It is difficult to make it as a small to midsize company in the Global Wound Care Market, which was painfully evident for a few Swedish companies in the fall of 2023. SmartTRAK looks at lessons learned and explains why the future is still bright.

Sweden is traditionally a great place to start a wound care company. Several established global leaders are based there, like Mölnlycke*, Essity* and Arjo*. They fund early-stage companies and act as a source of skilled personnel. Strong universities and leading pharma and medical device companies also contribute to a dynamic market.

In the fall of 2023, not one, not two, but three Swedish companies found themselves in deep trouble. RLS Global filed for bankruptcy, Promore Pharma was liquidated and S2Medical was under reconstruction. In this article, SmartTRAK looks deeper at those companies, what went wrong, and highlights a few startups embarking on the journey. Lessons learned are not limited to the Swedish market but apply everywhere.

The companies covered in detail in this comprehensive Market Perspective article, which can be downloaded in its entiretyhere, are:

• Companies in Trouble
  • RLS Global*
  • Promore Pharma*
  • S2Medical*
• Successful Startups
  • Abigo Medical*  
  • Absorbest*
• Other Startups
  • Amferia
  • Ilya Pharma
  • Colzyx 
  • PressCise
  • ViTri Medical*
  • Odinwell
  • Dermicus
  • Seber Medical

Although the fall of 2023 was challenging for a few companies, the future looks bright for Sweden to maintain its position as a strong generator of ...

* These links can only be accessed by SmartTRAK subscribers. To learn more            about SmartTRAK and how to subscribe, scroll down.

From OEM manufacturers getting dressings approved in the US to pressure injury prevention focus - SmartTRAK takes a closer look at what to keep an eye on in 2024.

SmartTRAK forecasts the WW Advanced Wound Dressing Market will grow at a 5-year CAGR of +5.2%. The market grew +5.2% in Q323 and +5.6% in the first three quarters of 2023. Advanced Wound Dressings is a market spread relatively evenly across geographies, with Europe currently representing a 44.1% share of the 2023 worldwide (WW) market, the US representing 27.9% and the ROW 28.0%.

Looking ahead, SmartTRAK sees three trends continuing in 2024. They are:

• Growing Use of OEM Manufacturers in the US
  In the US, most dressings require 510(k) clearance by the FDA. A strong trend in recent years is that original equipment manufacturer (OEM) providers have been getting their products approved for sale in the US and then ... (read more)
  
  
• Major Players Investing in Infrastructure
  Another trend of interest is more activity than usual from leading companies investing in infrastructure. SmartTRAK examines recent events and the potential drivers behind those decisions ... (read more)
  
  
• Growth in Dressings for Pressure Injury Prevention
  SmartTRAK expects the use of dressings for pressure injury prevention to be a key growth driver in the Advanced Wound Dressing Market in the coming years. The trend is supported by an increasing body of evidence indicating that ... (read more)
  

SmartTRAK has developed an in-depth analysis of the pressure injury prevention market, including the market size for the US, Europe, and the rest of the world (ROW), five-year forward forecasts, clinical and laboratory evidence, key drivers of market growth, and product technologies and claims. To find out more, please click here.

To download and read the complete "Advanced Wound Dressings: 2024 Market Outlook" by Lennart Stadler, SmartTRAK GM, OUS & Sr. Analyst, Wound and Anikó Szekér, SmartTRAK Sr. Analyst, Wound, just click the button below.

• New Product Launches Coming Back
• Transitioning to the European Medical Device Regulations
• Continued Macroeconomic Headwinds in Specific Countries
• The Reimbursement-Related Threat of Silver Dressings in Germany

As one of the fastest growing markets globally, China is a key market for companies competing in the Advanced Dressings Market. China is the second largest Advanced Dressings Market in the world and is projected to grow in the high single digits over the next five years according to SmartTRAK estimates. Not surprisingly, most of the global leaders in the Advanced Dressings Market have a presence in China, either via distributors or a direct sales force or through manufacturing sites, including Coloplast, WEGO, Mölnlycke and Smith+Nephew, among others.

To find out more about these companies and what’s new in the China Advanced Dressings Market, SmartTRAK highlights market updates covering the top news on new products, clinical studies, deals/financing, market trends, clinical/regulatory and company revenues. Following are some recent updates that were gathered and curated by our expert analysts and sent out to subscribers in SmartTRAK's Daily Updates. To discover how to learn more about the China Advanced Dressings Market, click here.

New Products:

• China NMPA Approvals in August
  

  In August 2022, NMPA approved 210 medical devices. Among them, 161 were domestic Class III devices, 25 imported Class III and 22 imported Class II devices. One NPWT kit from Nantong Changyu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. was the only wound care product.

• LUOFUCON Silicone Foam Border - Foryou Medical Devices Co.*

  ForYou Medical announced that they received a China NMPA approval for LUOFUCON Silicone Foam to be sold in China. Class III, National Machinery Note 20223140748. The dressing is manufactured by ForYou Medical, available in several anatomical shapes.

SmartTRAK reports that challenging conditions lead to minimal innovation in Paris.

It was third time lucky for the approximately 3,500 attendees of the 2022 European Wound Management Association (EWMA) conference in Paris. Although not yet back to a pre-pandemic number of participants, it was encouraging to see an international presence without the barrier of COVID-19 restrictions. Previous dates in 2020 and early 2022 fell to the pandemic, so great credit goes to the organizers and exhibitors for persevering and delivering a positive and engaging event.

Among the many topics covered in this SmartTRAK perspective article, which you can download here, are:

• MDR Consuming R&D Resources
• Clouds over Germany - Is There a Silver Lining?
• Establishing a European Foothold
• The Trend in Using Fewer Layers in Compress

WUWHS – a hybrid event with a local touch

Back Into the Water
After having been postponed several times, the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) finally took place in Abu Dhabi in early March and SmartTRAK was there. Mölnlycke* came in hot, launching Avance Solo* in the region, whereas most other companies were represented by local distributors. SmartTRAK noted that the hybrid format was an interesting concept, unfortunately, impacted by technical issues.

The Olympics of Wound Care
WUWHS is similar to the Olympics in the sense that it is an event with a global focus held every fourth year, every time by a new organizer. Like the Olympics, the WUWHS was postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19, the last one was held six years ago, and the pandemic also impacted both attendance and format. A negative COVID test was required both to enter and leave Abu Dhabi, which likely made attendees participate online rather than in person. SmartTRAK estimates that 20% to 30% of the participants were there in person and 70% to 80% participated online. Unfortunately, the event was full of technical issues and there were also many speakers missing when they were supposed to present, which brought down the overall experience for those who attended in person.

Mölnlycke Launches Avance Solo in the Region
Mölnlycke overshadowed all other companies at the event. It had the largest exhibition, an Innovation Area lounge, a high international presence, held the most lunch symposia and was the only company doing a major product launch.

The Company launched its ...

SmartTRAK reviews the impact and underlying reasons behind the high turnover rate among CEOs in the wound care market.

At the end of November 2020, Zlatko Rihter assumed his role as the new CEO for Mölnlycke*, which means that all top four Advanced Wound Care players now have CEOs with less than three years in office. As a matter of fact, seven or eight of the top 10 players have appointed new CEOs in the last three years, depending on how you count Acelity being acquired by 3M.

The average time in office for a CEO among the 2,500 largest public companies is around seven years. Most of the transitions are planned (70%), some are forced out (15%), and some are consequences of mergers (15%). In US hospitals, the turnover rate among CEOs is close to six years.

While the reason for replacing the CEO is sometimes not clear, in most cases it is. SmartTRAK reviews what is behind the transition in CEOs at the top wound care companies and what it means for the Advanced Wound Care market, which is estimated to be have generated $7.4B in the last 12 months according to SmartTRAK forecasts.

SmartTRAK reviews the 2020 Virtual EWMA meeting covering the impact of COVID-19, the growing use of digital tools and emerging technologies 

For the first time, the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) annual meeting, held November 18 – 19^th 2020, was an all-virtual event. As the premier wound care conference in Europe, EWMA 2020 showcased the latest news and trends in the market for European Advanced Wound Dressings, which is projected to reach $1.8B in 2020 according to SmartTRAK estimates. It turned into a truly global event thanks to the format that welcomed 9,758 registered participants from 113 countries from all over the world.

The SmartTRAK analyst team is expanding and we are looking for an experienced and motivated individual who would like to manage one or more of our Advanced Wound Care modules, with a focus on the European markets. As you know, all of our SmartTRAK analysts are former marketing, business development or competitive intelligence professionals with one of the major medical device manufacturers and, in fact, most have come to us via recommendations from our subscribers. We believe that having a person of this caliber with relevant experience and deep insight on the market is a tremendous value-add to the SmartTRAK platform.

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