China Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Report: Boston Scientific to open first China factory in Shanghai

According to reports, U.S.-based medtech company Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) + says it intends to open its first factory in China.

Reuters reported that Boston Scientific shared the news in a statement on its WeChat social media account. The report said the company shared its interest in expanding regional production in supply chains. Its factory will be in Lingang, a free trade zone in Shanghai, focusing on production for the China market. According to Reuters, the Shanghai government promotes this area as a “landing base” for developers of semiconductors, electric vehicles and pharmaceuticals.

Boston Scientific outlined China as a serious area of focus at its recent Investor Day event on Sept. 20. Chair and CEO Mike Mahoney describes the country as “one of the most attractive medtech markets.” The company sees “unmatched” growth, scale and a worthwhile innovation ecosystem within the country.

Jun…

How exposed are Medtronic, Intuitive and other Medtech Big 100 device makers to China?

China promises risk and upside for Medtronic, Intuitive and other major medical device manufacturers. [Photo via Adobe Stock]

As economic concerns shift from the U.S. to China, medical device manufacturers such as Medtronic and Intuitive are monitoring how procedure volumes and new policies affect their businesses.

In a new note, William Blair analyst Brandon Vazquez details the exposure of those companies and four more on Medical Design & Outsourcing‘s Medtech Big 100 ranking of the world’s largest device makers.

“The bottom line for our coverage universe is that exposure seems manageable with all companies at 10% or less of revenues/procedures coming from China, though we admit materially worsening macro conditions, if materialized, have the potential to move the needle on results — something we have already heard from some intra-quarter updates this month,” Vazquez wrote. Read more

How surgical robotics leader Intuitive is growing in China

Intuitive Surgical SVP and Asia-Pacific (APAC) GM Glenn Vavoso [Photo courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

China is the second-largest procedure market for Intuitive Surgical‘s da Vinci system and one of the fastest-growing markets for the surgical robotics developer.

But China’s been a tough country for medical device manufacturers due to the sales and supply chain challenges of COVID-19, the country’s volume-based procurement (VBP) policy, and home-grown competitors.

Glenn Vavoso, SVP and Asia-Pacific (APAC) GM at Intuitive Surgical — one of the world’s largest medical device companies – recently spoke with DeviceTalks Editorial Director Tom Salemi for the latest edition of Intuitive Talks.

DeviceTalks West: Intuitive President Dave Rosa will be a keynote speaker on Oct. 19

Here are just a few highlights from Vavoso on Intuitive’s experience and activities in Chin…

GE HealthCare is expanding its partnership with Sinopharm in China

GE HealthCare (Nasdaq:GEHC) is forming a long-term joint venture with Sinopharm as it seeks to make additional inroads in China’s medical device market.

Shanghai-based Sinopharm is one of the largest life science products companies in the world. Its pharmaceutical business alone — with roughly $60 billion in annual revenue — places it at No. 2 in our sister publication Drug Discovery & Development‘s Pharma 50 report of the world’s largest pharma companies. In addition to drug development, Sinopharm operates a substantial China-based logistics network for drugs and medical devices.

Meanwhile, GE HealthCare is No. 6 in Medical Design & Outsourcing’s Medtech Big 100 report of the largest medical device companies.

In an SEC filing from Feb. 24, GE HealthCare said it has an existing joint venture relationship with Sinopharm that it made through Hangwei, a medical equipment manufacturing company formed in 1991. The new long-term…

GE Healthcare says recovery in supply of contrast media is on the way

GE Healthcare says its contrast media products are used in more than 100 million procedures globally every year. [Image courtesy of GE Healthcare]

GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) announced today that it is on the way toward restabilizing its global supply of iodinated contrast media — a vital imaging agent.

The company said its Shanghai facility, previously closed amid COVID-19 restrictions in China, will be close to 100% production capacity by next week. Said GE: “We will continue to work with impacted customers to help them plan several weeks ahead as supply progressively recovers.”

According to a recent New York Times report, thousands of Americans have had to wait for exams because of the shortage. As related by NYT, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf described the situation as “just unbelievable” while testifying to a U.S. Senate committee. “Someone with a stroke or heart attack wouldn’t b…

GE Healthcare says recovery in supply of contrast media is on the way

GE Healthcare says its contrast media products are used in more than 100 million procedures globally every year. [Image courtesy of GE Healthcare]GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) announced today that it is on the way toward restabilizing its global supply of iodinated contrast media — a vital imaging agent.

