From valuing $18.9 billion in 2018, the global endoscope market is predicted to reach $28.4 billion by 2024, advancing at a 7.2% CAGR during the forecast period (2019–2024). The major driving factors of the market are the technological advancements, rising geriatric population, and growing burden of chronic diseases. Endoscopy is the process of examination of the internal body parts for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The instrument used is known as an endoscope, which is made of a flexible, thin tube with a camera and a light source mounted at the top.
Based on type, the endoscope market is categorized into colposcope, laparoscope, laryngoscope, cystoscope, bronchoscope, colonoscope, arthroscope, and esophagoscope. Among all, during the historical period (2014–2018), the highest revenue in the market was generated by the esophagoscope category. This was attributed to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, particularly in the throat,and the increasing emphasis on the diagnosis of diseases for early treatment, if possible, preventing the spread of the disease altogether. The fastest growth in the forecast period is expected to be witnessed by the colonoscope category.
The application areas in the endoscope market are gynecology, urology, pulmonology, orthopedic, gastroenterology, and others. The gastroenterology application held the largest revenue share in the market in 2018, and it is expected to register the highest CAGR in the forecast period. This remarkable growth of the category can be ascribed to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as peptic ulcer disease, pancreatitis, colitis, and colon polyps. Further, the demand for endoscopes (colonoscopes) is rising due to the increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer.
The endoscope market is observing the trend of the increasing number of product launches with innovative technologies. These advanced products are helping in effectively diagnosing numerous diseases and conditions, such as colon cancer, chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcerative colitis, and muscle spasms. They are able to provide enhanced visualization of body parts with minimal scope for errors. Olympus Corporation, in March 2019, launched a small intestine endoscopy system —PowerSpiral containing a motorized rotation system that helps in visualizing the deeper parts of the small intestine.
One of the drivers of the endoscope market are the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, including bronchitis, stroke, and cancer. The estimates provided by the Canadian Cancer Society 2017 established cancer to be one of the leading causes of deaths in Canada. Further, more than 836,000 deaths due to cardiovascular diseases were reported by the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2018. This has contributed to the high demand for endoscopic procedures worldwide, which, in turn, is fueling the requirement for endoscopes.
The manufacturers in the endoscope market are trying to increase their revenue by cutting down on the manufacturing cost of the instrument. They are doing that by relocating their manufacturing facilities to emerging economies, such as China and India, where the material and labor are available at significantly lower prices than developed countries. Further, to boost the economy of their countries, governments here offer incentives and subsidies to these companies for setting up their manufacturing plants. This is expected to drive the demand for advanced endoscopes, by motivating manufacturers to invest in technology R&D.
Therefore, the market for endoscopes is set to witness a significant growth in the forecast period due to the rising number of chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
