Photo/Shetuwang

Apr. 27 (NBD) -- China's listed medical apparatus companies have a wide gap with foreign counterparts in terms of R&D, innovation, product quality, and business scale, and there is plenty of room for them to grow, Liu Wenjing, Chairman of Bluesail Medical Co., Ltd., told NBD at a recent summit forum on medical protection and healthcare in Shanghai. 

According to a report on the development of the industry, China's medical apparatus market reached 445 billion yuan (70.2 billion U.S. dollars) last year, a rise of 20.27 percent from 370 billion yuan (58.4 billion U.S. dollars) a year ago.

To date, China has registered around 16,000 medical apparatus manufacturers, with 45 being listed. By revenue, only Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd., which is planning to issue an initial public offering, has reached the 10 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) milestone. Other companies have a long way to go to cross the mark. 

Industry insiders told NBD that Chinese medical equipment companies have made remarkable achievements in the segment of low- and medium-end consumables such as medical gloves, but in the high-end sector, they can't stand a chance of competing with their foreign peers in the short run. 

Made-in-China medium/low-end medical devices are welcomed in international markets, Chen Hongyan, deputy secretary-general of the China Medical Pharmaceutical Material Association, said to NBD. China's total exports of medical apparatus, mostly massage apparatus, disposables and dressings, grew by 6.84 percent year over year to around 21.7 billion U.S. dollars last year. Among the top 10 export destinations, there are many European and American countries. 

It is believed that the medical apparatus market will experience further growth with the implementation of the hierarchical medical system and opening of the medical sector to the social capital. In particular, the medium/low-end equipment will see a surge in demand. 

Chen Hongyan, however, noted that the market is seriously homogenous at present, and medical equipment makers are in dire need of technical innovation, but this requires huge investment and a solid talent pool.

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn