Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

Growing use of remote diagnostics and other digital medical devices by elderly patients is driving demand for plastics in medical applications, which will grow by 6.3% between 2017 and 2021, according to a new report.

According to research by Future Market Insights (FMI) in Newark, Texas, this trend will continue until 2032, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 7.8%, by which year the industry's global revenue will reach $106.23 billion.

The North American medical plastics market will account for 34 percent of the global market in 2021, and the global market is expected to grow to $50.13 billion this year, FMI said.

Traditional materials such as polyphenylsulfone medical plastics are expected to gain the largest market share by 2032, said Nikhil Kaitwade, vice president of market research at FMI. “But PVC is the material of choice and is expected to maintain its market share until then. Commodity thermoplastics such as polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene will be used in global medical The plastics market holds the largest share. The use of HDPE in spinal implants is forecast to increase”.

Kaitwade noted that medical plastic applications are expected to create huge demand during the forecast period, including insulin delivery, prosthetics (plastic implants), and medical devices such as catheters, plastic pill housings, and disposables. Plastics meet the need for lightweight and recyclable materials.

"Due to the development of powerful disinfectants," he continued, "plastics such as bioabsorbable materials, high-performance thermoplastics and engineering plastics are increasingly permeating the industry, replacing older commodity plastics." Polymers ( Such as TPU, PC), bioabsorbable materials and other high performance and engineering plastics are becoming popular. "The qualities of these plastics, including impact strength, heat resistance, hardness and sterilization compatibility, are making them more widely used in the medical industry."

He added that pharmaceutical packaging is also expected to drive the medical plastics market, with companies using medical plastics to package products such as sterile plastic packaging systems for human blood and blood components, plastic packaging systems for aqueous solutions, bags for parenteral solutions and Dry powder for infusion and metered dose inhalers.

Although manufacturing supply chains have been significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, “plastics manufacturing is rebounding with new capacity expansions for bioplastics and high-performance polymers,” Kaitwade said. “In the medium term, this will ensure that Sufficient supply."

In the past five years, the medical plastics industry has made many significant advances, he emphasized:

Trelleborg Healthcare & Medical completed the expansion of its Delano, Minnesota facility in September 2020. The facility includes a 6,000-square-foot ISO Class 7 cleanroom. In addition to silicone and thermoplastic molding, the Delano facility supports assembly and secondary operations, in-house tool manufacturing, precision machining for micro-molding, and automation for medical device and pharmaceutical OEMs.

As part of the plant expansion, MTD Micro Molding doubled its cleanroom space in September 2020. As a single-source provider, MTD conducts all micromolding services in a controlled environment. The vertically integrated company manufactures molds on-site and has developed expertise in micromolding bioabsorption and drug delivery devices.

In October 2020, MGS broke ground on a $10 million contract manufacturing facility expansion. The company expects double-digit growth in 2021, thanks in large part to strong demand from healthcare customers.