Demographics seen boosting medical device sector

Facing a vast population base, extended life expectancy and people's rising living standards, China's medical device sector is embracing a promising future, industry experts said.

Wang Binbin, director and general manager of the Beijing Medical Robotics Industry Innovation Center, said: "China is the world's second-largest medical device market, and the growth of the market exceeds the average growth rate of developed countries. There are 1.4 billion people in China, and the increase in life expectancy per capita and people's pursuit of a better life raise the demand for innovative medical devices, promoting the development of the industry."

"The next five years will witness artificial intelligence and robotics empowering the medical device sector. There will be numerous integral solutions coming out. New industrial clusters will emerge," she said.

Speaking of Chinese medical device companies, she said that with 10 years of development, many of them moved into the top 100 medical device companies in the world, and their rankings were moving forward every year, demonstrating great improvement potential.

Data from the Medical Device Supply Chain Association of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed that in 2025, China's medical device market was estimated to total 1.22 trillion yuan ($172.9 billion). By the end of 2024, there were over 33,000 medical device manufacturing enterprises, 27.8 percent more than in 2020.

The Beijing Medical Robotics Industry Innovation Center, as a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization platform for high-end medical equipment and a public service platform for medical robots, has provided nearly 500 CDMO services to clients and has cultivated over 50 projects from abroad.

In eight years, it has incubated and cultivated one unicorn, four quasi unicorns, 19 national high-tech enterprises, enabling 11 products to enter the innovation channel, 11 products to obtain National Medical Products Administration's Class III registration certificate, and 12 products to obtain NMPA's Class II registration certificate, forming an industrial innovation cluster.

On Dec 9, a non-invasive neuromodulation smart patch developed by Beijing InnoStim Technology Co Ltd obtained the NMPA's Class II registration certificate. The compact smart patch is applied to the patient's ankle and helps relieve overactive bladder — a disease that affects nearly 100 million patients in China.

Kong Lingjie, founder and CEO of Beijing InnoStim Technology Co Ltd, said: "Under the context of the silver economy, there are a lot of unmet needs. More than 80 percent of those aged over 70 suffer from frequent urination, urgency and waking up at night. In late 2024 we founded the company. With the help of the Beijing Medical Robotics Industry Innovation Center, we turned a laboratory idea into a product in one year. The product is estimated to be launched to the market next year."

"Furthermore, we plan to go global, bringing the products to ASEAN member states, the United States, Japan and Australia," he added.

Other medical devices cultivated by the center have also been welcomed by the market, including a pelvic restoration robot that uses a minimally invasive method to restore pelvic health, filling the gap in the global market, and an automated dental pulp treatment robot that cuts the treatment frequency from four per tooth to one per tooth, greatly enhancing the patient treatment experience.

Ma Zengrong, deputy chairman and secretary-general of the CFLP, said: "During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China's medical device industry has been accelerating from 'following' to 'running parallel and leading', providing solid support for the Healthy China 2030 strategy."

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn