Medical Technology and the Healthcare Market in the BRICS Region

The BRICS region, which groups together the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, offers great opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers of medical technology and services with increasing demand in the BRICS nations. A key factor for growth is a growing population with a rising middle class who, with their increasing affluence, demand better quality medical care. New government guidelines and the relaxation of government regulations are also a major factor in helping open up the market for international Medtech companies. The BRICS countries have a combined population of over three billion with the total medical import market in the five BRICS countries having an estimated worth of US$ 28.8 billion in 2012; this offers huge opportunities and challenges for Medtech companies wishing to succeed in the BRICS region.

Each BRICS country has its own unique differences and therefore, for any Medtech company wishing to succeed in the BRICS region, finding the right local partners is of key importance to guarantee results. Local partner support is imperative to help medical technology and services companies overcome regulatory barriers, local legal requirements and logistical difficulties that are typical in countries the size of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In terms of health expenditure per capita, Brazil is the leading country of the BRICS group with spending of $964, followed by Russia at $549, South Africa at $320, China at $208, and India at $56.

Within the BRICS countries there are wide regional differences in spending on healthcare when compared to more established developed countries where healthcare systems have evolved to provide a more uniform level of coverage. What is typical in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is a far higher proportion of healthcare spending is spent in urban areas rather than rural areas with the urban concentration of the population growing faster in the BRICS region when compared to European and US cities. One of the biggest issues for governments in the BRICS counties is to ensure a fairer spread of healthcare spending throughout all regions within their countries.

The BRICS countries have quite a well-established record in manufacturing medical products; the problem is that local producers tend to produce poor quality or lower value medical products, so the biggest opportunities are in the middle to higher end of the spectrum of Medtech products.

Overall, the BRICS regions’ demand for Medtech technology is expected to grow by 11% year on year over the next seven years until 2020; China is the largest market in terms of spending on medical devices in 2012 at USD$7.8 billion followed by Russia at USD$5.1 billion, Brazil at USD$3.5 billion and India at USD$3 billion with the total worth of the healthcare industry in 2020 estimated to be close to US$ 60 billion with the Brazilian market growing the fastest. It’s expected that by 2016 the four BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China will be amongst the top ten of the world’s largest life science markets. Medical technology and healthcare product manufacturers wanting to expand their business in the BRICS region will realise that there are no shortcuts in this challenging market, so building the right regional partnerships is key to creating a sustainable business in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.