Italy Ophthalmic Devices Market Size

Italy Ophthalmic Devices Market Analysis

The Italian ophthalmic devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period.

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy was the first to declare widespread lockdown and severe limitations on working activities and mobility. These limitations affected the demand for ophthalmic devices in Italy. For instance, as per the data from the European Journal of Ophthalmology published in January 2022, due to COVID-19, Verona's University Eye Clinic in Italy rescheduled daily tasks to ensure continuity of care for individuals with serious ocular diseases and witnessed a sudden drastic decline in the number of visits during the pandemic. The same report stated that during the lockdown, ophthalmic clinical activities dropped by 31% in Italy in 2020. Hence, it is observed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on the market studied.

The key factors propelling the market's growth in Italy include demographic shift and increasing burden of eye diseases, rising geriatric population, and technological advancements in ophthalmic devices. As per the MDPI report published in September 2021, the prevalence of ophthalmic diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, maculopathy, and retinopathy was 52.6%, 5.3%, 5.6%, and 29.1%, respectively, in Italy. Awareness about ophthalmic conditions is higher in the country, augmenting the demand for devices. For instance, among the affected people, those aware of their condition were 21.8% for cataracts, 65.4% for glaucoma, and 7.1% for maculopathy. The data mentioned in the MDPI report suggest that the burden of eye diseases is increasing in Italy every year, which is believed to create more demand for ophthalmic devices in the country.

With the presence of key market players such as Alcon Inc., Bausch Health Companies, and Johnson and Johnson, the market has better availability of ophthalmic devices. For instance, in Italy, few devices are marketed for glaucoma, including GATT, Kahook, and iStent inject. As per the data from the Italian Society of Ophthalmology published in 2021, over 550,000 people were living with glaucoma in Italy in 2021, and the prevalence was 2% in people over 40 years. Due to the large number of people having glaucoma, there is a growing adoption of glaucoma devices. The data from the National Institute of Health published in January 2021 stated that the iStent inject has emerged as a safe option among Microinvasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) devices, as it does not require trabecular meshwork removal. With the availability of such devices, the market studied is expected to witness growth in Italy over the forecast period.

However, risks associated with ophthalmic procedures are expected to restrain the market's growth.