Market Opportunity Assessment for a Portfolio of Gynaecological Surgical Devices

The Client & Business Challenge

Our client was a leading medical and surgical devices company, with a focus on female reproductive and neonatal health solutions.  They were a well established player in the US market, and in the process of defining strategy to drive share of their European and South American business through both direct and indirect channels.

They approached IDR Medical to conduct a market assessment and forecasting project across 7 counties, to provide input to decisions regarding market development, commercialisation strategy and the optimisation of sales channels.

The specific objectives of the project were to:

• Size and forecast the market for the in-scope technologies, and quantify the potential revenue opportunity for their portfolio

• Conduct a distribution channel audit and identify potential partners in each country

• Assess market trends and the competitive environment

Our Approach

IDR Medical initially worked with the client to refine the objectives of the project, define the scope, and agree on an appropriate methodology which included desk research in each of the 7 markets, followed by a program of primary market research with gynaecologists.

Desk research focused on mapping the competitive and distributor landscape for each of the in-scope technology segments, and gathering available data on procedure volumes, trends and the prevalence of female reproductive conditions.  This phase of research was delivered to the client as a report and presentation.

The second phase of the project included qualitative and quantitive primary research with gynaecologists in each country, to address data gaps in the desk research, validate hypothesis that would inform the market size and forecast model, and evaluate user awareness and perceptions on competitor devices and their pricing. 

IDR Medical consolidated the analysis across the different work-streams of the project and produced a report addressing the objectives of the study and outlining recommendations going forward.

In addition to the report, project deliverables included a forecast model and a database of potential distributors, evaluated against a set of pre defined criteria to determine their suitability as a future partner.  Existing distributors were also evaluated against the same criteria, as was their sales performance vs. market potential.

The Results and Impact

The project provided insights and recommendations that facilitated decision making regarding:

-Which countries and product categories should be prioritised for investment in market development

-In which countries does it make sense to establish a direct sales force, and which product segments should they focus on

-How to price and position the portfolio, to remain competitive and drive share

-Which distribution partners should they work with