Article preview from Medtech Insight - July 2013
The advanced wound care market is attracting an increasing number of competitors and investors seeking a stake in this high-need, high-growth space. But although the number of innovative wound care products is on the rise, this is also a highly diverse market, with some striking differences among various regions of the world in terms of product adoption and standard wound care practices.
Article preview from Medtech Insight - July 2013
Global aging demographics along with increases in diabetes and obesity are providing a solid foundation for growth of the advanced wound care market. Hard-to-heal wounds, which encompass not only diabetic, venous, pressure, and arterial ulcers, but also burns, trauma, and challenging surgical wounds, are difficult to treat since many do not heal for weeks, months, or even years. The prevalence of patients with hard-to-heal wounds is staggering, totaling roughly 50 million in the key countries across the world. A typical patient seen at a hospital-based outpatient wound clinic has at least 12 comorbidities and averages two wounds or ulcers, according to Ostomy Wound Management, and 60% of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and 50% of those with venous ulcers do not heal.
In some respects, things are the same as they ever were in advanced wound care. There are still large numbers of patients with chronic wounds that haven’t responded to existing treatments, and their open wounds can have dire consequences. In the US, Europe, and Japan, there are 6.1 million cases of diabetic foot ulcers and 800,000 of them are hard to heal. Of those, 15% will lead to amputation.
The failure so far to stem the tide of these chronic wounds, and the expense of treating them, impacts the bottom line as well, and for hospitals, that bottom line has become increasingly strained over the past several years. In addition to continued fallout from the recent economic crisis, hospitals are now contending with new Medicare payment policies from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to provide an economic incentive for hospitals to reduce costs by improving care. One of the first areas targeted in this policy shift was wound care, and specifically pressure ulcers, which develop due to prolonged pressure on a single point in the body, most commonly over bony structures, such as the buttocks, heels, and hips.
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