According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, increased use of safety devices for small-bore connectors for disposable enteral feeding devices will be a key driver of the enteral feeding device markets in both the US and Europe. MRG's new US and European Markets for Enteral Feeding Devices 2010 report finds that the giving set segment will experience the greatest impact from facilities switching to safety devices because more than 150 million of these units are sold annually in these two regions.
The European Committee for Standardization, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are all working on a series of standards for small-bore connectors so that intravenous (IV), urethral/urinary, dialysis and other tubing systems cannot accidentally be connected to each other. Luer-type connectors are currently common on many different types of medical tubing, providing the potential for enteral tubing to be accidentally connected to tubing designed to give access to parts of the body other than the digestive tract. Such improper connections can result in enteral feed being delivered into the lungs or veins, causing severe injury or even patient death.
"The new small-bore connector safety standards are expected to be released in early 2010. Safety devices will reach the market in late 2010 and will have fully penetrated the market by 2013," says Sara Scharf, Analyst at MRG. "In the meantime, companies such as Nestle Nutrition and Abbott Nutrition have already developed special proprietary connectors that make their brands of enteral tubing incompatible with the connectors on IV lines. Safety products cost more than standard products so their increased adoption will raise prices in all segments of the market for disposable enteral feeding devices."
MRG's new report, US and European Markets for Enteral Feeding Devices 2010, provides critical insight into emerging trends that will fuel market growth for giving sets, low-profile gastrostomy devices (balloons and buttons), percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) kits, gastrostomy tubes (G-tubes), nasogastric (NG) tubes, and enteral feeding pumps through 2014. With detailed analysis of procedures, units, average selling prices, revenues, and competitive dynamics in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, this report will allow you to identify opportunities, formulate meaningful marketing strategies, and track your competitors.