Catheter: a Change in The Treatment Scenario of Cardiac and Urological Diseases

Published On: January 2018

Catheters Overview

Cardiac and urological diseases has gain a considerable attention due to rapid increasing number of patient suffering from this diseases. Catheters are the medical devices used as a part of advanced and modern day treatments of various diseases. They are thin tubes inserted into the body cavity, duct, or vessel for the purpose of drainage, administration of fluids or gases, and also to perform a wide variety of other tasks depending on the type of catheter. To gain a major share in the market, many manufacturers are trying to introduce new and advanced types of catheters.

The market for catheter has been on the rise over the past few years. Based on MRFR analysis, the global catheter market is growing at the healthy CAGR of around 6.14% and is expected to reach approximately USD 49,731.9 million by 2023 from USD 30,568.3 million in 2016. The growth and innovation in the catheter market, will continue to evolve in future.

What impact catheter would create in the future of cardiac and urological disease?

During last decade, there has been a drastic increasing in the patient population suffering from cardiac and urological disease owing to adoption of sedentary lifestyle, increasing diabetic and obese population along with the rising geriatric population. Which is why, a majority of the manufacturers are in the race of introducing advanced medical devices for the treatment of these diseases.

Catheter has completely changed the treatment scenario, witnessing a number of advantages over other medical devices. Geriatric population are more prone to cardiac and urological diseases, and minimal invasive treatment are the chosen and the most beneficial treatment for such patients. This has led to the adoption of minimal invasive treatment in the said population thereby increasing the demand for the catheters.

Introduction of advanced catheterization devices in different therapeutic areas has completely changed the market scenario. Development of catheters for specialty nephrological procedures has resulted in a huge demand for the urinary catheters, which, as per the current trend and demand, are going to be one of the biggest money spinners in coming future

 How is the market situation currently?

Currently catheters, such as cardiovascular catheters, specialty catheters, and intravenous catheters are the most widely used ones. On the other hand, increasing dominance of urological diseases will increase the demand for urinary catheters in coming future. Increasing competition has intensified the research & development activity and thus, has led to the introduction of innovation in catheters. To sustain the increasing competition, the companies have launched flexible, and absorbable catheters.

Companies like Medtronic, B. Braun Melsungen AG and Abbott are focusing on research & development to introduce better and advanced catheters. For instance, In April 2016, Medtronic launched a new endoscopic ablation catheter for Barrett's Esophagus. Whereas, in 2015, B. Braun Melsungen AG had launched Ster-ASSIST Sterile Peripheral IV Catheter Insertion Kit.

Peripheral I.V. catheters have increased the treatment efficacy of cancer and other chronic diseases. Globally, the demand for injectable drugs has increased in comparison to oral medications, which further drives the growth of the market. Also, biosimilars and biologics are becoming significant, due to their exceptional pharmaceutical potential. New biologic drugs are being introduced and developed in the market for the treatment of acute and chronic diseases. Most biologics, such as anticoagulants, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines are large molecules which need to be administered parenterally to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. The demand for development of injectable biologic therapies is increasing, as many peptides are broken down too quickly in the stomach and then they no longer remain useful for treatment. Also, various biologic drugs and vaccines are required to be injected directly into the bloodstream. The increase in demand of injectable drugs leads to the growth of peripheral I.V. catheter market globally.

Factors limiting market growth?

In some developed countries like the U.S., strict regulatory rules have been notified to the manufacturers in order to prevent the incident of infection associated with medical devices. The only disadvantages of the catheters is the risk of infection. In approximately 5% cases, the patients suffer from catheter-associated infection.

The manufacturing of catheters fall under the FDA and CDSA, which is responsible for the medical devices to stick to strict compliances of safety and hygiene. The approval scenario for these devices must be adhere to the stipulated guidelines. In case of failure, strict actions are taken against the manufacturer.

Adding to the limitations further, grey market distribution in medical derives coupled with increasing demand for the cheap alternative is another factor hampering the catheters market.

What is future of the catheter market?

To overcome the limitation, manufacturers have introduces advanced type of catheters. These catheters has an antimicrobial coating which will minimize the risk of infection which will surely revolutionize the treatment scenario of the market. Many manufacturers are involved in the development of absorbable catheter which will be the future for the catheter industry.