The use of oxygen concentrators to stabilize the health of the COVID-19 patients with mild breathing problems and other patients with chronic, severe respiratory issues opting home care oxygen therapy to avoid co-infection from hospital visits are driving the demand for oxygen concentrators market in India, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, Oxygen Concentrators (Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices) – Global Market Analysis and Forecast Model (COVID-19 market impact), reveals that oxygen concentrators market in India is expected to exceed US$15m in 2025.

In 2019, portable oxygen concentrators accounted for more than 60% of the oxygen concentrators market in India. The market is highly fragmented with Philips Respironics Inc, Inogen Inc, Invacare Corporation, and DeVilbiss Healthcare LLC being the major players.

Gopinadh Gundreddy, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Limited availability of oxygen beds is forcing healthcare professionals to recommend home-based oxygen therapy for patients suffering from mild breathing difficulties. This is fueling the demand for portable oxygen concentrators as they extract oxygen from the atmosphere and do not require refills.”

Patients suffering from ailments such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis and respiratory distress due to climate changes and pollution need supplemental oxygen. In such cases, it is vital and necessary to keep oxygen concentrators at home to manage oxygenation. This is expected to further increase the demand for oxygen concentrators.

Mr Gundreddy concludes: “In India, some governments at state level have started providing oxygen concentrators to patients recovered from COVID-19 but continue to face breathing difficulties. Taking cue, other state governments should follow suit in handing out oxygen concentrators for the clinical management of moderate COVID-19 cases, especially in areas with underprivileged healthcare settings where ventilators are not available.”