Ethicon, Allergan, Covidien Battle for Share of $4.1 Billion Laparoscopic Surgery Market with Gastric Band, Direct Energy, Ultrasonic Advancements

U.S. Obesity Epidemic Fuels Gastric Band Sales Growth to Double-Digit Rates

VANCOUVER, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - According to a new report series by iData Research (www.idataresearch.net), the leading global authority in medical device market research, the U.S. laparoscopic device market experienced strong growth in 2011, reaching over $4.1 billion. Ethicon, Allergan and Covidien battled for control of this market, particularly in the gastric-band, direct-energy and ultrasonic device segments. Technological advancements in these areas will fuel double-digit growth and drive the overall laparoscopic device market to reach sales of approximately $7.5 billion by 2018.

"Obesity affected over 60 million Americans in 2011 and the rising demand for bariatric surgery to enable weight-loss has driven the gastric-band segment to become the fastest-growing in the laparoscopic device market," says Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. "In addition, the recent FDA approval of LAP-BAND® by Allergan for patients with lower BMIs, is expected to further fuel the market to more than double in value by 2018. The expected approval of a gastric-band designed for adolescents will also expand the potential patient pool."

The report states that direct-energy devices used in electrosurgery to cut, coagulate, desiccate or fulgurate tissue are expected to reach over $2 billion in annual sales by 2018. Ultrasonic devices, which use lower-temperatures and vibrations to grasp and cut tissue, are also expected to see strong growth through 2018. These segments will be driven by disposable sales, such as Ethicon's HARMONIC®, that offer convenience and increased surgeon confidence in sterility. In addition, sales of multi-functional devices, such as Covidien's LigaSure Advance™ which reduce operative time, are expected to see rapid-growth.

"By 2018, we will also see a dramatic rise in single-port surgeries," says Dr. Zamanian. "This technique is reported to have less post-operative pain, faster recovery times and reduced scarring."

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iData's 2-report series on the U.S. and European "Markets for Laparoscopic Devices 2012" covers: laparoscopes, gastric-bands, access-devices, hand-instruments, insufflation, suction-irrigation, direct-energy, ultrasonic, hand-assisted,  female-sterilization and closure devices.

About iData Research

iData Research (www.idataresearch.net/idata/discoveridata.php) is an international market research and consulting group focused on providing market intelligence for top medical device companies. iData covers research in: laparoscopy, endoscopy, wound-management and more.

SOURCE iData Research Inc.