As the healthcare industry in the Philippines continues to grow, Medilines Distributors Incorporated (Medilines) aims to retain its stronghold as a leader in the distributor segment for critical medical equipment.

Based on a recent independent study made by Ken Research, spending on healthcare rose from ₱489.1 billion in 2014 to ₱911.4 billion in 2020 (or a CAGR of 10.9%). Healthcare expenditure is expected to grow further at a CAGR of 11.2% to reach ₱1.5 trillion by 2025.

These healthcare expenditures include overall spending by government and private healthcare units, as well as household out of pocket disbursements.

The growth of the healthcare sector is driven by a growing and aging population. It is also driven by the increasing incidences of non-communicable diseases in the country, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Respiratory diseases are also on the rise.

The momentum is further supported by the passage of the Universal Health Care Law, which is making structural reforms to the healthcare delivery system through the expansion of the country's health insurance scheme and the upgrade of medical facilities nationwide.

Medilines Chairman Virgilio B. Villar, brother of AllDay Chairman Manuel (Manny) Villar, Jr., said that the company is committed to continue to be one of the country’s providers of quality medical devices to address the needs of the growing Philippine healthcare industry. 

Medilines is a leading distributor of medical equipment to public and private healthcare facilities across the Philippines. It maintains a portfolio of best-in-class equipment from world-renowned brands such as Siemens Healthineers (Germany) for diagnostic imaging, B. Braun (Germany) for dialysis, and Varian (USA) for cancer therapy.

High demand for critical medical equipment

Because of the alarming increase in Filipinos with serious diseases, there has been a huge demand for medical devices, particularly for the diagnosis and treatment of patients, thereby showcasing the promising growth prospects for the medical device industry in the Philippines.

According to Ken Research, a number of private companies and individuals have invested in the development of hospital infrastructure across the Philippines in the past few years.  Several companies have also acquired stakes in the health sector, providing much-needed capital for the expansion and modernization of facilities.

To address the top causes of morbidity in the country, most hospitals focus their enhancements on specialized services for radiology, cardiac, lung and kidney examinations, cancer treatment, pathology, and dialysis. 

Medical devices that are related to these top diseases have high sales potential for suppliers. These include electro-cardiographs, computed tomography apparatus (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, ultrasound, X-ray, radiation equipment, breathing apparatuses, dialysis machines, and linear accelerators.

Medilines’ broad portfolio of quality medical equipment under the diagnostic imaging (i.e., CT scan, X-ray), dialysis (dialysis machines), and cancer therapy (linear accelerators) categories address the most prevalent diseases among Filipinos as well as the most pressing disease of the time – COVID-19.

Villar sees that there will be a need to intensify the distribution of quality medical equipment even after the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Medilines plans to expand its presence and product portfolio in the near future to help enhance the country’s healthcare system.

“We believe that there will always be demand for medical products, in as much as there will always be a patient needing care,” Villar said. Villar lamented that the Philippine healthcare system remains far behind compared to first world countries, but he notes that we are slowly getting there.