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Polymers are being tried on hospitals
The global medical plastics market will grow by 8% annually over the next five years, with analysts predicting growth of 1.5 times by 2029. The drivers should be the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, primarily China and India. In Russia, the industry is more than 70% dependent on imports, and the capabilities of local manufacturers are underutilized.
According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global medical polymers market is expected to reach $60.5 billion by 2029, about 1.5 times the 2024 market size. According to analysts, the sterilization compatibility, chemical resistance, and lightweight design of medical plastics are driving the market growth, making these plastics indispensable for the development of medical devices and implants. The shift to single-use medical products has further increased the demand, the report says. The Asia Pacific region leads the global medical polymers market, owing to the development of healthcare infrastructure and large patient populations in China, India, and Japan.
The polymer medical products market in Russia still largely depends on imports. According to SIBUR estimates, by the end of 2022, the volume of this market will be 125 thousand tons. According to data presented at a meeting of the RSPP Committee on the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, 96% of polymer medical products consumption in the Russian Federation falls on five industries: gloves, sewing and non-woven materials, syringes, laboratory products. and medical products. Infusion-transfusion therapy system. However, 79% of these products were imported from China and Europe.
According to HSE estimates, Russia produces less than a third of the polymer grades needed for the medical industry. In particular, to meet the demand for disposable syringes by 2028, production will need to be increased almost threefold, which will require import substitution of up to 7,500 tons of polymers per year.
SIBUR estimates the annual consumption of disposable medical syringes in the Russian Federation at 2.5 to 3 billion units, equivalent to 14 thousand tons of raw materials. As the company notes, existing domestic production capacities can fully meet the needs of the national and municipal procurement markets, but they are currently underutilized. Therefore, they say that the largest syringe manufacturers in SIBUR operate at less than 30% of their production capacity. The company explains this by the continuing trend of purchasing imported products due to low prices.
Until recently, SIBUR continues, there were no local special grades of polypropylene for syringes in Russia that met modern quality and safety requirements. However, the company notes that this has now led to the replacement of imported disposable medical consumables along the entire technological chain - from the production of polymer raw materials to finished products of professional brands. SIBUR estimates the potential for the production of new special grades of polypropylene, polyethylene, PVC, synthetic rubber, latex and polystyrene for the pharmaceutical and medical industries at 30-40 thousand tons per year.
Kommersant's sources from companies in the industry say that the development of local production requires state support and protectionist measures. Therefore, Kommersant's sources note that limiting the participation of imported products in state procurement is a key factor in creating a new production of vacuum tubes for blood collection in a short time while satisfying market needs.