Wound Care Market (Traditional Wound Care, Advanced Wound Care, Active Wound Care, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy & Other Therapy Devices) - Current Trends, Opportunities & Global Forecasts to 2016

A wound is an injury or break in the skin, generally a dissection of tissue or rupture of a membrane, due to external aggression or some involuntary activity other than disease. Wound care has evolved from traditional wound care, advanced wound care, active wound care to therapy devices. Traditional wound care includes products such as dry dressings, bandages, etc. Advanced wound care product constitutes of alginates, hydrogels, hydrocolloids and collagen. Active wound care products include skin substitutes and biological growth factors. The therapy device market consists of NPWT, HBOT, Whirlpool therapy, ultrasound therapy, ultraviolet, etc.

The wound care market is driven by increase in the ageing population, rise in chronic diseases (such as diabetes and hypertension), and technological advancements. The demand for portable and easy to use devices is expected to drive the growth of the wound care market in the coming years. At the same time, tissue-engineered products like skin substitutes and biological growth factors are expected to drive the market in the long term.

Rapid breakthrough in wound-healing technologies to develop cost effective treatment is expected to drive the growth of the market. Companies are now focusing on the introduction of advanced materials, methods, and active substances for the treatment of wounds. For example, Smith and Nephew launched in January 2012 a pocket-sized PICO system, a single use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) system, across the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia. The PICO system's one-button pump is easy-to-use and its small size and silent operation provides a discreet, unobtrusive way to carry on daily life with NPWT.

The U.S. constitutes the biggest market for wound care products and devices, followed by Europe, Asia and ROW. The rising number of chronic diseases and ageing population has boosted the demand for this market. The pricing and reimbursement issue is one of the major factors hampering the growth of this market. The Asian region is expected to witness moderate growth, mainly due to lack of reimbursement, forcing physicians and patient to opt for traditional treatment. The overall wound care market is also expected to foresee moderate growth – relatively higher growth will be seen in advanced wound care products, tissue engineered products, and negative pressure relief devices.
Major players in the wound care market include, Kinetic Concepts, Inc (U.S.), Smith and Nephew (U.K.), ConvaTec Inc (Luxembourg), Molnlycke Healthcare (Sweden), and Systagenix (U.K.).