November 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:

Anne Meerboth-Maltz
Tel. (312)781-5185
Fax (312) 781-5188
email: ameerboth@mdna.com

Messe Düsseldorf North America
150 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 2920
Chicago, IL 60601

SUCCESSFUL MEDICA ANNIVERSARY

The 40th anniversary of MEDICA, International Trade Fair with Congress – World Forum for Medicine, was cause for celebration: almost 138,000 visitors (compared to 137,000 visitors in 2008) from over 100 countries and 4,324 exhibitors (2008: 4,279) from 60 nations took part and made the event a huge success. A total of 45% (2008: 42%) of the visitors were from outside of Germany with a particularly high number coming from the Asian growth markets and the Arab region. The world’s largest medical trade fair was recently held at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany and featured the complete range of new products, systems and services for in-patient and out-patient care.

“The short innovation cycle in this industry is a crucial success factor of the leading event for the sector - MEDICA. After all, the most exciting innovations are presented here year after year. The second economic stimulus package initiated by the Federal German Government with its investment support of around Euro 1.4 billion for German hospitals attracted a high number of decision-makers, also from domestic hospitals, to MEDICA after not having been here for several years,” commented Wilhelm Niedergöker, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf.

Of the exhibitors at MEDICA 2009, 71% came from nations other than Germany, including 353 companies from the U.S. As in the past, Messe Düsseldorf North America organized two successful U.S. Pavilions where 174 companies presented their latest technologies. Other leading foreign exhibitor countries included Italy, Great Britain, France and China.

Highlights at the MEDICA Congress were the international continuous medical education sessions which were held in English for the first time. Topics included oncology diagnostics and therapy, patient monitoring at ORs/ICUs and heart surgery procedures.

“Hospital Policy after the General Elections” was the theme of the 32nd German Hospital Conference. A total of 2,215 participants received information on the planned health policies of the various German political parties and their potential financial impact on hospitals.

COMPAMED 2009, International Trade Fair – High tech solutions for medical technology, was again held concurrently with MEDICA. Over 16,000 of the 138,000 visitors at MEDICA were interested in the exhibits showcased at COMPAMED by 518 companies from 35 nations: components and individual assembly, micro system technology, nanotechnology applications and solutions for custom manufacturing. COMPAMED also featured a U.S. Pavilion organized by Messe Düsseldorf North America with up-to-date products presented by seven U.S. exhibitors. The product marketplace “High-Tech for Medical Devices” managed by the Professional Association for Micro-Technology (IVAM) and the COMPAMED Forum complemented the exhibits.

The dates for the next MEDICA staging are November 17 - 20, 2010 (COMPAMED: November 17 - 19, 2010) in Düsseldorf, Germany. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA or COMPAMED 2010,, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago