Industry Outlook 1999/Medical Devices

Executive Summary

Technology innovation and product differentiation are the keys to success in medical devices, says Dan Lemaitre, Global Sector Head, Health Care, for SG Cowen Securities Corp. and one of the device industry's leading experts. From implantable cardiac defibrillators to cardiovascular stents, Lemaitre argues, the record is clear: the winners are those companies that can develop new technology with meaningful clinical benefits. The losers not only lose their technological edge, but often resort, futilely, to pricing strategies to try to hold their markets.