Show I tI t tI BUSINESS r I s sMORE t J REPORT j I 1 MORE G GROWTH FOR FOK MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FIELD There are several important reasons why the medical equipment industry should experience further good gr growth In coming years Among the positive factors are The continuing need for hospital renovation and modernization both here and abroad the Increasingly increasingly increasingly in in- large number of persons 65 or older who account for over quarter one of total health care spending spending- the theon on ongoing expansion of nursing homes medical laboratories and patient out-patient care centers the shortage of of trained personnel personnel per per- the increasing amount of total personal spending for health care and new product development often making present equipment obsolete The passage of some type of national catastrophe health insurance would also be a ama ma malor maior f or plus for the industry HOW MUCH GROWTH GRO It is expected that during the remaining yearS years of this decade the overall expansion of the medical equipment industry will be well above that of the general economy The rate of gain however may not be as extensive as that experienced during the period from 1969 to 1975 when extremely ly rapid advances were made According to those close to the medical equipment scene domestic sales of medical electronics instrument instrumentation and equipment from now through 1979 should increase from million to 15 billion or at a compound rate of 12 percent Fastest growth is expected in therapeutic equipment including including including in in- pacemakers heart regulators regulator physical therapy devices and radiology equipment Patient monitoring and nd respiratory monito monitoring ing should also show good gains gains' The demand for clinical laboratory instruments wl which ch include medical electronic equipment is sizable too By 1980 this market seems destined destin d to increase ase from the present million to million by w 1985 1985 it t leas million r X RAY X-RAY RA Y SCANNERS SCANNERS The newest and most glamorous device in the medical equipment field is the thel l highly publicized body scanner a computerized X-ray X machine providing highly detail detailed d pictures of internal organs Despite the high cost of these machines from machines from to each each it it seems likely that in the future they may revolutionize th the diagnosis and treatment of many internal ills Currently there are at least 19 manufacturers of various types of scanners Some of the more prominent firms are G G. G D. D Searle Varian Associates EMI Ltd Pfizer General Electric and North American Philips TilE THE NEW LAW LAWIn LAWIn LAWIn In late May President Ford Fora signed a bill giving the government reaching far-reaching authority over the marketing of different medical devices Presumably it provides much greater protection for consumers consumers consumers con con- sumers against ineffective or hazardous products But it als also could delay the development of new devices and up the cost of such products thus further hiking the overall cost of medical care Despite the possible hampering effects of ot the new regulations especially for small medical equipment firms finns we believe the larger companies can adjust and the industry as a whole will continue continue continue con con- to grow THE TIlE COMPANIES There are literally hundreds of ot relatively small producers of ot medical equipment many of ot them producing only orny one product or a relatively limited number of items Also there are some huge diversified companies i ie i.e. cr General Electric Westinghouse RCA North American Philips and most drug companies that make selected medical equipment products But some of the important companies with major interest in the field include American Hospital Supply Becton Dickinson Beckman Instruments American Am Sterilizer Johnson and Johnson and Milton Roy The Research Department of Babson's Reports currently advises retention of ot stocks in all these companies |