The Top 30 Global Medical Device Companies

The Top 30 Global Medical Device Companies

Gains Top Declines

The success of the medical device industry is never more apparent than when you examine the numbers being produced by manufacturers in this market. Year by year, today’s top companies show that dedication to the bottom line can help amass steady growth, with most of the top 30 companies posting healthy double-digit gains over the prior fiscal year.

Of course, with all the competition and consolidation occurring in daily business, some companies showed signs of weakness with flat or, even worse, declining sales and profits—however, they are in the minority.

While US companies tend to dominate the top 30, the proliferation of international giants shows that the industry is generating more and more profits from global outreach efforts, particularly in China, Japan and Europe. The dollar’s fluctuating worth will surely continue to impact sales over time, though.

As the following in-depth company examinations show, new product innovation usually plays the most prominent role in determining success and sustainability year after year.

At least one of the companies on this list will disappear in 2006. Guidant will probably go down in history as one of the top newsmakers of 2005 due to Boston Scientific’s aggressive acquisition of the cardiovascular product maker—not to mention Guidant’s mounting legal troubles stemming from a slew of product recalls and reports of improper handling of related problems with its ICDs and pacemakers.

Parent company Kodak has also been weighing the merits of selling its longtime healthcare division and, by this time next year, that segment could be operating under another owner. Meanwhile, Tyco is transforming itself by breaking into three separate segments.

However, like the industry overall, this report includes a variety of success stories, most notably St. Jude. The industry’s shining star in 2005 improved sales by more than 27%—an enviable accomplishment for any company in any industry. And Hospira, in its first full year as an independent company (it was formerly a division of Abbott), held its own in a crowded marketplace.

With all the myriad acquisitions occurring in the medical device sector, and the ever-new crop of small start-up companies, it’s interesting to note that this year’s list (in terms of ranking by sales) didn’t differ much from last year. The lone entrant to the elite list is Varian Medical. In the current climate, however, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be on this list next year.    

One caveat about this list: Bausch & Lomb certainly fits into the fold of the top 30 medical device companies, but, unfortunately, the company did not have any firm 2005 numbers to report as of press time.
    

The MPO Staff

TOP MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURERS

1.	Johnson and Johnson	$17.7B
2.	GE Healthcare	$12.1B
3.	Medtronic	$10.1B
4.	Baxter International	$9.8B
4.	Cardinal Health	$9.8B
6.	Tyco Healthcare	$9.5B
7.	Siemens Medical Solutions	$9.2B
8.	Philips Medical Systems	$7.5B
9.	Boston Scientific	$6.3B
10.	Stryker	$4.9B
11.	B. Braun	$3.9B
12.	Guidant Corp.	$3.6B
13.	3M Healthcare	$3.5B
14.	Zimmer Holdings	$3.3B
15.	Becton, Dickinson & Co.	$3B
16.	St. Jude Medical	$2.9B
17.	Kodak Health Group	$2.7B
18.	Hospira	$2.6B
19.	Fresenius	$2.5B
20.	Smith & Nephew	$2.4B
21.	Synthes	$2.1B
22.	Alcon	$2B
23.	Biomet	$1.9B
24.	C. R. Bard	$1.8B
24.	Terumo	$1.8B
26.	Dentsply International	$1.7B
27.	Invacare	$1.5B
28.	Gambro	$1.4B
29.	Dräger Medical	$1.3B
30.	Varian Medical	$1.2B