Analyst: Emerging Countries Key to Growth of Renal Dialysis Market

The growth of the global renal dialysis market, which encompasses both the service and equipment segments, was valued at $77 billion in 2015 and is set to expand to $101.9 billion by 2022, driven largely by emerging markets such as China, Brazil, and India, according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

As explored in GlobalData’s recent renal dialysis equipment market report, Asia-Pacific countries will see stronger growth in the renal dialysis equipment segment than any other region. A similar trend will apply to the dialysis service segment, as China and India, along with Brazil, will be responsible for approximately 60 percent of patient growth over the next seven years, and by 2022, these markets will account for more than 43 percent of the dialysis population.  

“From these figures, it is clear that it is essential for global dialysis companies to tap into the market in developing countries, in order to keep ahead of the competition and create profitable growth,” medical devices analyst Tina Deng said. “Government healthcare policy permitting, an increasing number of privately owned dialysis centers will contribute to market expansion. For example, Brazil has recently opened its dialysis service to foreign players. DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (DaVita), the second-largest kidney service company in the U.S., has expressed interest in operating its dialysis service business through acquisition of local Brazilian dialysis chains.”

Despite this, it is difficult to obtain licenses for operating private dialysis centers in developing countries like China, where such centers are rare and there are no national standards for their establishment, according to the report. DaVita has attempted to penetrate the Chinese market by entering into a joint venture with Shunjing Renal Hospital in eastern China, with an aim of building dialysis chains in the future.

“Low-cost products are the other key catalyst for success in the developing countries,” Deng said. “Fresenius Medical Care, for example, opened an R&D center in Shanghai, China, in November 2015, and announced an investment of $100 million towards the development of high-quality basic renal therapies at affordable costs. “Medtronic plc, on the other hand, recently formed its Renal Care Solutions business. The medical devices giant will enter the dialysis space in collaboration with India’s Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. to develop a low-cost, portable approach for patients in the developing world, who are less likely to have access to services offered on expansive hemodialysis machines, and need options that require less water and medical infrastructure.”