Domestic medical device industry will enter the peak of mergers and reorganizations

Our reporter Liu Huiling

The epidemic situation of new crown pneumonia continues, and the demand for epidemic-related products such as masks, disinfectants, and protective clothing has expanded dramatically. The development prospects of the domestic medical device industry have also become a topic of market concern.

A few days ago, a reporter from "Securities Daily" interviewed experts from the Southern Institute of Pharmaceutical Economics (hereinafter referred to as the "Southern Institute") of the State Administration of Drug Administration on the current status, development prospects, and challenges facing the domestic medical device industry of the medical device industry.

From a global perspective, according to data from Evaluate (EvaluateMedTech), a global well-known medical market information data consulting company, the global medical device market sales were $ 405 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of about 5%, and the industry's concentration has further increased. Among them, IVD (in vitro diagnostics) is the largest segment of medical devices, and the neuro and cardiovascular fields will become the fastest growing segment of medical devices.

From a domestic perspective, the medical device industry is currently in a period of rapid development, with a compound growth rate of approximately 20% over the past decade. "Most of the domestic medical device companies are concentrated in East China, South China and North China, mainly in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities. These areas have more than 80% of the country's medical device enterprises above designated size, and their cluster development is obvious. For example, Shenzhen has become an important manufacturing and processing base for China's high-end medical device industry, and medical imaging, patient monitors and other products are developing strongly. "Said Zong Yungang, deputy director of the Southern Institute.

"From the perspective of future development trends, China's medical device industry will generally maintain a rapid growth momentum and its industrial innovation capability will be further strengthened." In this regard, Zong Yungang analyzed from six aspects.

First, compared with developed countries, China ’s per capita medical expenditure is still at a relatively low level, with great room for improvement in the future and huge market potential. Data show that China's consumption ratio of medicines and medical devices is 1: 0.33, which is far lower than the world average of 1: 0.7, and even lower than the level of 1: 1 in developed countries.

The second is the upgrading and transformation of domestic innovative medical devices, and their innovation capabilities have been continuously strengthened. In particular, 3D printing, AI technology, Internet +, 5G and other technology fusion will further break the product boundaries of traditional medical devices and provide broader technical applications for new medical devices.

Third, domestic mid- to high-end medical device products have gradually realized import substitution, and exports have grown year by year. Especially under the “Belt and Road” initiative, domestic medical devices are heading for the international market and continuously satisfying the needs of the international market.

Fourth, the industry concentration has continued to increase. As the state's supervision of the medical device industry continues to increase, medical device procurement policies continue to be standardized, and the industry's entry barriers have gradually increased. The number of new registered medical devices and the number of continually registered medical devices began to decrease year by year, and the industry entered an optimization phase. The medical device industry will enter a peak period of mergers and reorganizations.

Fifth, emerging business models such as Internet +, e-commerce, and micro-business continued to bring vitality to the development of the industry. The medical device e-commerce market will expand rapidly. The current business model of online medical device sales under the new crown pneumonia epidemic has played an important role.

Sixth, the development prospect of personal medical devices for families is worth looking forward to. Medical devices further replace medicines for the diagnosis, prevention, and adjuvant treatment of diseases.

Although the medical device market has a bright future, it also faces many challenges. Zong Yungang believes that there are currently three major shortcomings in China's medical device industry: first, the proportion of domestic high-end devices is low, such as high-end CT, nuclear magnetic resonance, and endoscopes; Enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises; third, product homogeneity is serious, and industrial integration is urgently needed.

"With the implementation and promotion of various national policies, China's medical device industry will continue to move towards technological innovation, compliance management, and healthy development. Some non-compliant business models and brutal growth in the industry will eventually be eliminated by the market. "Said Zong Yungang. (Securities Daily)