The current strength of the medical device sector comes from the growing acceptance that change is coming and, if it’s handled properly, it can be good for medtech. To be sure, device companies in 2013 continued their forays into emerging markets like China, India, and Brazil, many through acquisitions of local companies, and they looked to new product areas to offset the low growth rates of more mature core product categories. But there was definitely a subtle shift in the industry over the past year, as manufacturers began to think differently about their offerings and the changing nature of their relationships with customers.
The term “value-based medicine” rang through the halls of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco in January, as...
