Medical Refrigerators Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Blood bank refrigerators and plasma freezers, Laboratory refrigerators and freezers, Pharmacy refrigerators and freezers, Chromatography refrigerators and freezers, Enzyme refrigerators and freezers, Ultra-low-temperature freezers, Cryogenic storage systems), By End Use (Blood banks, Pharmaceutical companies, Medical laboratories, Hospitals, Pharmacies, Research institutes, Diagnostic centers, Others) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Market Overview

The global medical refrigerators market size was valued at USD 3.70 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach a value of USD 6.04 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period 2023-2031. In hospitals, blood banks, diagnostic centers, pharmacies, academic institutions, analysis laboratories, and clinics, medical refrigerators store blood offers, derivatives, laboratory samples, biological reagents, vaccines, medicines, and equipment at ideal temperatures. Medical refrigerators provide the ideal conditions for the secure storage of those products. The factors include rising R&D efforts to develop new drug compounds, growing blood and blood components demand, and technological developments in medical refrigerators. Factors such as enhancing healthcare and rising prevalence of chronic diseases significantly drives the medical refrigerators market demand by 2031.

Additionally, it is anticipated that increasing pressure on temperature uniformity and energy efficiency will promote medical refrigerators market growth throughout the forecast period. However, the use of reconditioned equipment and expensive ultra-low-temperature freezers restrain the growth of the medical refrigerators market. The demand for products made with medical refrigerators is growing in APAC nations. The restrictions have hampered current clinical analysis nations have imposed in response to the most recent COVID-19 eruption. The research activities are picking up steam as these restrictions are currently being lifted, which could increase the demand for medical refrigerators in the upcoming years.

Market Dynamics

Global Medical Refrigerators Market Drivers

Enhancing Healthcare

The medical sector is growing fast around the globe as each nation is trying to enhance hospitals and medical facilities to provide the best treatment to its citizens. In line with this, governments are funding healthcare sectors to increase the number of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers, and labs and improve the existing facilities. For instance, the Indian finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in February 2020, allocated around USD 9,207 for the health sector and announced plans to expand the government's Ayushman Bharat scheme, billed as the world's largest government-funded health insurance scheme. Medical refrigerators are essential in such facilities to store vaccines and other medical products; thus, investments in healthcare will directly propel medical refrigerators market growth.

Rising prevalence of chronic diseases

The market for medical refrigerators is seeing increased demand due to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases like infectious diseases. Better airflow is encouraged, precise temperature and alarm systems are monitored, and a dependable cold chain for biologics is made possible. Biological products are also protected from temperature excursions caused by power outages. Additionally, they can use digital locks to limit access to only authorized staff. The demand for secure blood and blood derivative storage is rising in hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and diagnostic facilities, fueling the global market for medical and lab refrigerators.

Global Medical Refrigerators Market Restraints

Highly expensive

Small hospitals, clinics, and start-ups may need help to afford pricey biomedical refrigerators and freezers. As a result, many institutions decide to buy previously used refrigeration systems. As a result, a significant obstacle to the market expansion is the high equipment cost and the need for qualified staff.

Global Medical Refrigerators Market Opportunity

Technological advancement

Technological advancements are shaping the medical refrigerators market. To help the medical sector improve its capacity for storing and long-term use of its products, many businesses are creating new technologies for medical refrigerators for storing blood and medications. In its GX Solution Refrigerator line, Helmer Scientific, a US-based cold storage and processing equipment manufacturer, introduced professional medical refrigerators with OptiCool cooling technology in 2019. GX Solutions offers the best noise management, energy management, and temperature management (uniformity, recovery, and stability) solutions for unique, critical healthcare applications. GX Solutions uses OptiCoolTM cooling technology, which combines hydrocarbons (HC) and a variable-capacity compressor (VCC) to produce performance characteristics that improve storage conditions, reduce energy consumption, and improve environmental sustainability.

Regional Analysis

Depending on the region, the medical refrigerators market share is analyzed in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and LAMEA. North America dominates the market.

