Trendsetting change with consistent further development in 2026

Three quarters of the trade visitors at MEDICA 2025 and COMPAMED 2025 belong to top management (© Constanze Tillmann/ Messe Düsseldorf).

Before a roundtable discussion with high-ranking industry representatives, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken took a tour of MEDICA to see the latest robotics applications, among other things (© Messe Düsseldorf).

All eyes on Carmen Berger – as the new head of MEDICA, she announced the winning teams of this year's Start-up Competition (© Constanze Tillmann/ Messe Düsseldorf).

"With numerous programmatic changes and the new theme ‘Meet Health. Future. People.’, we have made this year's MEDICA the starting point for a process of change that addresses the transformation of the international healthcare industry and underlines our commitment to actively shaping this change with forward-looking concepts. We will continue to pursue this path of change consistently with innovations in 2026 as well," says Marius Berlemann, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, summarizing the events at MEDICA 2025 and the parallel COMPAMED 2025. A total of more than 5,300 exhibitors from 70 nations presented their complete portfolio for modern outpatient and inpatient care in the Düsseldorf exhibition halls from November 17 to 20 – unique worldwide, including an impressive variety of high-tech supplier solutions. By the time exhibitor registration for MEDICA 2026 and COMPAMED 2026 opens on January 20, the main topics will be restructured in line with current trends based on numerous interviews conducted during the trade fair.

With regard to the trade fair visits and roundtable discussions by Federal Health Minister Nina Warken and EU Health Commissioner Oliver Váhelyi, Marius Berlemann emphasizes the appeal of the events as the “place to be” for the industry's decision-making elite: “MEDICA and COMPAMED are developing into community platforms where the highest national and international levels of politics, healthcare, industry, and science discuss opportunities and challenges. In Düsseldorf, the way is being paved for successful healthcare business.”

Carmen Berger, who took over as the new head of MEDICA and COMPAMED at Messe Düsseldorf on 1 October, adds: ‘The confidential roundtable meetings held by Minister Nina Warken with leading industry representatives at the start of MEDICA and by EU Commissioner Oliver Váhelyi on the second day of the fair made it clear that regulatory processes must finally be accelerated so that effective procedures and technologies can be implemented more quickly in everyday healthcare.’ A tour of the exhibition halls impressively demonstrated the enormous innovative strength of the medical technology industry and research institutions. ‘On the supply side, the conditions are excellent. The industry has enormous growth potential that is just waiting to be unleashed,’ said Carmen Berger.

The fact that MEDICA and COMPAMED are a guarantee for high-quality contacts is once again reflected in the figures: three-quarters of the total of 78,000 trade visitors belong to the top management of their companies or organizations. Seventy-five percent of the trade visitors traveled from 160 countries. International, renowned buyer delegations, including from the Gulf States, Africa, and the UK's National Health Service (NHS), reinforced the global reach of the events.

The focus of MEDICA: Global business with growth prospects

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota (and US vice-presidential candidate for 2024), took advantage of the presence of the high-profile NHS delegation from the UK to hold a meeting during his visit to MEDICA. He then visited the large joint stand of North Rhine-Westphalia to find out about cutting-edge technology from NRW on the one hand and the potential applications of medical technology in the state's high-performance care facilities on the other. This demonstrates that the two most important markets for medical technology – North America and Europe (with Germany at the forefront) – are best able to defy a global climate of increasing trade restrictions through intensive dialogue and long-term partnerships.

Saudi Arabia is also proving to be a particularly interesting target market at present, as demonstrated by the visit to the trade fair by the Saudi Minister of Health, H.E. Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel. Topics covered during his tour of MEDICA included new developments in the field of wearables and innovations for digital hospital infrastructures at the special show ‘Hospital of the Future’. With its “Vision 2030,” the kingdom is pursuing ambitious goals to modernize its healthcare system, including investments in networked care systems, telemedicine, and centers of clinical excellence.

In this regard, there is likely to be increased demand for robotics applications, as presented by MEDICA exhibitors and discussed in the stage program. Medical robotics is currently experiencing strong growth rates – up to 16 percent annually over the next five years. This is according to the study “Robotics in Healthcare,” which Messe Düsseldorf developed in cooperation with the industry association SPECTARIS and presented during the trade fair.

Crowd pleaser: New hotspot for future health tech

At MEDICA 2025, pioneering innovations at the interface with practical application were on display, particularly in the newly launched MEDICA INNOVATION FORUM (in Hall 12). Closely linked to the neighboring MEDICA START-UP PARK and the Wearables Technologies Show, the new MEDICA concept created a central hotspot for future health tech, which proved to be a real crowd pleaser on all days of the trade fair. Top speakers such as digital health pioneer Daniel Kraft, AI specialist Prof. Paul Lukowicz, Spiegel bestselling author Thomas Schulz, and start-up competitions such as the 14th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION and the 17th HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP captivated the trade audience and provided impetus for the entire spectrum of healthcare innovation. The MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION and the 17th HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP captivated the professional audience and provided impetus for the entire spectrum of digital innovations. The special networking format “Women Leaders in Healthcare” underscored the level of diversity that is essential for the innovative strength of the international healthcare business.

Dynamic entrepreneurial spirit at record levels

The winning team in the 14th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION was Svan Technologies from Austria with a special injection device that can save lives. Within just 90 seconds, it gives medical staff access to bone marrow, e.g. from newborns. This year's ‘HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP’ was won by the team from Nanose Medical from Israel with their compact device for real-time digital analysis of breath samples for the diagnosis of lung cancer or advanced liver disease.

The record participation of over 80 start-ups in the MEDICA START-UP PARK also demonstrated the dynamism of the start-up scene. HeartHero (USA) presented a portable, user-friendly AED that only defibrillates automatically when needed. Healex (Germany) introduced a digital platform that automates the management and billing of clinical trials, thereby significantly simplifying the process (and conserving resources). The new product “Miamind” from Bottneuro (Switzerland) also attracted a great deal of attention. The custom-made 3D helmet enables precise transcranial brain stimulation to alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer's and depression. “As a start-up with an innovative product, exhibiting at MEDICA's Start-up Park gave us a platform to establish contacts with various partners for sales and manufacturing,” says Thomas Hefti, CEO of Bottneuro, highlighting the networking effect of participating in MEDICA.

COMPAMED: Focus on high-tech supply solutions

In keeping with its new motto, “Meet Health. Technology. Innovators.”, COMPAMED offered a full program in Halls 8a and 8b. Complemented by a stage program and networking formats, 750 exhibitors presented their latest high-tech solutions and innovations that are playing a decisive role in shaping medical progress: from microtechnology, sensor technology, and electronics—as required, for example, in the increasingly smart end products presented at MEDICA—to new materials, packaging solutions, and complete contract manufacturing.

"COMPAMED showed itself from a very strong side. The diversity of the innovations presented is impressive and underlines the high development dynamics in the high-tech industry. The internationality of the trade audience is once again particularly noteworthy. Exhibitors report many constructive and high-quality discussions that have significantly enriched the professional exchange," says Tim Merforth, Managing Director of the IVAM Microtechnology Professional Association, drawing a very positive conclusion.

Setting the course for the future of MEDICA and COMPAMED

At the end of this year's event, Carmen Berger, responsible for MEDICA and COMPAMED, looks ahead with ambition: "Starting in 2026, we want to break new ground together with our partners. Our goal is to integrate the two formats MEDICA and COMPAMED even more closely in the future, leverage synergies, and further expand their international relevance. In addition, we will continue to develop the forums and exchange platforms in a targeted manner – toward an even more intensive interdisciplinary dialogue between industry, science, politics, and practice. We want MEDICA and COMPAMED 2026 to feel like modern medicine is meant to be: connected, intuitive, and to the point."