“With numerous programmatic changes and the new guiding principle ‘Meet Health. Future. People.’, we made this year’s MEDICA the starting point of a change process that addresses the transformation of the international healthcare industry and underscores our commitment to actively shaping this change with forward-looking concepts. We will consistently continue down this path of change with further innovations in 2026,” summarizes Marius Berlemann, CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, regarding the events of MEDICA 2025 and the concurrent 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 – a globally unique event 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 thematic focus areas will be restructured to reflect current trends, based on numerous interviews conducted during the trade fair.
With regard to the trade fair visits and roundtable discussions of Federal Health Minister Nina Warken and EU Health Commissioner Oliver Váhelyi, Marius Berlemann emphasizes the events' appeal 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 from politics, healthcare, industry and science discuss opportunities and challenges. In Düsseldorf, the path is being paved for successful healthcare business."
Carmen Berger, the new head of MEDICA and COMPAMED at Messe Düsseldorf since October 1st, added: “The confidential roundtable meetings between Minister Nina Warken and leading industry representatives at the start of MEDICA, as well as those with EU Commissioner Oliver Váhelyi on the second day of the trade fair, made one thing clear: 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 power of the medical technology industry and research institutions. “The conditions on the supply side are excellent. The industry has enormous growth potential just waiting to be unleashed,” said Carmen Berger.
That MEDICA and COMPAMED are a guarantee for high-quality contacts is once again reflected in the figures: Three-quarters of the 78,000 trade visitors are members of the top management of their companies or organizations. 75 percent of the trade audience traveled from abroad, representing 160 nations. International delegations of prominent buyers, including representatives from the Gulf States, Africa, and the UK's National Health Service (NHS), further enhanced the global reach of the events.
MEDICA focuses on: Global business with growth prospects
Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota (and US Vice President candidate for 2024), took advantage of the presence of the high-ranking NHS delegation from Great Britain during his visit to MEDICA to meet with them. He then visited the large joint stand of North Rhine-Westphalia to learn about cutting-edge technology from the state and the application potential of medical technology in the state's high-performance healthcare facilities. This demonstrates that the two most important markets for medical technology – North America and Europe (with Germany at the forefront) – are best able to withstand a global climate of increasing trade restrictions through intensive dialogue and long-term partnerships.
Saudi Arabia is currently proving to be a particularly interesting target market, as evidenced by the visit of the Saudi Minister of Health, HRH Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel , to the trade fair. Topics of his tour of MEDICA included new products in the field of wearables and innovations for digital hospital infrastructures at the special exhibition "Hospital of the Future." With its "Vision 2030," the Kingdom is pursuing ambitious goals for modernizing its healthcare system – including investments in networked care systems, telemedicine, and clinical centers of excellence.
In this regard, increased demand is expected for robotics applications, such as those 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 prepared in cooperation with the industry association SPECTARIS and presented during the trade fair.
Crowd magnet: New hotspot for future health tech
At MEDICA 2025, groundbreaking innovations at the interface of practical application were showcased, 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, this new MEDICA concept created a central hotspot for future health tech, which proved to be a true crowd-puller throughout the trade fair. Top speakers such as digital health pioneer Daniel Kraft , AI specialist Prof. Paul Lukowicz , and Spiegel bestseller author Thomas Schulz , as well as start-up competitions like the 14th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION and the 17th HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP, captivated the professional audience and provided impetus across the entire spectrum of digital innovations. The special networking format “Women Leaders in Healthcare” underlined the degree of diversity that is indispensable for the innovative strength of the international healthcare business.
Dynamic entrepreneurial spirit at record levels
Svan Technologies from Austria emerged victorious from the 14th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION, presenting a special injection device that can save lives. Within just 90 seconds, it provides medical personnel with access to bone marrow, for example, from newborns. This year's HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP was won by the team from Nanose Medical in Israel with their compact device for the real-time digital analysis of breath samples for the diagnosis of lung cancer or advanced liver diseases.
The record participation of over 80 startups in the MEDICA START-UP PARK also demonstrated the dynamism of the startup scene. HeartHero (USA) presented a portable, user-friendly AED that automatically defibrillates only when needed. Healex (Germany) introduced a digital platform that automates the management and billing of clinical trials, thus significantly simplifying the process (and saving resources). The new product "Miamind" from Bottneuro (Switzerland) also garnered considerable attention. This custom-made 3D-printed helmet enables precise transcranial brain stimulation for symptom relief in Alzheimer's disease and depression. "As a startup with an innovative product, our presence in the MEDICA Startup Park provided us with a platform to establish contacts with various partners for distribution and manufacturing," said Thomas Hefti, CEO of Bottneuro, highlighting the networking benefits of participating in MEDICA.
COMPAMED: High-tech supply solutions at the heart of it all
In keeping with its new motto, "Meet Health. Technology. Innovators.", COMPAMED offered a full program in Halls 8a and 8b. 750 exhibitors, complemented by stage programs and networking opportunities, presented their latest high-tech solutions and innovations that are significantly shaping medical progress: from microtechnology, sensors, and electronics – such as those required in the increasingly smart end products presented at MEDICA – to new materials, packaging solutions, and complete contract manufacturing.
“COMPAMED presented itself in a very strong light. The diversity of the innovations on display is impressive and underscores the high level of development in the high-tech industry. The international nature of the trade audience is once again particularly noteworthy. Exhibitors reported many constructive and high-quality discussions that significantly enriched the professional exchange,” concluded Tim Merforth, Managing Director of the IVAM Microtechnology Division, with a decidedly positive summary.
Setting the course for the future of MEDICA and COMPAMED
As this year's event season draws to a close, Carmen Berger, responsible for MEDICA and COMPAMED, looks ambitiously ahead: "From 2026 onwards, 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 strategically develop the forums and exchange platforms towards an even more intensive interdisciplinary dialogue between industry, science, politics, and practice. We want MEDICA and COMPAMED 2026 to feel like modern medicine should: networked, intuitive, and to the point."
The dates for the next MEDICA and COMPAMED as well as the international medical trade fairs of Messe Düsseldorf under the umbrella of MEDICARE ASIA in 2026 are:
MEDICA in Düsseldorf: November 16th - 19th, 2026
COMPAMED in Düsseldorf: November 16th - 19th, 2026
MEDICAL FAIR INDIA in New Delhi: January 29th - 31st, 2026
MEDICAL FAIR CHINA in Suzhou: August 20th - 22nd, 2026
MEDICAL FAIR ASIA in Singapore: January 9th - 2026 09/11/2026
MEDICAL MANUFACTURING ASIA in Singapore: 09. - 11.09.2026
MEDICAL FAIR INDIA in Mumbai: 09.17. – September 19, 2026
All information about the trade fair can be found online at: https://www.medica.de and https://www.compamed.de .
Source & Image Credit: Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
