Overview and Development of Blood Glucose Monitoring Industry in China

According to data released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in the 10th edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, the number of adult diabetes patients worldwide reached 537 million in 2021, affecting about one-tenth of the adult population. Compared with 2019, the number of diabetes patients has increased by 74 million, with a growth rate of 16%, highlighting the alarming increase in the global prevalence of diabetes.

For many years, China has been the country with the largest number of diabetes patients in the world. In 2021, there were a total of 537 million adult diabetes patients worldwide, with 141 million adult diabetes patients in China. Based on this estimate, one in every four diabetes patients in the world is from China. From 2011 to 2021, the number of diabetes patients in China increased from 90 million to 141 million, with a growth rate of 56%. Among them, about 72.83 million patients have not yet been diagnosed, accounting for 51.7%, which is a significant gap compared to developed countries.

The penetration rate of blood glucose meters among diabetes patients in China is far lower than that in developed countries, and there is a huge market space for blood glucose meters. According to analysis data from Intelligence Research Group, in 2019, the penetration rate of blood glucose meters among diabetes patients in China was only around 25%, which is lower than the world average of 60%, and far below the 90% penetration rate in Europe and America. Moreover, compared with mature markets such as the United States and Europe, the frequency of blood glucose monitoring among Chinese diabetes patients is relatively low. On average, American patients test their blood sugar 400 times a year, while Chinese patients only test their blood sugar 120 times a year, and rural patients rarely or even never undergo blood glucose monitoring. In response to this, the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)" clearly proposes to increase the awareness rate of diabetes among Chinese adults from the low level of 43.3% in 2018 to over 50% and 60% in 2022 and 2030, respectively, as well as to continuously improve the treatment rate, control rate, and screening rate.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) regards blood glucose monitoring, drug treatment, dietary therapy, physical activity, and diabetes education as the "five pillars" of diabetes management. The "2021 Chinese Clinical Application Guidelines for Blood Glucose Monitoring" proposes five methods for blood glucose testing, among which capillary blood glucose testing is the most commonly used method and can be used for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) through a blood glucose meter. The guidelines suggest that all diabetes patients should conduct SMBG, and specific SMBG frequency and testing requirements are provided based on different types of diabetes patients and stages of treatment, in order to standardize the SMBG of diabetes patients and achieve more effective blood glucose management. Based on the testing frequency provided by the guidelines, it is estimated that diabetes patients should conduct 200-300 self-monitoring tests per year.

In the future, with the aging population, increasing number of diabetes patients, enhanced awareness of people's health management, and higher willingness and level of medical consumption among the public, the market scale of blood glucose monitoring in China will continue to rise, and the market scale of the blood glucose monitoring industry in China will gradually expand. According to the Forward Research Group, the market scale of home blood glucose meters in China is expected to maintain a compound average growth rate of more than 12% in the next five years, and the market scale is expected to exceed CNY 11 billion by 2027.