The US is the largest medical device market in the world with a market size of $155 billion and the medical supplies market is even larger at $350 billion. The US medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry includes about 6,500 device companies and 11,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $90 billion. The US market is about 43% of the global medical device market and 26% of global supply market. US exports of medical devices were $44 billion.
Business concentrations in this sector are in regions generally known for technology business areas such as microelectronics and biotechnology. States with the highest number of medical device companies include California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia. US companies are highly regarded globally for innovations and research and development; R&D expenditures are more than twice the average for all US manufacturers. The US also holds a competitive advantage in several industries that are important to the medical device industry: microelectronics, telecommunications, instrumentation, biotechnology, and software development
Clusters within the sector include:
- Electro-medical equipment: pacemakers, patient-monitoring systems, MRI machines, diagnostic imaging equipment (including informatics equipment), and ultrasonic scanning devices
- Irradiation apparatuses: X-ray devices and other diagnostic imaging
- Surgical and medical instruments: anesthesia apparatuses, orthopedic instruments, optical diagnostic apparatuses, blood transfusion devices, syringes, hypodermic needles and catheters
- Surgical appliances and supplies: artificial joints and limbs, stents, orthopedic appliances, surgical dressings, disposable surgical drapes, hydrotherapy appliances, surgical kits, rubber medical and surgical gloves, and wheelchairs
- Dental equipment and supplies: equipment, instruments, supplies used by dentists, dental hygienists, and laboratories
California is #1 in the US in biopharma and medical products employment 125,000 employees. The industry in California has benefited from the state’s aging population and growing number of people with private health insurance. California’s world-class academic system and public policy environment has helped the State emerge as a leader. In the State, life science and software development received over 60% of all venture capital investments
Merced County is well-positioned to function as an extension of the Bay Area market as it is extremely close to South Bay and very proximate to the East Bay, allowing for easy operational efficiencies between Bay Area R&D and Merced production and distribution. Merced boasts the ability to support onsite cargo handling: world-class cargo airport infrastructure and access to both I-5 and CA99 for travel to the State’s large coastal markets in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The regional cost structure is far lower than in those metropolitan areas. Labor availability is strong, considering that over 2 million people live in the Merced commuting shed (including portions of the Bay Area. Merced’s leadership has established an extremely business-friendly environment, with easy permitting and low costs for investing businesses.