Florida Man Makes Medical Device – A Survey of Medtech in the Sunshine State
Written by: Tom Cowan
Florida is more than just the home of alligators and presidential candidates. The state was recently ranked as the fourth largest “medical device state” in the U.S., after California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. It was estimated to have the third largest “total medical technology employment, with nearly 24,000 jobs, and No. 7 in total revenue generated in the sector, with $6.09 billion.” Florida has also recently been recognized as having the nation’s “second-largest pharmaceuticals manufacturing industry” and “the fourth-largest biotech R&D industry.”
Several regions stand out for their local medical device industries. Miami-Dade county reportedly includes the presence of Beckman Coulter, BD Biosciences, and Cordis (a Johnson & Johnson Company), among others. Medical device companies or divisions reportedly located in northeastern Florida include Johnson & Johnson Vision, Zimmer Biomet CMF and Thoracic division, KLS Martin Group (surgical tools), Treace Medical Concepts (midfoot surgical interventions), and Healogics (wound care), among others.
Additionally, the region around Orlando was reported to have the 14th largest medical device employment base in the U.S. Example companies in this area identified by a local business development group include Amber Diagnostics (radiology equipment), Invacare (home medical/mobility products), IRadimed (MRI technologies), Lensar (cataract lasers), Persona Medical (hearing health), Rotech Healthcare Inc. (home respiratory equipment), and Orthomerica (orthoses and braces). Further, the Tampa area reportedly includes Smith & Nephew (soft and hard tissue technologies), AdaptHealth (home health), Probo Medical (ultrasound probes), and AxoGen (preipheral nerve repair).
Businesses in the general life sciences field are also located in the state. For example, companies in either the medical device, biotech and/or pharmaceutical fields having a presence in Florida reportedly include Arthrex, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Noven and Steripack.
But the state is perhaps best known for its manufacturing capability in the medical device field. Florida was recognized as having the “nation’s second-largest medical device manufacturing industry.” Further, it is reported that Florida is among the top states with respect to “the number of FDA-registered medical device manufacturing facilities.”
With the global medical device manufacturing industry estimated “to grow by over 5 percent a year and reach nearly US$800 billion by 2030,” the future may be bright for the industry in the sunshine state.