Medical Protective Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Medical Protective Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The medical protective equipment market is anticipated to record a CAGR of nearly 7.49% during the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the respondents and healthcare workers to adapt to the new safety protocols and utilize large amounts of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as gloves, masks, and gowns. However, the supply chain of PPE was strained to a large extent, resulting in its insufficient supply. Several manufacturers have ramped up their production capacities to cater to the increased demand for PPE kits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturers are also collaborating with government authorities and industry partners to supply PPE quickly during the pandemic.

In 2020, Aspen Medical also stepped up to plug Australia's personal protective equipment (PPE) gap with the launch of a new manufacturing facility with support from the Queensland Government's Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund. Aspen Medical upgraded its facility in Brendale to manufacture clinical-grade face masks in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Certain factors that are driving the market growth include the growing incidence of pandemics and epidemics and the rising adoption of cost-effective and innovative surgical procedures.

In the life sciences industry, where safety and isolation from the external environment are considered to be a prerequisite, the use of medical protective equipment has become mandatory. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been at the forefront of publishing standards to ensure continual improvement of health and safety at workplaces. Other organizations, such as APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) and AAMI (Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation), offer widely accepted classification systems for using protective apparel based on the surroundings.

Also, as per the data published by World Health Organization in 2021, a total of 375 specimens were positive for influenza viruses, of which 132 (35.2%) were typed as influenza A and 243 (64.8%) as influenza B for the period March 1, 2021 to March 14, 2021. Thus, the rising incidence rate of epidemics is also expected to boost market growth. Hence, owing to the aforementioned factors, the market studied is expected to grow in the future.

A surgical mask is a loose-fitting, disposable device that creates a physical barrier between the wearer's mouth and nose from potential contamination in the immediate area. Surgical masks can also help reduce the exposure of saliva and secretions to others.

The growing number of surgeries and chronic conditions has resulted in an increase in these marks since doctors or nurses attending patients should and must wear the masks. Moreover, the huge demand for these masks during the past two years is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Countries are facing the huge threat of COVID–19 (coronavirus) in recent times. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) listed it as a potential global health threat due to high mortality. There is no treatment available against this type of disease, and most pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies are focusing their R&D departments on identifying new molecules or leads for the treatment of this disease.

Moreover, according to the WHO, the number of secondary infections generated from one infected person is between 2 to 2.5 for COVID-19. Therefore, on average, one person transmits to 2 other people, leading to an exponential increase in the number of affected cases.

With the increasing demand, many companies have started production of surgical masks, and many startups have sprung up. In February 2020, electronics giant Foxconn, maker of the Apple iPhone, announced that it had entered intosurgical mask production due to the shortage of supplies around the world. Since the surgical mask is an efficient protective gear to curb the spread of such diseases in the healthcare space, the concerned segment of the market is expected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period.

North America is expected to dominate the overall market throughout the forecast period. In the North American region, United States holds the largest market share due to better regulations of medical protective devices and growing awareness among the population regarding the usefulness of such protective gears. The companies also have well-established direct channel collaboration with hospitals and clinics to serve the studied market. In January 2021, the US manufacturing giant, 3M, announced that it had increased its annual production rate of N95 respirators to 2.5 billion in 2021, a fourfold increase over 2019 and higher than 2 billion units it had produced in 2020. Overall, the rising demand and increase in the production of surgical masks, gloves, gowns, PPEs, and respirators are expected to increase market growth in the initial period. However, after a few years, there will be steady growth in the market.

On the other hand, Asia-Pacific is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets, aided by proactive measures taken by the regional governments of countries like India and China to develop local manufacturing and innovation centers. These markets have witnessed several regulatory reforms with regard to drug manufacturing and approvals.

The medical protective equipment market is competitive and consists of a number of major players. Companies like 3M Company, Ansell Limited, Cardinal Health Inc., DuPont de Nemours Inc., Hartalega Holdings Berhad, Honeywell International Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Top Glove Corporation Bhd hold a substantial market share.

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