Originally intended to increase medical device safety, the implementation of the EU’s medtech regulation was so hampered in 2022 that it had started to look as if the new regulations were a bigger potential threat to patients than any of the scandals leading to its more stringent requirements. With the European Commission’s latest plans to ease challenges around implementation, will 2023 be a more positive year for the EU medtech sector?

The integration of smart connected care, broadening of diagnosis and therapy into new settings and improvement of chronic disease outcomes will continue to shape the market for devices and diagnostics companies for years to come. But there is also a maze of short-term macroeconomic issues for medtechs to work through.

Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson joined Medtronic in putting a clear distance between themselves and other global medtechs in the Top 10 by revenues for 2021. Post-COVID-19 procedure growth, and, for Abbott, a strong rebound in non-COVID diagnostic demand, were key drivers.