By Kelly Patrick

The market for infusion pumps is estimated to have been worth $2.1 billion in 2021, falling slightly from 2020 revenues according to a new report from Signify Research. Overall demand increased in 2020, with most focus on infusion pumps that could help in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Despite the market decline in 2021, purchasers are now reassessing their solutions to ensure digital infusion pumps are connected to support clinical decision-making and improve patient safety. As such, the demand for associated infusion software is on the up, with the combined market for infusion pumps, dedicated sets and infusion software projected to reach $7.2 billion in 2026.

Product trends

In 2020, the global infusion pump market saw opposing trends across product categories. Large-volume infusion, syringe infusion, and enteral feeding pumps saw most significant uplift in demand to help in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. However, those solutions utilised in postoperative pain management such as patient-controlled analgesic (PCA) and disposable ambulatory infusion pumps saw a fall in demand due to fewer surgical procedures. Jumping forward to 2021, and this dynamic swapped sides, with increased demand for solutions utilised in surgical procedures driving market growth for PCA and disposable ambulatory infusion pumps. While signify projected growth to have returned for all segments in 2022, PCA and disposable ambulatory enjoyed more success for the same reasons as 2021. Growth in other segments was also to some extent further driven by inflation.

During the pandemic, component supply became a bottleneck in the manufacture of several medical devices. The vast country lock downs seen during the pandemic, especially in China, reduced the availability of specific components and subsequently delayed the supply of some infusion solutions. As of 2022, inflation is the highest it has been in decades, with many vendors now having to raise prices to remain profitable. As such, a short-term increase in average selling price has been projected for the infusion pump market to counterbalance rising production costs and supply constraints.

Regional Trends


Americas:
• There is greater preference for large-volume infusion pumps in the North and Latin American regions. The Americas region accounted for around 60% of global large volume infusion pumps in 2021.

• In 2020, the level of uptake of infusion solutions in the U.S. was lower than that seen in the Western European regions. The reduction in nonessential surgical procedures impacted demand for infusion, resulting in an overall decline in revenues in 2020 and 2021. The U.S. market has also made significant progression toward integrated solutions with most pumps now connected to the EMR and clinical information systems. However, with increasing use of integrated software within infusion pumps, the U.S. market has faced several significant recalls in recent years, including those from the leading pump vendors BD and Baxter Healthcare. This has subsequently placed the supply of these solutions in jeopardy.

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