The Chinese medical device industry has experienced tremendous growth

Tuesday 9 October 2012, Amsterdam

A new report predicts that the Chinese medical device market will be worth $45.0bn by 2022. The market generated sales of $13.4bn in 2011. Currently the US dominates the global medical device market, holding a 39.8% market share. However this market, in addition to the European and Japanese markets are well established, while countries in Far East Asia and Latin America are regarded as potential target regions for medical device manufactures, as they remain relatively underpenetrated. The medical device market in China is well structured, with more than 70.0% of all products falling into four primary categories – diagnostic imaging, consumables, orthopaedic and implantable devices, and dental. Currently the market is ranked the second largest in the Asia-Pacific region and fourth largest globally.

Hemant Mistry, healthcare industry analyst, says: “The Chinese medical device industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, as a result of sweeping healthcare reforms implemented by the government, which has involved providing universal healthcare access to all Chinese citizens and investing in the construction of many new healthcare facilities. The goal of this investment is to move away from an over reliance on large hospitals and towards smaller, more functional centres which will demand basic medical devices”.

A research also suggests that the Chinese medical device market will also benefit from increased awareness. The industry relies largely on imports and with China’s economy growing at an unprecedented rate in recent years (10% growth in GDP per annum), analyst predicts there will be increased demand for imported medical products and equipment. Moreover, there is substantial opportunity for foreign medical devices manufacturers to set up operations in China in order to take advantage of the increased government investment and vast patient pool. For instance, most recently the US-based company GE Healthcare announced the movement of the headquarters of their X-ray business to Beijing in order to exploit the growth of diagnostic imaging in China. This is one example of large multinational corporations increasingly establishing a local Chinese presence in order to take advantage of the country’s favourable business environment (reduced tariff rates on foreign medical products and services, which came into effect after China joined the World Trade Organisation).

This report predicts that patient demographics in China will also be a key factor that will drive the country’s medical device industry. Current estimates show that by the year 2050, a third of the China’s population will be aged 60 or above. This rise in the aging population has fuelled an increased incidence and prevalence in age-related diseases, such as cancer, neurological and cardiovascular disease. As the disease incidence in China continues to rise, this report anticipates that there will be strong demand from patients seeking advanced medical procedures and techniques that can provide safe and effective diagnoses or treatment, ultimately fuelling an increased use of medical devices.