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To foster Medical Equipment Industry as the new growth base

2009.09.03

 

 

To foster Medical Equipment Industry as the new growth base

 



“Necessity of Government support for R&D and oversea medical device license

 

What kind of resource would be required to foster the growth of the domestic medical equipment manufacturers to become competitive internationally?

 

We invited the leaders of several domestic dental medical equipment companies during IDS 2009 in Colone, Germany to answer the question.)

 

To become the world leader, ▲ 2~3 leading domestic companies with sales revenue over 1 trillion won ▲ Development and penetration of the medical equipment distributorship worldwide ▲ Government support for R&D and medical device approval by foreign governing agency, according to the panel discussion.

 

As the global population age, due to the increasing awareness of health and early detection, medical device industry is expected to grow rapidly up to 216 billion dollars worldwide (4.4 trillion won in domestic market.

 
 

Penetrate a niche market with IT & BT

The medical device market is potentially a high value added sector with exponential growth factor as the global society ages.

 

Moreover, Korea is known for its leadership in Information technology/Bio technology and by utilizing the same resource pool, the domestic medical device industry can be competitive and become the no 1 in a niche market.

 

“It’s tantalizing to see the potential development of a world class product through the synergy effect of a particular technology in one company combined with hardware from another company during my in depth analysis of the medical industry. However, it’s easier said than done.” Accorging to Ji Hyun Kim, a senior analyst at Kiwoom’s Securities.

 

Development of oversea distribution channels by leading companies

There is a common consensus of the need for 2~3 leading medical device companies with sales revenue of 1 trillion won to become the leader in the world market and play a role model to other domestic companies.

 

A government level support is necessary to develop complicated distribution channels in the medical device market, invest in R&D for the superior technological leadership, and lobby for medical device approvals by foreign governing bodies.

 

“The medical device is a tool to treat patients based on long developed trust and that’s why the entry barrier is very high for a new brand in spite of its superior product quality.”, according to Mr. Ro at VATECH”

 

“It’s absolutely necessary to have 2~3 medical device companies with over 1 trillion won in revenue to change the disadvantageous image of “Made in Korea” by an aggressive brand awareness marketing as the role model to other domestic companies and develop new oversea distribution channels at the same time”

 

“The government needs to support small and medium size companies to safely invest in R&D and facilitate the device license and importation by foreign governments with stricter regulations such as Japan.

 

 

 

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