Good news also for medical devices; the Italian market data are also very encouraging.
The sector has increased of 7% in terms of employees (approx. 60,000 people) and in the period 2003-2009 it registered a yearly growth of more than 11%. Above all, the sector is still strongly innovating and highly dynamic, with more than 200 new startups only in 2011. Moreover, the system made of a Medical Devices Database and Repertoire allowed to collect and exchange data and share information with the European Database to strengthen postmarketing surveillance and improve transparency. Italy is at the first place in the top ten of manufacturers on a legal office basis, followed by United States, Germany, China, and France. It is also at the first place among the European manufacturers, followed by Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. As for the company location, more than 70% of Italian companies is concentrated in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Veneto, and Tuscany with more than 85% of the revenues. As for the therapeutic areas where expense is concentrated (based on the national classification), at the top there are implantable prosthesis devices and osteosynthesis products (22%); cardiac and circulation devices (12%); active implantable devices (11.5%) and administration, withdraw and collection devices (10%). More in details, the devices that have been most purchased by the Italian National Health System were orthopaedic prostheses, heart function devices, vascular and cardiac prostheses, arterial and venous system devices, special medications, surgical staples, electronic surgery devices, exploratory instruments, surgical sutures, and devices for minimally invasive surgery and for ophthalmology.
