Leading Industry Medical Technology: SPECTARIS and BVMed Call for Independent MedTech Strategy
- Sascha Lummitsch
- Jul 3
- 3 min read
The German Medical Technology Association (BVMed) and our Clusterpartner the Medical Technology division of the German industry association SPECTARIS are calling on the new federal government for coordinated industrial policy support and an independent MedTech strategy aimed at specifically promoting medical technology innovations. To this end, the two associations have published a joint position paper with concrete demands across seven key areas.
“Medical technology is a key industry for the future. It not only makes a vital contribution to healthcare, but also plays a significant economic role,” said Mark Jalaß, Chairman of the Board at BVMed. Dr. Martin Leonhard, Chairman of the Medical Technology Division at SPECTARIS, added: “It is a positive step that the federal government explicitly recognizes medical technology as a leading industry in its coalition agreement. However, targeted measures are now needed to promote and strengthen the MedTech sector.” This will require close cooperation between politics, industry, and science, along with clear political prioritization.
The associations’ demands include reducing bureaucratic obstacles, making corporate taxes and energy costs more competitive, and creating a regulatory environment that supports innovation within the MedTech sector. Furthermore, Germany’s and the EU’s supply autonomy must be strengthened. This would require investment incentives for European production capacities, ensuring stable supply chains, and implementing a digital inventory platform for critical medical products, according to the paper.
The seven thematic areas in the position paper—each supported by concrete demands—are:
Establish medical technology as a leading industry
Cut bureaucracy and create an innovation-friendly regulatory framework for MedTech
Safeguard the future of inpatient care
Strengthen outpatient care and the provision of medical aids
Use digitalization and AI to modernize healthcare
Promote sustainability in medical technology responsibly
Support and strengthen exports of German MedTech through political backing
BVMed and SPECTARIS emphasize that the MedTech sector—alongside the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, and e-health—is a distinct and essential pillar of the industrial healthcare economy (iGW). It generates significant economic momentum and plays a crucial role in ensuring high-performance, modern healthcare.
The MedTech industry employs over 212,000 people—more than twice as many as the pharmaceutical sector.
In 2024, it generated over €41 billion in revenue (or €55 billion including micro-enterprises), highlighting its central importance to the German healthcare economy.
It achieved gross value added of €19.7 billion, which increases to €38.3 billion when including indirect effects across other industries.
The sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): 93% of the 1,510 MedTech companies with over 20 employees are SMEs.
It is also highly innovative, investing 9% of its revenue into research and development.
Germany ranks among the world’s leading nations in medical technology. As the second-largest MedTech producer globally, behind the USA and ahead of Japan and China, Germany holds a key position. However, the industry is facing growing challenges, including deteriorating business conditions and structural issues that threaten its competitiveness and could lead to reduced investment and potential relocation abroad. In this context, BVMed and SPECTARIS stress the need for a clear political commitment to medical technology as a forward-looking leading industry.
Mark Jalaß and Dr. Martin Leonhard: “Our goal is a MedTech sector that is not only fit for the future but also grows sustainably and with resilience. Innovations must be able to originate in Germany and be made quickly available to patients.”
The joint position paper can be downloaded at:
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