Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Technology Devices, 2021: Frost Radar Report

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Wounds, especially chronic wounds, are associated with clinical, social, and economic challenges. Wounds resulting from diabetes, injuries, and surgeries affect a significant population globally. According to an economic evaluation study on Medicare beneficiaries, 8.2 million people in the United States have at least one type of chronic wound. Amongst them, diabetic ulcers and surgical wounds are the most common and expensive wounds treated.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), also known as vacuum-assisted closure therapy, applies negative pressure to the surface of wounds, continuously or intermittently. NPWT forms an integral part of advanced wound management. It is a multi-billion dollar industry on an upward trajectory due to its application in multiple wound types, aid in faster healing, and easier operation. Despite the many advantages, traditional NPWT devices or vacuum-assisted closure therapies have many drawbacks. Traditional devices require changing the canister once it is filled with body fluids, and sometimes it is difficult to maintain a specific vacuum due to leaks. This affects device effectiveness and may lead to external infection. Also, traditional NPWT devices offer a uniform approach to wound healing, which might not suit all patients, depending on the wound type and size and the patient’s health needs. Finally, the cost of NPWT devices is high, which discourages many healthcare facilities from using them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the advanced wound management market, primarily because of medical supply chain problems across the globe. Additionally, conserving healthcare professionals’ time and energy is supercritical during pandemics. Recent innovations in NPWT devices focus on customized treatment for better clinical outcomes. These innovations are easy to use both in hospitals and at home. The publisher expects that the introduction of innovative and customizable products will focus on patient convenience and support their restriction-free daily movement and routines. The introduction of innovative NPWT systems for home health care is imperative for addressing the changing market demand that enables saving healthcare professionals’ time and energy as well as the costs involved in routine hospitals visits.

NPWT technology is evolving in areas such as diabetic wound management and will experience innovative advances like the introduction of nanocrystalline antimicrobials that improve treatment outcomes in infected wounds and enhance the overall wound management capability. Systems with wide antimicrobial coverage will also support the management of diabetic wounds. NPWT systems can offer complete healing and reduce amputations in diabetic patients. Device manufacturers should innovate NPWT devices that enable the delivery of different therapies, such as targeted regenerative therapies. They must proactively develop technologies such as home-based single-use NPWT devices that cater to wound complexity and improve the quality of patients’ lives, offering the comfort of home treatment to address changing market demands.

Single-use NPWT devices have become a mainstream innovation during the last decade; they are canister-free, portable, mechanically powered, and disposable. These devices continue to gain market traction and are set to become the standard treatment, with multiple innovations for wound management due to their portability and ability to prevent infection and accelerate wound healing. Manufacturers must track the competitive intensity of the single-use NPWT devices segment and university-level research activity and identify innovation licensing opportunities in the wound care market and maintain their competitiveness.

The NPWT systems market is highly fragmented with technologies including traditional NPWT, single-use NPWT, and the recently introduced hybrid technology NPWT. The offerings include NPWT medical devices, dressings, and sealing kits. The market has many commercialized NPWT devices, and the regulatory approval trend continues to grow.

In a field of more than 30 global industry participants, the author independently plotted the top 12 companies in this Frost Radar™ analysis. Our analysis reveals the market positioning of each company using its Growth and Innovation scores as highlighted in the Frost Radar™ methodology. The document presents competitive profiles on each of the companies based on their strengths, opportunities, and market positioning. We discuss strategic market imperatives and the competitive environment that vendors operate in as well as make recommendations for each provider to spur growth.