Foreign companies continue to increase the basic medical market

Under the background of the new healthcare reform, the grass-roots market has become the “emerging market” for multinational companies in China, and has actively penetrated into the low-end market through localized R&D and cooperation with local companies.

"Basic medical care is the most important aspect of China's medical system reform in recent years and is also the direction of Siemens medical development." On August 26th, Wu Wenhui, president of Siemens Medical Northeast Asia, was at Shanghai Siemens Medical Devices Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Siemens"). The X-ray product building ceremony was said.

Full localization

According to reports, in addition to the existing digital X-ray film system, digital gastrointestinal machine, mobile X-ray equipment production line, will continue to increase digital X-ray, breast and other X-ray products R & D, production lines to meet China The basic medical market's demand for innovative products, at the same time, will integrate China's innovation power into products and solutions to serve the global market.

Wu Wenhui said that Siemens Medical will provide more innovative and efficient medical imaging and in vitro diagnostic technology equipment and solutions for Chinese primary-level medical institutions, actively carry out training for professional and technical personnel in primary hospitals, and support the construction and development of basic medical care in China.

In fact, the X-ray Building is just the beginning of Siemens Medical's R&D and production for the grassroots market. According to Bernd Montag, CEO of the Medical Imaging and Therapeutics Group of Siemens Healthcare, after the completion of the X-ray building, Shanghai Siemens will expand ultrasound. Medical equipment research and development and production.

In recent years, Siemens Medical has designed, developed and produced a number of innovative products to benefit more people based on global R&D capabilities and the needs of basic medical institutions. In terms of training and education, the “Healthy China” project initiated by Siemens Healthcare last year is along the current year. On the Long March route, doctor training and county hospital dean forums will be held in 11 provinces to improve the diagnostic level of professionals in basic hospitals. Up to now, more than 770 physicians from nearly 350 county-level hospitals in 4 provinces and cities have participated in the training. In addition, Siemens Medical has donated medical equipment for a number of county-level hospitals in Shaanxi, Henan and Sichuan to conduct professional skills training for physicians.

Grass cake

In fact, at the same time Siemens Medical laid out China's grass-roots market, many foreign-funded medical device companies are in action - GE Healthcare launched the "Spring Breeze Initiative" for China's grass-roots market in 2011; Philips launched the "Dandelion Project" targeting the grass-roots market last year. The basic medical equipment that R&D and production in China was formally launched this year at the Suzhou Imaging Base; and Medtronic, through its mergers and acquisitions with local companies such as Xianjian and Comfort, took the primary market.

The grass-roots strategy of multinational companies may derive from new medical reforms that focus on basic medical institutions. "The key implementation plan for the reform of the medical and health system in the near future (2009-2011)" clearly stated that in 2011, the construction of the rural three-tiered health service network and the urban community health service organization would be completed, and on the basis of supporting construction in the previous two years, Support 300 county hospitals (including Chinese hospitals) so that at least one county-level hospital in each county can basically reach the second-level A level. As a result, the demand for upgrading medical device equipment in primary medical institutions has been boosted.

However, all along, China has a big gap between developed countries and developed countries in terms of medical devices, and most of the products have low added value. In the past, the domestic medical device market generally showed the pattern of foreign-funded enterprises occupying the high-end market of large-scale hospitals and the development of county-level hospitals by local enterprises. The sinking of foreign companies “groups” to the grass-roots market will undoubtedly break this pattern and bring the local medical device companies with them. To great pressure.

A pharmaceutical industry analyst said that if domestic companies do not have an advantage in terms of price, technology and services, it will be difficult to make a last-minute laugh at the county-level hospitals and other grass-roots markets. In this regard, Bernd Montag said: "The price is determined by the market, and the competitive price depends on the cost." Xia Fenghua, CEO and President of Shanghai Siemens Medical Devices Co., Ltd., told reporters: "Siemens has been through localization research and development in China. Locally-purchased components control costs, and develop more affordable products without sacrificing quality.”