MEDICA · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated October 2026

Key takeaways

• MEDICA is the world's leading trade fair for medical technology and healthcare, held every year in Düsseldorf by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. Its official title: International Trade Fair for Medical Technology and Healthcare.
• Next edition: 16 to 19 November 2026 (Monday to Thursday) at the Messe Düsseldorf. Hall 9 is undergoing a complete refurbishment in 2026-2027 and will not be available as exhibition space for this edition.
• Latest fully reported edition (2024, post-show figures published by Messe Düsseldorf): around 80,000 professional visitors from 165 countries and 5,800 exhibiting companies from 72 nations, MEDICA and COMPAMED combined, of whom more than 90% were decision-makers.
• MEDICA runs alongside COMPAMED, the trade show dedicated to the supplier industry of medical technology (subcontracting, components), on the same dates and at the same venue.
• For 2026, the trade fair adopts a new thematic structure across five areas: Clinical Diagnostics & Therapeutic Technologies, Digital Medicine, Data & Artificial Intelligence, Integrated Care, Rehabilitation & Homecare, Healthcare Infrastructure, Manufacturing & Quality, and Healthcare Systems, Education & Global Health.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

Manufacturers of medical and imaging devices, developers of digital health solutions, laboratory and diagnostics, electromedical and physiotherapy equipment, consumables and single-use devices, medtech start-ups, distributors and prescribers. The visitor base is strictly professional and strongly international: the share of visitors travelling from abroad traditionally exceeds two thirds, with a marked presence from Asia (China, South Korea, India, Japan, Taiwan), Europe and the United States.

Notable exhibitors

Exhibitor listing on the official website: MEDICA exhibitor directory. The 2025 edition brought together 5,300 exhibiting companies from 70 nations. The companies present cover the entire medical technology value chain, from major international equipment makers to the component suppliers found on the COMPAMED side.

Quality of the visitor base

• Strictly professional visitor base, with more than 90% decision-makers at the 2024 edition and a satisfaction rate above 90%
• Strong internationalisation: 165 countries represented in 2024, 160 countries in 2025, with 75% international visitors in 2025
• Presence of buyers, technical management, clinicians and distributors coming to source medtech innovation on a global scale

Events & community

Conference programme

MEDICA rolls out a programme of forums and thematic conferences covering artificial intelligence, robotics, digitalisation and connected care, issues placed at the heart of the sector's transformation. The programme is built around recurring platforms (forums dedicated to digital health, the laboratory, physiotherapy and start-ups). The detailed programme and the campaign theme are published as each edition approaches on medica-tradefair.com.

Community and networks

The event brings together the global medical technology ecosystem: manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, clinicians and start-ups.

The 2025 edition's campaign was carried by the strapline "Meet Health. Future. People." Messe Düsseldorf also runs an international network of offices and national pavilions that structure the participation of foreign delegations.

On site: what you need to know

Access, parking and accommodation: see the Messe Düsseldorf listing.

Specific to the trade fair:

• Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday from 10am to 6pm, Thursday from 10am to 4pm.
• Accommodation: a dedicated hotel booking platform set up by Messe Düsseldorf with Kuoni Tumlare Congress, offering room allocations close to the exhibition grounds.
• Co-location: the ticket and logistics cover joint access to COMPAMED, held at the same venue on the same dates.

Preparing your visit

For the exhibitor

• T-12 months: make contact with Messe Düsseldorf and choose your positioning among the five 2026 thematic areas, or on the COMPAMED side for suppliers.
• T-9 months: book your stand and register for the forums and special programmes.
• T-6 months: prepare product demonstrations and brief your sales teams on the international delegations expected.
• T-3 months: activate your communications via the online exhibitor directory and the national pavilions.
• T-6 weeks: confirm buyer meetings and prepare logistics (transport, set-up).

For the decision-making visitor

• Register online at medica-tradefair.com with proof of professional activity.
• Allow at least one to two days given the scale of the trade fair (several halls, Hall 9 unavailable in 2026).
• Target the five thematic areas and the relevant forums in advance: the programme is published several weeks before the show.
• Arrange accommodation early via the official platform, as hotel demand in Düsseldorf is very high during the show week.

Policy & CSR initiatives

MEDICA's CSR commitments are part of the sustainability strategy of its organiser Messe Düsseldorf. The operator has reduced its event-specific electricity consumption by 52% (over the 2010-2019 period) and its heating requirements by 30% compared with 2000. Messe Düsseldorf states that it has avoided around 19,500 tonnes of CO2 compared with 2011 (Scope 1 and 2). The exhibition grounds are fitted with photovoltaic panels (550,000 kWh/year) and certified ISO 50001 for energy management.

Messe Düsseldorf is among the first signatories of the "Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge" and offers a support guide for exhibitors aimed at more sustainable participation.

How the trade fair has evolved

Trajectory analysis

MEDICA confirms edition after edition its status as the world's largest B2B medical trade fair, with a stable base of around 5,000 to 5,800 exhibitors and 78,000 to 80,000 professional visitors from more than 160 countries. The MEDICA and COMPAMED figures are often reported in aggregate by Messe Düsseldorf, which calls for caution when reading the totals: the 2024 total of 5,800 exhibitors includes around 750 suppliers on the COMPAMED side. The 2026 edition, from 16 to 19 November, adopts a new thematic structure across five areas and will be held without Hall 9 (undergoing a complete refurbishment). The target figures and the detailed 2026 programme will be published as the show approaches.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (medica-tradefair.com).