
lot to be optimistic about—and we share that optimism. Here’s hoping that as we approach 2009, your
glass remains half full.

Christopher Delporte
Group Editor