In this article, we are going to list the 15 largest medical device companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest medical device companies in the world.
What are the largest medical device companies in 2021? The sudden emergence of serious infections such as the novel coronavirus is expected to drive global demand for medical devices. According to WHO, a medical device is an instrument, apparatus, or machine that is used in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of illness or disease, or for detecting, measuring, restoring, correcting, or modifying the structure or function of the body for some health purpose. Medical devices bring a number of advantages to patients in helping health care providers treat and diagnose patients in order to improve their quality of life.
The medical device sector today is not exactly what it was five years ago. Thanks to a large number of innovative digital solutions introduced to us daily by technology, there have been several advancements in data collection, treatment, research, and medical devices, such as hearing aids, which have had a huge impact on the world of medicine. Specifically, artificial intelligence has helped the medical device industry to overdeliver for a better healthcare system. The newest trends in AI for medical devices include automated insulin delivery, GE HEalthcare CT scans, and imaging tools for kidney and liver lesions, as well as innovative apps that monitor the status of a patient’s condition. The attempt to make medical devices more reliable, accurate, and computerized creates a growing demand in finding ways to integrate AI. And yes, the best is yet to come.
The global medical device industry decreased its value to $442.5 billion in 2020 from $456.9 billion in 2019. The medical device industry is not recession-proof. Its downturn is primarily due to the lockdowns imposed by governments all over the world that hindered the supply chain in the medical devices manufacturing sector. On the bright side, the global market for medical devices is expected to reach $612.7 billion by 2025 according to a study of Deloitte’s 2020 Global Life Science. The increasing geriatric population, the prevalence of chronic conditions, as well as the increase in complex medical and surgical, are projected to boost the global market for medical devices.
The shortage of ventilators during the first months of battling the COVID-19 pandemic was held responsible for death tolls in the first half of 2020. Due to the millions of COVID-19 patients in intensive critical care, there is a humongous increase in the production of ventilators used to treat these patients. In a recent report, the global market for ventilators was only valued at $1 billion in 2018 and saw an increase of up to 172% in 2020 due to an increase in demand for coronavirus. Some of the biggest producers of ventilators globally are Medtronic, Philips, and GE Healthcare.
The biggest players in the medical device industry also took turns in improving patients’ situation during the pandemic. Siemens and Abbott released their COVID-19 test kits while Johnson & Johnson remain ambitious in manufacturing a vaccine for coronavirus. On the other hand, the largest biotech companies in the world are working round the clock to produce the most effective vaccine for mass production. You can head on over to the 15 largest biotech companies in the world for more information.
To determine the largest medical device companies in the world, we looked at the most recent annual report from each of the companies on our list such as its revenue, market cap, assets, and the number of employees that we derived from. We then ranked them from the smallest to the largest companies. Any guesses who’s on the top of our list? Let’s all take a look starting at number 15:
15. Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX)
Revenue: $10.8 B
Market Cap: $51.48 B
Assets: $30.6 B
Number of Employees: 36,000
Headquarters: Massachusetts, US
Boston Scientific manufactures a wide variety of medical devices used to diagnose and treat patients with problems in the areas of cardiology, urology, endoscopy, and many others. Founded in 1979, to create less invasive medical devices and procedures, they continue to innovate in the broader areas of medicine today.