Exploring the Boost to Medical Device Developments in China through Recent Conferences

China's medical device industry has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 10.54% over the past five years and has become the second largest market in the world.

Breakthrough Medical Devices

On 29 December 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission released a guidance encouraging the innovative development of high-end medical devices. 

Specifically, it includes: new gene, protein and cell diagnostic devices, new medical diagnostic devices and reagents, high-performance medical imaging devices, high-end radiotherapy devices, life support devices for acute and critical illnesses, AI-assisted medical devices, mobile and remote diagnostic devices, high-end rehabilitation aids, high-end implantable and interventional products, surgical robots, and other high-end surgical devices and consumables, biomedical materials, additive manufacturing technology development and application. Technology development and application.

Intelligent medical treatment, medical image auxiliary diagnostic system, medical robots and wearable devices are also included in the list.

According to the National Medical Products Administration’s website, as of 17 January 2024, the number of innovative medical devices approved in China has reached 251.

From 18 to 19 January, the 2024 National Medical Device Supervision and Administration Conference was held in Beijing. The meeting emphasized that China's medical device industry is currently in a critical period of rapid growth to high-quality development.

Close-knit County Medical Communities

The National Health Commission held its first press conference on 12 January 2024, making clear that by the end of 2025, more than 90% of counties and cities to basically build close-knit county medical communities; and by the end of 2027, the close-knit county medical communities will be able to basically achieve the goal of 100%.

"Close-knit county medical communities combine county medical institutions and township hospitals through the establishment of a certain management and operation mechanism." Said Fu Wei, director of the grassroots division of the National Health Commission.

It can be seen that if county hospitals would like to further enhance the diagnostic and treatment capacity, there will inevitably be a need to improve the testing program and the expansion of devices.

Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) devices, characterized by easy operation, compact size and rapid results, are poised to emerge in the market. Whether in the technical requirements of the operator, the sample size needs and the time to produce the results, POCT has a huge advantage to meet the lack of large-scale diagnostic devices in the medical institutions of the test demands.

The Statistical Bulletin for China’s Health Care Development in 2022 shows that at the end of 2022, the country had a total of 17,555 county hospitals, 34,000 township health centers, and 588,000 village health rooms nationwide. The bulletin further reveals that county hospitals conducted 1.35 billion consultations, while primary health care institutions managed health services for 1,270,833,000 elderly individuals aged 65 and over.

These figures underscores the expansive market awaiting POCT devices, positioning them as key players in the healthcare industry.