Editor's note: This list is based on the latest Brand Finance Healthcare 25 2020 report, a ranking of the world's top 25 most valuable healthcare brands. Brand Finance's list includes a broader category of healthcare companies (i.e. insurance providers like UnitedHealthcare, and healthcare services providers like Tenet Healthcare). The following slides spotlight the medtech companies MD+DI covers most closely, specifically those known for making medical devices, medical diagnostic instruments and digital health products.

Brand Finance said it assessed the impact of COVID-19 based on the effect of the outbreak on enterprise value, compared to what it was on Jan. 1, 2020. According to the report, the healthcare industry has been moderately impacted by the pandemic so far, and the firm expects healthcare brands to lose up to 10% of brand value (about $16 billion loss) cumalatively. But there is a fairly significant silver lining at play, especially for medtech.

"Although we are witnessing some short-term damage to the healthcare sector from COVID-19, this pandemic could actually act as a catalyst to reform the industry, which has, over many years, been taking steps towards becoming more virtually enabled and digitalized," said Alex Haigh, director, Brand Finance. "For example, we have witnessed the acceleration of telemedicine, remote monitoring and online trials. Without a doubt, COVID-19 has forced the sector to review its operations and capabilities to ensure that it is disaster proof in the future.”

Brand Finance defines brand value as the value of the trademark and associated marketing IP within the branded business. Brand strength, on the other hand, is defined as the efficacy of a brand's performance on ntangible measures, relative to its competitors. In order to determine the strength of a brand, Brand Finance looks at marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and the impact of those on business performance. The firm assigned each brand in its report a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating. Analysing the three brand strength measures helps inform managers of a brand’s potential for future success, the firm noted.

This year, the healthcare company that Brand Finance recognized as having the most brand strength just so happens to be a medtech company. Can you guess which company that is? Start the slideshow to find out if you guessed correctly.