The company said its Shanghai facility, previously closed amid COVID-19 restrictions in China, will be close to 100% production capacity by next week. Said GE: “We will continue to work with impacted customers to help them plan several weeks ahead as supply progressively recovers.”

According to a recent New York Times report, thousands of Americans have had to wait for exams because of the shortage. As related by NYT, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf described the situation as “just unbelievable” while testifying to a U.S. Senate committee. “Someone with a stroke or heart attack wouldn’t be able to get an angiogram.”

The closure of the Shangha…

Schott expands Chinese glass tubing plant

Schott’s pharmaceutical glass tubing site in Jinyun, China [Image courtesy of Schott]

Schott recently announced that it has completed the next expansion stage at its pharmaceutical glass tubing site in Jinyun, China.

The company completed construction at the site in just 15 months despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with production starting in November 2020. The plant is meant to create a solid production base for high-quality borosilicate glass tubing in the local Chinese market. The tubing is for pharma containers that store vaccines (e.g., against COVID-19) and other drugs.

“Right on schedule with our planning, we have doubled our melting capacity. It’s another big milestone for pharma tubing in China. The expanded infrastructure will enable a reliable local supply of glass tubing, which is needed urgently to serve the increased demand for pharmaceutical packaging,” Patrick Marksc…

China rebuffs WHO’s plan to continue investigating origins of COVID-19

The possibility that SARS-CoV-2 resulted from a laboratory accident has gained a degree of plausibility among several world leaders.

But China has rejected calls for further investigation into the matter, saying such allegations disregard “common sense,” as Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), said at a press briefing.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized China’s stance, adding in a press briefing that “their position is irresponsible and, frankly, dangerous.”

China has also entertained a theory that Fort Detrick, an Army base in Maryland, is the source of the pandemic.

While the Fort Detrick lab researches infectious viruses, there is no evidence it is the outbreak’s source.

After initially discounting the possibility of the lab-leak scenario, the WHO has recommended further studies in China. Recently, the organization sought to audit laboratories and markets in Wuhan.

The investigation into…

Report: China begins testing COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine

[Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash]

China has reportedly begun human testing for a COVID-19 vaccine which utilizes nasal spray instead of an injection.

A report in Bloomberg cites a registration in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry confirming that the nasal spray vaccine candidate developed by Xiamen University, Hong Kong University and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise is undergoing Phase I human testing.

Nasal spray vaccines have been developed for influenza and are often used for children and adults who seek alternatives to a needle injection and in this case would add another method for administering the much sought-after COVID-19 vaccine.

Bloomberg said the vaccine candidate is the 10th from China to reach the human testing phase. An NPR report also said some scientists have expressed hope that a vaccine sprayed in the nose would be better suited to stopping the sprea…

Hackers targeted pharma and other IP for Chinese government, indictment claims

A federal grand jury in Spokane, Wash. has indicted two Chinese nationals on charges that they hacked into pharma companies and hundreds of other businesses, governments and organizations — in some cases on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

The 11-count indictment, which the U.S. Department of Justice announced today, alleges that Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi for the past 10 years targeted companies in countries with high technology industries, including the United States. They stole terabytes of data.

“China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on-call’ to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party’s insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies’ hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,” Assistant Attorney General for National Securi…

Hackers targeted medtech and other IP for Chinese government, indictment claims

A federal grand jury in Spokane, Wash. has indicted two Chinese nationals on charges that they hacked into medtech companies and hundreds of other businesses, governments and organizations — in some cases on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

The 11-count indictment, which the U.S. Department of Justice announced today, alleges that Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi for the past 10 years targeted companies in countries with high technology industries, including the United States. They stole terabytes of data.

“China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on-call’ to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party’s insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies’ hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,” Assistant Attorney General for National Secur…

Edwards Lifesciences wins approval in China for Sapien 3

Edwards Lifesciences’ Sapien 3 Ultra TAVR [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) announced today that it received regulatory approval in China for its Sapien 3 transcatheter heart valve.

Sapien 3 TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) is used in the treatment of patients suffering from severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) who are at high risk for or unable to undergo open-heart surgery.

According to a news release, the Sapien 3 TAVR valves are the most widely studied transcatheter valves, treating more than 30,000 patients in clinical trials across 65 different countries. The China Sapien 3 study supported the regulatory approval, having provided positive real-world results alongside three randomized controlled “Partner” studies.

Edwards offers the valve in 20mm, 23mm, 26mm and 29mm sizes for high-risk patients in China. The Irvine, Calif.-bas…