Taiwan Medical Devices
Taiwan is a major market for U.S. medical device exports and is ranked among the top 25 in the world in terms of value. In 2019, Taiwan’s medical device market grew to approximately $4.2 billion, accounting for 5.4% of total healthcare spending. Over 70% of this market are imports, and U.S. industry leads with a 33% share, with approximate value of $819 million. The U.S. leads in all product areas, with strengths in diagnostic imaging, advanced catheters, orthopedics & prosthetics, and dental products. The EU share is more than a quarter of imports. Other major suppliers include Japan and China.
Due to relatively small domestic market, most Taiwan medical device manufacturers produce mid-to-low end medical equipment and provide contract manufacturing for multinationals. Taiwan is globally competitive in production of wheelchairs, medical furniture and basic medical & surgical instruments. However, in recent years, backed by a government-supported medical device industry investment plan launched in 2017, the local sector has gradually expanded into orthopedic and implantable products, contact lenses, and other medical devices such as blood pressure and glucose monitors.
Taiwan’s aging population and increase in chronic diseases present opportunities for U.S. healthcare companies. In 2019, approximately 14.6% of Taiwan’s 23.59 million population was over the age of 65. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior, by 2026, the island’s population over the age of 65 is expected to reach 20%, which could make Taiwan one of the world’s first “super-aged society.”
There are over 20,000 primary and 500 secondary care units in Taiwan, many of which are small, privately owned clinics. In 2019, approximately 93% of all health care facilities were contracted by the NHI system to provide healthcare service. Taiwan’s NHI initiated its “second-generation phase” in 2013, which focuses on applying internet, cloud, and other information technologies to the system to optimize use and efficiency. With high demand for high-end medical device imports, the challenges for Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) program will grow, as many of the more advanced medical devices are costly and will result in cost constraints for the NHI system. Therefore, NHI and industry are discussing the expansion of the self-pay and co-payment (partial patient self-pay mechanism) categories, especially for items such as pacemakers, cardiac valves, coronary pacemakers, intraocular lenses, cardiac valves stents, artificial ceramic hip joints, artificial intraocular lenses, and metal-on-metal artificial hip joints.
MARKET ENTRY
For any U.S. company wishing to enter the Taiwan market, it is essential to appoint a local distributor. Private hospitals in Taiwan tend to purchase equipment directly from distributors, with whom they already have established relationships. Equipment tenders for public hospitals are handled through the “Public Construction Commission” (PCC) under Taiwan Executive Yuan. According to the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), there are 55,926 registered distributors for medical devices and pharmaceuticals in Taiwan.
Public procurement & tenders are announced on the PCC website:
BEST PROSPECTS
Imports are in high demand and supply more than 70% of the advanced medical device in the market. Imported advanced medical devices are generally from the United States, the EU and Japan, a trend that is set to continue. Leading Sub-Sectors for imports:
• Diagnostic imaging
• Orthopedics & Prosthetics
• Dental products
• Catheters and Endoscopes
• Ophthalmic instruments and appliances
• Cardiovascular equipment
• Hemodialysis apparatus
• Prepared diagnostic and laboratory reagents
• Shock wave lithotripsy apparatus
• Ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial resp
TRADE EVENTS
• Medical Taiwan 2020, Taipei, October 15-17, 2020
• Healthcare+ Expo Taiwan, Taipei, December 3-6, 2020
For more information contact the U.S. Commercial Service in Taiwan, Grace.Tao@trade.gov