A recent survey of medical technology industry executives by Atlanta-based executive services firm Tatum LLC, as reported in The Journal of New England Technology, revealed a tone of “cautious optimism” among the group as they looked out over the next couple months:
Almost two-thirds of those executives surveyed — 40 in total — said they expected their business to improve overall in the next 60 days. More than one-third thought financing conditions would improve during the same time period, and one-third expected to make hires in the next 60 days.
The caution expressed in the survey is evident in the fact the three quarters of respondents indicated that they did not expect to increase their capital expenditures during this time, nor did many surveyed indicate an intention to increase inventories.
An apparent pall may have lifted that had been hanging over the industry in September/October, when economic indicators had not shown even the tepid suggestion of growth that exists now, the stock market had not quite yet shown its anticipatory surge in prices (with the Dow since crossing and staying above 10,000) and there seemed to be few prospects of even a contentious healthcare reform bill (or one without a prohibitory device industry tax) passing by year end. All of that has has changed, though not in a way that has accomplished anything more than a tip toward optimism, as reflected in the survey.
The industry, through the remaining 4Q 2009 and into 2010, faces:
- real uncertainty about the short- or medium-term impact of healthcare reform legislation
- slow economic growth that will put constraints on investment, hiring and capital expenditures
- a continued fallout of medtech startups and development stage companies, adding to the list of those who have succumbed to the financing pinch (see WSJ “Turning Out the Lights“) with only a few noteworthy successes (gauged by follow-on investment or even acquisition)
Posted via web from medmarket’s posterous
