The Medical Device Market: New Zealand

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Medical Devices:

The Medical Device Market: New Zealand

Espicom Business Intelligence
Management Report April 2007

Espicom’s in-depth medical device market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in medical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. With a population of just over four million, New Zealand is a small but highly developed medical equipment market in the south Pacific. Much of the population is concentrated in the major urban areas of Auckland, Christchurch and the capital, Wellington. The country has a well-developed health infrastructure, and facilities are of a generally high standard. Since the early 1980s, the healthcare system in New Zealand has been the target of numerous economic reforms. Historically, healthcare provision has been almost entirely public, but radical changes implemented by the National Party government in 1993 introduced elements of competition and private enterprise into the healthcare sector, with limited success.

The past decade has seen a series of reforms aimed at improving efficiency. Market-inspired reforms of the hospital sector in the 1990s did not lead to any widely-perceived improvements, but did create a major debt problem for the public sector. The current government has reversed much of these reforms through the creation of District Health Boards.

There is very little domestic production of medical equipment. The one major player, Fisher & Paykel, operates in a few niche areas and anyway tends to concentrate on export markets. The domestic market is heavily reliant on imports, therefore. The USA and Australia are the major sources of imports. The best access to the market is through the appointment of a local agent. Around three quarters of New Zealand’s medical supplies are purchased by the MoH, while private hospitals and individual surgeons account for the remainder. For advanced products, the private sector becomes much more significant.

New Zealand is due to create a merged regulatory system for devices and drugs in 2007, through the merger of Medsafe with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Agency. This should bring New Zealand more into line with international norms, potentially saving time and money for local manufacturers and importers.

Number of pages - 100

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