The medical gases market - Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

Medical gases are mainly used in hospitals.Their purpose is tocure, relieve thepain, anesthetize and improve respiratory function.they have always been used inside hospitals and health care facilities but only recently have they been considered true medicines. The best-known medical gases are:oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, acetylene, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydro/chloro/fluorocarbons.

it is possible to classify these products into three categories:

• Medicinal gases that act as drugs (Oxygen (O 2 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), nitric oxide, etc.;)
• Medical device gases (CO2, N2O, etc.);
• Non-state gases.

Globally, the medical gas market is considered to be growing. It is projected to reach a value of $5.7 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.6%.

This growth is also due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic, which has increased the demand for this type of medicine to treat patients.

The medical gas market in Italy has also grown exponentially due to the recent health emergency. The gas that has been most in demand during the pandemic has been oxygen, and it is estimated that in the areas most affected by Covid-19, the demand for this aeriform has increased as much as 5 times.

The main Italian player in this market is the listed company Solgroup.

One of the critical issues in this market is not so much finding the raw material but rather the supply of packaging to contain it, which is often delivered late or requires special treatments to be used. Operators working with these materials also need to use specific protective equipment that can be difficult to find especially at this time in history.

From the data previously presented, it can be seen that this market is growing but can be difficult to penetrate as there are well-established competitors and it can also be very difficult to source the right raw materials and packaging if one is not an expert in the field.