The MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM is one of the classics in the world-leading trade fair MEDICA’s programme. It started life under the label “MEDICA Informatica” at the beginning of the 90s, as a special show for software for doctors’ practices, and has now become an international meeting point for trendsetters that gives an overarching insight into the future of digitalised medicine. This year’s programme for the English-speaking forum proves this once more. When MEDICA 2021 is held in Düsseldorf (from 15 to 18 November), it will focus on topics such as “Virtual Care & Digital Therapeutics” or “Medical Artificial Intelligence & Robotics” and “Fields of Innovation", and even reaching as far as “Societal Aspects of Digitalized Healthcare”. New this year: In line with the hybrid event concept for MEDICA, the expert panels, tech talks and deep dive sessions can be followed either live on-site (at the forum stage in Hall 12) or live streamed via the industry portal, MEDICA.de, with the appropriate ticket. Anyone who comes to the trade fair in Düsseldorf will also find exhibits on projects from universities and research institutes oriented around the themes in the adjacent exhibition areas.

When the world's leading medical trade fair MEDICA and the international trade fair for suppliers to the medical technology industry, COMPAMED, return to the Düsseldorf exhibition halls from 15 to 18 November 2021 in a presence format, the events will once again reach the level of the years before the pandemic with their country diversity of exhibitor participation and thus underline their globally prominent positions. The approx. 2,500 exhibitors at MEDICA 2021 and more than 400 exhibitors at COMPAMED come from a total of 70 nations.

COMPAMED 2021, the international leading trade fair for the supplier market for medical manufacturing, will be held in parallel with the world’s leading medical trade fair MEDICA 2021 in Halls 13 and 14, and not Halls 8a and 8b as originally planned, at the Düsseldorf trade fair centre from 15 to 18 November. By moving the event to new halls, Messe Düsseldorf is meeting the wishes of the federal state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, namely to ensure that they can continue to use the north area of the trade fair centre for activities in conjunction with vaccine logistics and infrastructure for this federal state.

For the restart as an in-person event, participations reflect the optimism of the medical technology industry The exhibitor database, interactive hall plan and the ticket shop are already up and running The medical technology industry and its suppliers are looking forward to heading to the world’s leading industry platforms, MEDICA 2021 and COMPAMED 2021, with optimism. The booking figures for both events confirm this. Almost all of the halls (excepting halls 13 and 14) at the Düsseldorf Trade Fair Centre will be occupied from 15 to 18 November, when the trade fairs will be held on-site once more. “Despite the planning time frame for companies becoming far shorter due to the pandemic, a total of over 2,500 exhibitors from 68 nations was attained three months before the trade fair started. In particular, bookings from co-exhibitors on the big joint stands are still being snapped up like hotcakes”, reports Christian Grosser, the Director for Health & Medical Technology at Messe Düsseldorf. He believes that this is proof of MEDICA and COMPAMED’s internationally prestigious position, despite the tough conditions in which they are taking place.

The MEDICA start-up COMPETITION, the Healthcare Innovation World Cup, the MEDICA START-UP PARK and more than 100 start-ups with pitches in the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM show that the world’s leading medical trade fair MEDICA in Düsseldorf has also established itself as the international platform for start-ups. Currently, preparations for holding this year’s MEDICA as a hybrid event are in a crucial phase (the event will be held from 15 - 18 November 2021), and the in-person event at the Düsseldorf exhibition halls will be combined with many digital programme points that can be called up from anywhere via the MEDICA.de industry portal using a ticket at the same time. Due to the pandemic, a purely virtual MEDICA reached decision makers from 169 nations and from all sectors of the healthcare industry last year (a total of 45,000 unique users).

The plans for MEDICA 2021 in Düsseldorf, the world’s no. 1 medical trade fair, and COMPAMED 2021, the international main event for medical technology suppliers which is held in parallel, are being ramped up. Both events will take place at the exhibition halls of Messe Düsseldorf from 15 - 18 November. They are closely linked with comprehensive digital offers and services.

Medical technology providers and their suppliers show huge interest and want to fly their flag on-site Customised live platforms are interwoven with real-life and digital events The date (in mid November) for the globally leading live platforms for the medical technology industry remains a fixed feature in everybody’s calendar this year too. The plans for MEDICA 2021 in Düsseldorf, the world’s no. 1 medical trade fair, and COMPAMED 2021, the international main event for medical technology suppliers which is held in parallel, are progressing full steam ahead (the fairs will be held from 15 - 18 November).

Christian Grosser takes over project management for medical trade fairs at Messe Düsseldorf. Christian Grosser (41) is the new Project Director for Health & Medical Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf. He follows Horst Giesen, who retired at the end of 2020, and will manage the world’s largest medical trade fair, MEDICA, and the international leading industry supplier trade fair COMPAMED. At the same time, Christian Grosser will take responsibility for the strategic alignment of Messe Düsseldorf’s global medical trade fair activities which are brought together under the MEDICAlliance umbrella brand. Among these are the MEDICAL FAIR INDIA (Mumbai/New Delhi), the MEDICAL FAIR ASIA (Singapore), the MEDICAL FAIR THAILAND (Bangkok) and the MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL (Sao Paulo).

They provided important stimuli for the healthcare economy and there is keen anticipation for the reunion in Düsseldorf in 2021 For the first time in the history of MEDICA, the world-leading medical trade fair, and the industry’s number one platform for the suppliers of the medical technology industry, COMPAMED, held from 16 to 19 November 2020, took place entirely online due to the pandemic - but still won over their audiences due to their high degree of international resonance in this format too, as virtual.MEDICA and virtual.COMPAMED.