Report: Medical Device Market Expected to Grow Over Next Seven Years
An article from October 2022 states that the global medical device market is projected to jump by seven billion dollars in 2022 and leap to $223 billion over the next seven years, to reach a valuation of around $719 billion by 2029. A report by consulting firm Fortune Business Insights anticipates a 5.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over this period.
The report identifies several factors contributing to the industry’s growth. These factors include a global rise in prevalence of chronic diseases, increased healthcare spending in developed and emerging countries, and a new emphasis on early detection and treatment by healthcare agencies. This is reported to be resulting in more and more patients undergoing diagnostic and surgical procedures.
According to AdvaMed, the U.S. occupies about 40% of the global medical device market. In segmenting the U.S. market share, Fortune Business Insights found that in-vitro diagnostics (IVD), cardiovascular devices and orthopedic devices are the largest segments. The report expects the IVD segment will grow at a higher CAGR due to the increased use of real-time diagnostics tests for the diagnosis of diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. The report also notes an uptick in the market for portable and wearable devices for treatment of chronic conditions due to a shift in preference among the elderly for home healthcare services following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also states the European market is anticipated to grow at an increased CAGR, due to the region’s increased spending on healthcare, well-established infrastructure, and increased adoption of advanced diagnostic devices. As with the U.S., Europe is reported to have seen a shift in focus to at-home medical care that suggests portable equipment will play a large role in their anticipated market growth.
Increased prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, infectious disorders and dental diseases are all demand factors contributing to the forecasted growth in Asia Pacific, according to the report, causing more global medical device players to expand their presence in the region.
The three top-earning medical device companies globally in 2021 – Medtronic, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson – are among those companies set to benefit highly from the industry’s predicted growth. However, the increasing demand for the medical device market as a whole guarantees that the future is looking bright for many companies in the space.
The report by Fortune Business Insights is available here.
Boston Scientific Agrees to Purchase Majority Stake in M.I.Tech as M&A Deals Are Expected to Pick Up
On June 15, 2022, Boston Scientific entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in M.I.Tech Co., Ltd, a publicly traded Korean medical device company in the field of endoscopic and urological procedures. The agreement includes a purchase price of approximately $230 million. According to the announcement, M.I.Tech is the creator of the HANAROSTENT® technology, a family of conformable, non-vascular, self-expanding metal stents. Non-vascular stents can be used in gastrointestinal applications and in airways to clear obstructions or constrictions in areas such as the biliary tree, pancreatic duct, esophagus, colon, and duodenum.
Boston Scientific’s Art Butcher, executive vice president and group president, MedSurg and Asia Pacific, stated:
M.I.Tech is an innovator in non-vascular stent development, with product offerings that complement our existing stent portfolio, including the differentiated AXIOS™ Stent and Electrocautery Enhanced Delivery System and the flexible and conformable Agile™ Esophageal Stent System. We are committed to investing in technologies that advance care for patients around the world and are eager to work more closely with M.I.Tech to expand their international footprint.
Under the agreement, Boston Scientific will be purchasing a 64% stake in M.I.Tech from Synergy Innovation Co., Ltd, whose website identifies M.I.Tech as a subsidiary and a top 5 player in global non-vascular stents. M.I.Tech’s website also describes other products such as lithotripter baskets, polypectomy snares, veterinary stents, and glucometers. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022.
According to PwC, semi-annualized M&A deal value in the medical device sector is down 85% this year in comparison to the same period in 2021 when $76.4 billion was invested across 93 deals. PwC attributes the slow-down to acquirers shifting their focus to integration and value capture activities, while the sector deals with regulatory headwinds and semiconductor shortages. PwC expects deals to pick up across all pharmaceutical and life science sectors in the second half of 2022, with the medical device sector searching for alternative forms of revenue, particularly from new consumer-centric technologies.
FDA Proposes Changes to Medical Device Quality Regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published on February 23rd, 2022, a rule proposal to overhaul medical device quality control regulation. According to the FDA, the proposed rule change would “amend the device current good manufacturing practice requirements of the Quality System Regulation to align more closely with the international consensus standard for devices by converging with the quality management system requirements used by other jurisdictions.”
The proposed rule, titled Medical Devices; Quality System Regulation Amendments, would incorporate by reference International Organization for Standardization ISO 13485:2016, which is the international consensus standard for medical device manufacturers. The FDA claims that finalizing the proposed rule “will continue our efforts to align our regulatory framework with that used by other regulatory authorities to promote consistency in the regulation of devices and provide timelier introduction of safe, effective, high-quality devices for patients.” The FDA is also proposing to amend other aspects of its regulations to more closely align with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, as well as clarify good manufacturing practice requirements for co-packed and single-entity combination products.
