Companies operating in the medical device sector understand the importance of a quick time-to-market (TTM), time-to-volume (TTV) and time-to-profit (TTP), which is leading to a profound change in the way these competitors perform their research and testing, according to a recent report from Global Industry Analysts.
The three traits, which are imperative to staying competitive against rivals and maintaining customer satisfaction, can help companies relieve some of the pressure they are feeling from shorter product lifecycles, leaps in the sophistication of technology used and the increasingly small window these companies have to get their products to market.
As this competition grows, many device companies, such as the makers of metal-on-metal hip implants, are taking their strategies back to the drawing board, especially when it comes to designing and developing the product, then testing and marketing it. There has also been a massive surge in demand for research and development and post-market engineering support services in the medical device market.
With demand so high for these services, medical device manufacturers have started to outsource some of these processes to outside groups. This is especially true for concept, design, prototype, validation, feasibility testing, compliance and post-market engineering, including product maintenance and upgrades, the report found.
The study also concluded that original equipment manufacturers are “now focused on leveraging services that can help reduce product recalls, shorten regulatory validation time and increase time-to-market.”
“This is expected to spur demand for a wide gamut of services ranging from R&D to product implementation,” the report continued. “Demand for testing services especially has surged due to increasing use of electronics in medical devices. As several Class II and III medical devices are embedded with microelectronic chips, meticulous device testing has become vital to ensure user safety and product performance.”
The market for outsourced testing of medical devices typically mirrors growth within the overall medical device sector. The most beneficial conditions for this sector include higher spending in the healthcare industry, a growing number of disease instances and the availability of modern therapeutics. Considering most of these conditions are met, the demand for outsourced medical testing services is expected to rise.
In North America, especially, a growing number of patients are needing procedures that require medical devices, and as these patients report improved diagnoses, it will further underpin growth in device testing.
“Better patient outcomes for diseases that were earlier difficult to diagnose, treat and control, has additionally played its part in building up patient confidence in new medical devices…[which is] helping drive demand for medical devices and medical device manufacturing services,” the report concluded.
Another report, conducted by Lucintel, found that the global medical device industry is expected to continue expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent for the next five years, reaching $302 billion by 2017.
As companies look to get their products to market faster, they’ll need to implement a testing strategy that not only meets the desired timeline, but also ensures a quality product that won’t cost the company in the long-term because of defects and recalls.