Market Overview

Medical disposables are single-use devices used for drug infusion, transfusion, and surgical procedures in hospitals, clinics, and inspection centers, and for home care.
In FY2023, the medical disposables market was estimated at 255.694 billion yen, which was a 2.5% increase from the previous fiscal year, based on distributors for domestic manufacturers and imported products, excluding diapers for adults. Supply shortages persisted for some products due to production and transportation delays, primarily affecting overseas products. However, the recovery in demand for various inspections following the pandemic crisis, as well as rising product prices due to soaring material and transportation costs, and a weaker yen, contributed to market expansion.

Noteworthy Topics

The Home Use Market for Medical Disposables

As an exponential increase in the elderly population is expected in Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is reevaluating the terminal or end-of-life care. The MHLW is shifting the elderly care from hospitals to home care to ensure long-term medical and nursing care.
Currently, home care patients who use medical disposables primarily include those with “at-home self-injection guidance and management fees”, “home continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) guidance and management fees”, etc. being calculated. 
Of the entire medical disposable market, the home-use market grew by 0.7% year over year, reaching 26.1995 billion yen in FY2023. When this figure is added to the market size of adult diapers (part of incontinent products for the elderly), which is estimated at 202.7210 billion yen, the total market size is estimated to be 228.9208 billion yen, which is a 2.4% increase from the previous fiscal year.
Specifically, the home-use medical disposables market can expect stable growth from products such as self-urination catheters and other urology-related products, transfusion filters, breathing circuits, and home mechanical ventilation (HMV) products which include artificial noses. Additionally, the adult diaper market is growing robustly due to high usage rates among the elderly for urinary incontinence, which has the largest potential patient base.

Future Outlook

The following medical disposables are highly likely to increase in deployment and usage: safety-mechanism equipped products (*1) to prevent infection, drainage treatment systems and suction devices, products and systems with further disposability potential, such as breathing circuits, anesthesia breathing systems or circuits, oxygen masks, and nasal cannulas, as well as those kits/sets (*2) that improve medical workers’ work efficiency.
In addition, as the government has promoted the Community-Based Integrated Care System, sufficient preparations are expected in the homecare system, the infrastructure to facilitate communication between medical institutions with households of elderly individuals in need of care, and the support systems to enhance subsidies beyond the medical fee system. Consequently, the market for home-use medical disposables is projected to be on the rise.

*1) Products with a safety mechanism for infection prevention: Infection control products that prevent needlestick injury, blood scattering, misconnection (closed circuit), among other things.
*2) Kits/sets: Prepackaged, single-use kits containing all the necessary protective equipment and pharmaceuticals for general surgery, testing and treatment.

Research Outline