The Class I recall of Smiths Medical’s transport ventilators comes after 177 reports of device issues and eight injuries related to the product. Smiths’ Pneupac Parapac Plus ventilator kits have been reported as intermittently providing continuous positive gas flow rather than cycling through a human breath pattern, which can cause serious injury or death.

The recall involves more than 2,900 emergency ventilators and may negatively impact Smiths’ standing in the transport ventilator market. This market had sales of $326.3 million in 2023 and is expected to reach sales of $455.4 million by 2033 at a compound annual growth rate of 3.4%, according to leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

Due to the critical conditions in which this type of kind of device is used, this setback could have a significant effect on Smiths’ sales in the market. Healthcare providers will be wary of using potentially faulty ventilators and look elsewhere for more reliable products. The overall ventilator market is mainly driven by the growing ageing population leading to an increased prevalence of respiratory diseases. While transport ventilators are a much smaller part of the overall ventilator market, they are being increasingly accepted due to lower prices and advancements in their technical capabilities. Continuous growth and an increase in demand are to be expected in this market.

Smiths is currently the largest player in the transport ventilator market, making up approximately 43.1%. However, this incident could provide an opportunity for its competitors — such as Philips and GE Healthcare, which make up 7.7% and 8.2 of the market respectively — to expand their influence. Since Smiths Medical still controls the transport ventilator market by a clear margin, GlobalData does not expect its overall market position to change. However, an increase in the market shares of its smaller competitors is a feasible outcome.