In a relatively classic scenario, established technologies have seen a loss of their once-premium pricing while emerging technologies are able to command an increasing premium as reward for their sophistication.
The worldwide coronary stent market is following the predicted course. Bare metal stents have been on the market for more than a decade and have, for six years, been overshadowed in the market by their more sophisticated drug-eluting competitor. The prices for these products have already bottomed out, with additional price erosion coming as a result of the general and sustained pressure on medical product prices.
Source: MedMarket Diligence report #C245
The high prices commanded by drug-eluting stents have seen, and will see, a steeper decline as a result of increased competitiveness among market participants, the general downward pressure on prices for all medical products and, more significantly in the near-term, the advent of a new stent variant, the bioabsorbable stent.
Bioabsorbale stents are poised to command the prices once claimed by drug-eluting stents, due to their ability to further improve on outcomes in maintaining lumen patency, avoiding the need for repeat interventions and minimizing the likelihood of late stage thrombosis or other complications of stents.
The great unknown in the chart above is the impact of healthcare reform, the trend in medtech investment and the degree of severity in pricing pressures over this period. However, we anticipate that many or most of the initial, most significant effects of these forces will be felt in the 2010-2012 time frame. It may then only be the starting point (up or down) at which the above trends play out.
MedMarket Diligence has published, "Worldwide Market for Drug-Eluting, Bare Metal and Other Coronary Stents, 2008-2017." See link.
