Competition and even a pandemic can force businesses to innovate, think ahead, and even pivot. Some manufacturers may now create healthcare products, such as insulin pumps. The question is, how’s the market doing? Is there money in it?
What Is an Insulin Pump?
An insulin pump is a medical device around the size of a smartphone worn outside your body. It contains insulin, a hormone that delivers glucose to cells for energy at specific intervals.
Insulin flows from this container to the catheter and then to the cannula. The cannula connects to the body through a hole in the fatty layer of the skin. This system is life-saving for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. People with type 1 have a pancreas that doesn’t produce the hormone at all.
Meanwhile, individuals with type 2 diabetes might need an insulin pump if the problem in controlling the hormone’s production is already severe. Perhaps the pancreas doesn’t create enough anymore.
Demand for Insulin Pumps
Companies that want to produce insulin pumps might need to work with a plastic-molding manufacturing company fast because the demand for it is high.
According to the Market Research Future, the global market size of this product could reach over $8 billion by 2023. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 8.4%. Fortune Business Insights shares almost the same forecast. However, for them, the CAGR could be higher at 9.4%.
Many factors drive growth:
1. Accessibility of More Tools for Production
A plastic molding manufacturing company can already provide different materials for insulin pump production, such as engineering resins. This polymer makes a molded object like a pump flexible, but it also provides its strength, so it doesn’t break easily when it drops.
Meanwhile, plastic bonding tools allow for custom injection molding. This way, insulin pump manufacturers can create various sizes the market needs.
2. Increasing Cases of Diabetes
According to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, about 10% of the US population has diabetes. Over 7 million have remained undiagnosed.
Often, the individual remains unaware until significant symptoms appear, or doctors diagnose them with other related conditions. These can include heart disease, hypertension, or chronic kidney disease.
Meanwhile, a 2017 research in Population Health Management showed that the prevalence of both types of diabetes might increase by over 50% from 2015 to 2030. By then, the disease could affect at least 50 million Americans. The World Health Organization (WHO) also cited a rapid increase in incidence in developing or low-income nations.
Factors such as obesity and aging help increase the risk of diabetes. In the United States, the adult obesity rate hit almost 40% in 2019, according to the State of Obesity Report. Over 15% of children were also obese.
Aging is also a risk factor for many chronic diseases. The changes in the body, accumulation of toxins, and lifestyle as a person grows old can wear down the pancreas. It can then affect the production of insulin.
3. Health Insurance
Insurance coverage matters in the growth of insulin pumps. By covering it, more Americans can take advantage of it.
In the United States, the number of uninsured people declined from 2017 to 2018 based on census data. However, the coverage rate within this period was still better than eight years ago. Back in 2010, over 15% didn’t have insurance.
The share of private insurance also increased to 67.3%, according to Statista. About 38% of adults over 40 with coverage can pay for long-term healthcare costs.
Insulin pumps have a growing market, and the demand is stable since it remains a life-saving tool.
