Despite Challenges Knee Replacement Market Still Could Show Growth, Report Says

The knee replacement market value across 10 major countries will undergo a slight increase in the next few years, from $6.54 billion in 2012 to $7.46 billion in 2019, at a compound annual growth rate of 1.9 percent, according to United Kingdom-based research and consulting firm GlobalData.

A recent report from the company indicates that out of the 10 major markets—the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, China and India—the United States still had the largest market share of 63 percent in 2012. This is expected to drop slightly to just below 61 percent by 2019.

“The knee replacement market represents the largest joint reconstruction market in the world,” said Linda Tian, GlobalData’s analyst covering orthopedic devices. “Although it has continued to grow at a steady rate in procedure volume, profit margins have been negatively affected by health executives scrutinizing purchases and using multiple channels to procure orthopedic devices at highly competitive prices.”

Nevertheless, the rising prevalence of symptomatic arthritis will drive the expected growth over the forecast period, analysts noted. Emerging markets, such as India and China, will see a higher growth level in knee replacement and will provide the key for players to gain additional market share.

Furthermore, technological advancements in joint reconstruction surgeries, such as computer-assisted systems, also will provide a boost to the market.

“As the knee replacement procedure volume rises over the next decade, it will become increasingly important to improve surgical accuracy and reduce revision rates to a specific level,” Tian said. “Future competition among vendors will thus be more likely to center on the instrumentation and ancillary equipment, such as patient-specific instruments, navigation systems and robotic systems.”

However, a number of significant barriers will prevent a more impressive level of growth in the knee replacement market, including the deferral of procedures.

“Current economic conditions are forcing patients to reconsider hip and knee replacements due to the costs involved and potential missed work days,” Tian said. “Knee replacement is more likely to be deferred by patients in comparison with hip replacement, because medical treatments such as viscosupplementation can ease the pain. Additionally, cost-containment pressures are persisting in the U.S. and E.U. healthcare systems, with a particular focus on limiting the spending on high-volume surgeries, such as knee replacement.”