Economy will dictate global nuclear med sales through 2020

The lackluster world economy and reimbursement issues will result in only modest growth in the global nuclear medicine imaging equipment market in this decade, according to a report from market research firm GlobalData.

The PET and SPECT market is expected to grow from $1.83 billion in 2013 to $2.2 billion by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.3%.

The U.S. market will remain steady at approximately $1.15 billion through the decade, with the country's global market share decreasing from 69% in 2013 to 53% by 2020. Conversely, the Asia-Pacific region will increase its market share from 16% to 29% during the same time period.

The economic downturn has been a concern throughout diagnostic imaging, and the high cost of nuclear imaging equipment and procedures has made the market more susceptible to the downturn, said GlobalData Senior Analyst Andrew Thompson, PhD.

The U.S. nuclear medicine equipment market could rebound with an upturn in the economy, which would spur purchases to replace older scanners. However, GlobalData also noted that not all equipment is replaced at the end of the average product life cycle, which could negatively affect sales.

Asia-Pacific economies, especially in China and Japan, will continue to provide opportunities for more sales. Japan is expected to achieve the fastest growth over the forecast period, with its market value more than doubling from $191.3 million in 2013 to $392.1 million by 2020.