Page 6 - Malaysia Exporters of Medical Devices & Equipment Directory

Industry Overview on Medical Devices
Industry in Malaysia
A Landscape of the Medical Devices Industry
With increasing affluence and rising consumer awareness, the demand for
quality healthcare will continue to soar. In 2012, Malaysia’s exports of medical
devices grew by 9.1% to RM13.97 billion from RM12.81 billion. Charting
high growth rates annually, the medical devices and equipment industry in
Malaysia is recognised as one of the country’s growth sectors: over 190
companies from small and medium sized local manufacturers to multinational
corporations (MNCs), the majority of them concentrated in Penang, Klang
Valley and Johor, have the capability to produce a broad range of medical
devices and equipment for the global market.
Historically, the medical devices industry in Malaysia is dominated by
companies engaged in the production of medical gloves and other medical
disposable products. Malaysia continues to reign as the undisputed world
leader in this segment, given its natural advantage in terms of raw material
i.e. rubber. Currently, Malaysia fulfills 80% of the world’s demand for catheters
and 60% for rubber gloves.
In recent years, industry players have shifted focus to the higher end of
the product spectrum. Local manufacturers are racing to diversify to more
profitable sub-sectors, such as electro-medical equipment, orthopedic and
dental implants, hospital furniture and hardware, next generation single
used devices, contract manufacturing services and the fast-growing In-Vitro
Diagnostics (IVD) market. Even medical glove manufacturers have expanded to
higher quality specialty segments like low-protein gloves, powder-free medical
gloves and safety gloves. The upstream movement is spurred by the strong
presence of supporting industries, ranging from sterilisation services, sterile
medical packaging, precision engineering, tool and die-making to contract
moulding and assembly and machinery fabrication.
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