Medical Elastomers Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Medical Elastomers Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The medical elastomers market is expected to reach around 3100 kilotons by the end of this year, and it is expected to register a CAGR of more than 6.5% during the forecast period.

The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. The nationwide lockdowns and stringent social distancing mandates led to supply chain disruptions across different segments of the market. However, the market is expected to grow steadily owing to increasing investments in healthcare.

• The demand for safe, halogen-free polymers and the shift in the medical industry toward wearable health devices and medical tools that can talk to each other from the outside are the main things driving the market.
• Decreasing usage of single-use devices and the increasing prices of silicone are the factors that may slow down the market's growth. The medical elastomer industry is moving toward sustainable and green projects as environmental awareness grows.
• The development of bio-based thermoplastic elastomers is the key market opportunity.

Asia-Pacific dominated the market across the globe, with the largest consumption in countries such as China, India, etc.

• Among the types, the thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) segment is the largest market shareholder in the medical elastomers market.
• In the medical industry, Styrenic Block Copolymers (SBCs) are mainly used in medical tubing and film applications. They are also used in the manufacturing of medical bags, wound care, equipment, packaging, and diagnostic products, including surgical drapery, needle shields, dental dams, drip chambers, exercise bands, syringe plunger tips, respiratory equipment, orthopedic parts, medical patches, and others. ​
• Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) are long-chain linear polymers, which allow the polyurethane to be melted to form parts, and then the parts are solidified. The usage of TPU in medical applications is consistently increasing, owing to its high-performance characteristics, resistance to chemicals and oils, improved mechanical properties, and enhanced durability.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a linear, thermoplastic, mostly amorphous polymer. Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC-P) or flexible PVC is used for medical applications as it offers various properties when plasticized, including flexibility, strength, transparency, kink resistance, scratch resistance, gas permeability, biocompatibility, ease of bonding with common solvents or adhesives, and stability during gamma, ethylene oxide, or E-beam sterilization, among others. ​
• In the medical industry, TPVs are used in the manufacturing of O-rings, soft touch grips, peristaltic pump tubes, syringe tips, bottle droppers, stop seals and gaskets, valves, diaphragms, and tubing for various medical devices. They are also used in the medical industry as a gasket on syringe plungers. ​

Due to the aforementioned factors, the demand for thermoplastic elastomers in the global medical industry is likely to affect the market.

• In the Asia-Pacific region, China and India are two major economies that are expected to dominate the market.
• China has doubled the amount, it had been pouring into public hospitals in the last five years, to USD 38 billion. It aims to raise the healthcare industry’s value to USD 2.3 trillion by 2030, more than twice its size now.
• Furthermore, the Chinese government has started policies to support and encourage domestic medical device innovation providing opportunities for the market studied. The “Made in China 2025” initiative improves industry efficiency, product quality, and brand reputation, which will spur the development of domestic medical device manufactures and will increase competitiveness.​
• China is the second-largest healthcare market in the world. However, the country imports technologically high-end implants from advanced economies. The public hospitals in the country are leading consumers of medical devices in the country. In 2021, the public expenditure done on healthcare was 1.92 trillion yuan.
• In India, in late 2021, the Union Health Minister announced various plans of the Indian government to improve healthcare facilities in the country. The government plans to invest INR 64,180 crore in healthcare sector over the next six years in the country. The government plans to strengthen the existing ‘National Health Mission’ by developing capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare systems and institutions for detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.​
• The increasing demand from various medical applications due to the COVID-19 outbreak is estimated to drive the market for medical elastomers during the forecast period.

The global medical elastomer market is fragmented in nature with the dominance of a few large players and the existence of many local players. Some of the major players in the market include (not in any particular order) BASF SE, Celanese Corporation, DOW, Solvay, and DuPont, among others.

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support