In the news: soaring inflation, supply chain risks, and medtech acquisitions

As we enter the new year, there’s still no shortage of hurdles in store for healthcare leaders as tight budgets, soaring inflation, workforce shortages, supply chain challenges, and increasing cybersecurity risks continue.

In this month’s news roundup, we’ll take a closer look at China’s latest Covid surge and spell out what that means for the US supply chain. We’ll also explore how high inflation will affect medical device pricing. Plus, dive deeper into the key medtech mergers and acquisitions that took place in 2022 and what they might mean for the industry.

China’s Covid wave threatens another snarl of U.S. medical supply chain

As Covid infections surge across China, the U.S. might again fall short of medical supplies as that country struggles to keep factories running and goods flowing out of its ports.

The potential shortages could range from generic drugs, like antibiotics and blood thinners, to electronic components used in advanced medical devices. Despite efforts over the past two years to bolster America’s domestic medical supply chain, the complexity, costs and regulations involved in health care manufacturing has limited companies’ ability to shift production and be less dependent on Chinese production.

Will high inflation affect medical device pricing?

Inflation is impacting all sectors, and like other manufacturing industries, the medical device sector is being hit too. Prices of raw materials for medical devices have skyrocketed in the past two years. Many medical device companies are dealing with shortages of semiconductors and other critical components. In addition, the rising cost of materials such as metals, plastics, and chemicals, is driving production costs. This trend is expected to continue in 2023, as there is not a very clear path toward the resolution of these issues for the medical device industry.

3 Health Tech Trends to Watch in 2023

With the new year now upon us, experts are weighing in on the healthcare trends they expect to see emerging and growing in these next 12 months. From zero-trust security adoption to acting on social determinants of health data, and prioritizing clinician wellness with automation, check out the trends to watch in 2023.

A look back at medtech’s top 10 acquisitions of 2022

2022 was a slower year for mergers and acquisitions with 11 deals valued above $1 billion in the year compared with 21 “megadeals” taking place in 2021, according to data from consulting and accounting firm EY.

The recession was one reason for the slowdown in dealmaking as many companies’ shares declined in value. Read on to learn more about the 11 major deals that did take place, and what they mean for the medtech industry.