Medical polymer market expected to grow at a healthy rate

20-Dec-10

The demand for medical polymers grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from 2000 to 2009, as per GBI Research. In value terms in the year 2000, the demand for medical polymers was US$650 mln. The demand for medical polymers has grown over the years because of increased use of plastics in medical applications. Factors such as technology, properties such as transparency, resistance, and ease in forming and joining have increased its use in the medical industry. Plastics have replaced other traditional materials such glass and metals and are the leading choice of material in medical applications. Demand for medical polymers reached US$1218.4 mln in 2009 from US$650 mln in 2000. Demand is expected to increase until 2015, growing at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2009 to 2015. Existing polymers will continue to be used in medical applications, while technological advancements will help to improve their properties. Other forms of plastics will be developed for medical use, thereby leading to an increase in demand for medical polymers. North America leads the demand for medical polymers with a share of 42.2%. Europe with a share of 30.1% is the second. Asia follows with a share of 22.8% and with vast potential and the ROW has a share of 4.9%. Polyvinyl Chloride based medical polymers have the largest share when it comes to medical applications. Properties such as softness, high transparency, facility of sterilization and strength make PVC the first choice for medical polymer manufacturers. PVC based medical polymers constitute 40% of the market. Polypropylene also has a significant share with 20% of the market followed by Polyethylene with a share of 15%. Other medical polymers had a share of 25%. Prominent other plastics included Polycarbonate, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Biopolymers, Nylon and Polystyrene. In terms of value the demand for PVC based medical polymers was US$487.3 mln out of the total market of US$1218.4 mln in 2009. Demand for polypropylene was US$243.7 mln followed by polyethylene with a demand of US$182.8 mln. The market for other medical polymers was US$304.6 mln.