North America Dominates the Global Market

The largest revenue share was in North America. The region's rapid development is attributed to increased R&D spending and advancements in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Additionally, the market will advance due to the rising cancer rates in the United States and the growing popularity of biomedical refrigerators and freezers. The United States saw 1,708,921 new cancer cases and 599,265 cancer-related deaths in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Furthermore, the number of blood banks, pharmacies, and diagnostic labs nationwide is expanding quickly. The market for biomedical freezers and refrigerators also gains from the presence of significant market players in the United States.

The global market is anticipated to grow rapidly in the Asia Pacific region. Because of the advancement of technology and growing interest in people's hygiene and health. Due to the affordable and skilled labor available in the Asia Pacific region, where many businesses are relocating their manufacturing operations, it is the segment that is expanding at the fastest rate. In developing nations like India and China, the market for medical refrigerators is predicted to increase due to the rising demand for them. Government programs to collect more blood units are becoming more prevalent. For instance, the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and the National Blood Transfusion Council in India advocate for voluntary blood donation (NBTC). As more units of blood are collected, there will be greater demand for medical refrigerators. The market will expand as funding and investments for enhancing healthcare infrastructures and facilities rise.

One of the main factors propelling the expansion of the European medical and lab refrigerator market is technological advancements in medical-grade refrigerators. To ensure adequate blood and component storage, the Medical Device Directive of the European Commission has established specific guidelines and specifications for biomedical refrigerators. In Europe, the pharmaceutical sector is one of the high-tech ones. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) estimates that the European pharmaceutical industry produced drugs worth about US$ 282 billion in 2018. The same year, the industry spent US$ 40,000 million on research and development, demonstrating the extensive use of labs and medical refrigerators. The market for medical and lab refrigerators in Europe is expanding due to the increasing adoption of medical-grade refrigerators by pharmaceutical companies and research laboratories involved in the drug discovery process, as well as technological advancements in these refrigerators. In addition, it is anticipated that government funding for the creation of novel products will hasten market expansion in the years to come.

LAMEA holds the smallest share based on the region due to its weak healthcare sector. Over the years, with technological advancement, we can expect the region to improve slightly, coming up with a better market share. Country wise it is Brazil which is dominating in the region. 

Segmental Analysis

The medical refrigerators market is divided based on product type, end-user, and region for better understanding.

The market is divided into four categories based on product type: pharmacy refrigerators and freezers, ultra-low-temperature freezers, blood bank refrigerators, plasma freezers, and others.

Ultra-low-temperature Freezer

During the forecast period, the Ultra-Low-Temperature Freezers segment is anticipated to expand more quickly. For long-term storage, laboratories, universities, hospitals, and scientific research facilities use ultra-low-temperature freezers.

Based on end-user, the market is sub-segmented into Blood banks, Pharmaceutical companies, Medical laboratories, Hospitals, Pharmacies, Research institutes, Diagnostic centers, Others

Blood Bank

The blood bank segment is expected to record the highest growth during the forecast period in terms of value and volume. Every day, 1,214 road crashes occur in India. The high number of accidents and road crashes is one of the prime reasons behind the high demand for plasma, which is used in plasma fractionation procedures. This demand has, in turn, resulted in the growth of blood banks and plasma freezers. Also, the increasing prevalence of hematological diseases is another critical factor responsible for the hike in the sales of blood banks and plasma freezers.

Impact of covid-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has created havoc across the globe. The disruption in the supply chain has compelled the government to closely work with the veterinary vaccine manufacturers in order to maintain the supply chain. For instance, the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has taken several steps to mitigate the shortage of veterinary vaccines.

Recent Developments

• In September 2022, Helmer Scientific Increased GX Solutions Capacity and Added Pass-Thru Refrigerator.
• In November 2022, Voltas and Vestfrost Solutions signed a technology license agreement.
• In November 2022, With Denmark's Vestfrost Solutions, Voltas forays into bio-medical refrigeration and the cold chain.
• In October 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific Is Still Using a Proven Capital Allocation Strategy.
• In October 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific will acquire The Binding Site Group.
• In September 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific will purchase wind energy from Enel North America to meet half of its U.S. electricity needs.