Since early 2018, the FDA has said it is considering how to harmonize its regulatory requirements for medical device quality systems contained in 21 CFR part 820 with ISO 13485:2016, amid the international standard’s three-year transition period. This proposal would become effective one year from the publication date of February 23rd, 2022, and would result in the replacement of its current inspection approach for medical devices, the Quality System Inspection Technique (QSIT), with an inspection approach that will be consistent with the requirements of the Part 820 as finalized.
Beyond the harmonization with international standards, the FDA estimates that this rule change will save between $439 million to $533 million over the next 10 years. At the same time, it is expected that the expenditure for all companies to get up to speed with the proposed rule change will total $7.6 million.
The FDA had announced last week a March 2, 2022 meeting of the Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee to “discuss and make recommendations on the current good manufacturing practice requirements for medical devices . . . to align more closely with an international consensus standard for medical devices used by other regulatory authorities.”
The text of the proposed rule change can be found here.
Federal Circuit Reverses PTAB’s Invalidation of Patent Claims for an Artificial Heart Valve (Snyders vs St. Jude)
On October 5, 2021, the U.S. Federal Circuit reversed a finding of invalidity by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) for patent claims related to an “artificial valve for repairing a damaged heart valve.” St. Jude Medical LLC (“St. Jude”) filed for an inter partes review (IPR) at the PTAB for U.S. Patent No. 6,821,297, entitled “Artificial Heart Valve, Implantation Instrument and Method Therefor,” owned by Snyders Heart Valve LLC (“Snyders”).
In invalidating the claims, the PTAB interpreted the patent claim limitation of a “frame sized and shaped for insertion between the upstream region and the downstream region.” The PTAB found that the limitation also covers a frame that fits in place after removal of a damaged heart valve. The cited prior art allegedly also disclosed a valve insert sized to fit the valve after the damaged native valve was removed. Therefore, the PTAB found that the prior art anticipated the claims.
The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB erred in determining that the “sized and shaped” limitation “does not require the frame be sized and shaped for insertion into a damaged heart valve,” but “only that the frame is sized and shaped for insertion in a position between the upstream region and the downstream region.” The Federal Circuit reasoned that the PTAB’s construction was incorrect because “it covers frames sized and shaped for installation with the native valve removed, rather than only with the native valve in place.” The Federal Circuit cited language in the patent specification allegedly stressing that the disclosed artificial heart valve can be inserted without removing the native valve, an alleged express improvement on the prior art.
The Federal Circuit’s decision is available here.
Cook Medical Petitions for Inter Partes Review (IPR) of Medtronic “Jervis” Patent
On November 9, 2018, Cook Medical LLC filed a petition with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board requesting inter partes review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 6,306,141, assigned to Medtronic Vascular, Inc. The ‘141 Patent is entitled “Medical Devices Incorporating SIM Alloy Elements.” The ‘141 Patent states that it relates to “a medical device containing a shape memory alloy element.”
The ‘141 patent discloses using stress and temperatures below body temperature to restrain a metal alloy. The alloy expands to its original shape after being released from its restraint and exposed to body temperature. In one example, the ‘141 Patent describes that the disclosed device enables doctors to treat damaged or diseased heart valves with a less invasive transcatheter heart valve procedure. Figures 3 and 4 of the ‘141 Patent, shown below, illustrate a “side elevation view of a partial section of a catheter” in stressed (Figure 3) and unstressed (Figure 4) configurations.
The petition seeks to review all claims of the ‘141 Patent. Cook Medical’s petition submits two grounds on which the claims of the ‘141 Patent should be found invalid due to obviousness. The status of the proceeding can be examined by searching for the patent on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board website.
This is not the first time that the ‘141 patent has been subject to a petition for inter partes review. On January 17, 2014, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation filed a petition with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board requesting inter partes review of the patent for review of all claims of the ‘141 Patent. According to a Medtronic press release, on May 20, 2014, Medtronic and Edwards reached a “global settlement agreement” to “dismiss all of the pending litigation matters and patent office actions between them.”
In May 2013, Lombard Medical filed a petition for inter partes review of Claims 1-10 and 18-22 of the ‘141 Patent. Lombard Medical’s products, according to its website, include the AORFIX™ endovascular stent graft. According to a Lombard press release, on October 17, 2013, Lombard was granted a non-exclusive license by Medtronic to the ‘141 Patent, and Lombard formally requested a withdrawal of its inter partes review petition with the USPTO.
The ‘141 Patent has also been previously litigated. The ’141 Patent, among others, was previously asserted by Medtronic against W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. in 2006; Gore’s EXCLUDER® AAA, TAG, and VIABAHN SFA® endoprosthesis devices were at issue. The parties entered into a confidential settlement in 2009.
Medtronic also previously asserted the ’141 Patent, among others, against AGA Medical in 2007. AGA’s AMPLATZER® Septal Occluder, Duct Occluder, and Vascular Plug devices were at issue. The parties entered into a settlement in 2010 in which AGA received a non-exclusive license to patents including the ’141 Patent in exchange for $35 million. AGA Medical was subsequently purchased by St. Jude Medical in October 2010 for $1 billion.
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