Fito Medical's 18-Year Journey: From Technology Disseminator to Innovator, Building a Premium Domestic Orthopedic Brand

On September 14, 2021, the national centralized procurement of artificial joints was finalized, with Feidu Medical's knee and hip joint products both winning bids. Previously, Feidu Medical had also succeeded in the procurement of orthopedic trauma consumables across twelve provinces. For Yue Wei, the founder of Feidu Medical, this serves as a significant motivation to focus on building a high-quality Chinese orthopedic brand.

Since its establishment in 2003,Feidu Medical's products cover four major fields: joints, spine, foot and ankle, and small bone trauma., all products have independent intellectual property rights. This company is the only orthopedic enterprise in China that simultaneously possesses the above four product lines, focusing on the research and development and technological innovation of mid-to-high-end products.

As of now, Feidu Medical's various product lines have entered nearly 30 of the top 100 hospitals in China, and its product sales network covers 15 countries in the Group of Twenty (G20).

From a distributor of orthopedic products to a manufacturing enterprise with independent research and development capabilities for orthopedic implants, Feidu Medical has spent many years deeply exploring the orthopedic implant market in China.

Clinical Background, Founder and Chairman of Feidu Medical Yue Wei once worked as an orthopedic surgeon at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, where he discovered that the best orthopedic products came from abroad. At that time, China’s orthopedic implant market had low penetration and was long monopolized by multinational giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Stryker, facing severe "bottleneck" challenges.

"To become the leader in China's orthopedic implant market," this is the original aspiration and ambition of Yue Wei when he founded Feidu Medical.In the early days of entrepreneurship, Feidu Medical was a product agent, mostly serving as the national general agent in China. It promoted innovative orthopedic products from abroad to multiple hospitals, including brands like Stryker, Abbott Spine, Lima Joint, and Wright Foot and Ankle, thereby opening up sales channels across multiple provinces and cities in China.

"Until now, many doctors in hospitals still acknowledge Feidu Medical's market insight and product promotion capabilities."

In 2013, the company launched its strategic transformation and began to independently develop orthopedic products. By 2015, Feidu Medical reached a turning point.Successful Acquisition of SAMO, a Globally Renowned Artificial Joint Manufacturer"At that time, Italy was experiencing a financial crisis, and Feidu Medical happened to be interested in acquiring overseas orthopedic innovation companies. Various factors contributed to this acquisition."

Seizing the opportunity is the key to entrepreneurship. Through this acquisition, Feidu Medical added more than ten artificial joint product lines, obtained multiple international-level patented technologies, and in the following years established international channels covering over 30 countries.

In 2017, Feidu Medical achieved a strategic cooperation with Medyssey, the largest spinal manufacturer in South Korea. A joint venture controlled by Feidu was established in China. The company introduced the Korean product line and production system, significantly improving the quality of spinal products and the level of production and manufacturing.

In 2019, Feidu Medical established the first automated high-end production base for artificial joint products in China, located in Chongqing. Adhering to the EU "Industry 4.0" automation standards, the company introduced advanced global technologies while adopting mature foreign manufacturing systems and implementing localized improvements. Since then, Feidu Medical has built a globally integrated quality control system, ensuring the supply of high-quality products through unified process technology and automated production line design.

At the same time, Feidu Medical has also entered into in-depth strategic cooperation with multiple manufacturers in South Korea, Switzerland, France and other countries to expand its business globally.

With the aggravation of China's aging population and the strengthening of personal health awareness, China's orthopedic medical device industry has developed rapidly.

Orthopedic implants are the most important category in orthopedic devices, mainly divided into trauma, joint, and spine types. The sales revenue of China's orthopedic implant medical device market increased from 16.4 billion yuan in 2015 to 30.8 billion yuan in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.03%, surpassing the overall growth rate of the global market. Currently, trauma-related implant devices have largely achieved domestic substitution, while the joint and spine markets are still dominated by imported products.

"Feidu Medical's mission is to prioritize the needs of patients and doctors, truly addressing patients' pain; and to maximally preserve and restore patients' ability to move."

The company adopts the approach of "technology introduction + upgraded R&D" and has launched several star products in the fields of artificial knee joints, artificial hip joints, non-fusion spinal technologies, and foot and ankle orthopedics.

Feidu Medical's Golden Knee System consists of three parts: the tibial plateau, tibial insert, and femoral condyle. It is mainly used for clinical treatment of knee joint diseases and features better wear resistance, anti-metal allergy, longer lifespan, and safer usage, characteristic of high-end products.

The surface of the Golden Knee System is coated with titanium niobium nitride (golden coating), which reduces the release of allergenic cobalt ions by more than 90% while keeping chromium ion content below detectable limits, thereby achieving an anti-allergic effect. Moreover, the Golden Knee System features a self-lubricating surface with excellent hydrophilicity.

While providing high-quality golden knees, Feidu Medical also offers an integrated knee solution ranging from unicompartmental replacement to revision. Doctors can choose different treatment methods based on the severity of the patient's condition. Such a full solution is available from only three companies worldwide.

Moreover, Feidu Medical's high-end acetabular Adaptive (large head system) for hip joints adopts the only "one cup, three liners; one liner, three cups" design currently available in the market, offering a greater range of joint motion. The X FIT bone-preserving stem features a unique X-shaped cross-section design, enhancing the product's stability. Previously, this product has been launched in Europe, with post-market clinical research led by world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Professor Francesco Falez, former president of SICOT and professor at the University of Rome.

In the "Top Ten Stubborn Diseases Worldwide" published by the World Health Organization, cervical spondylosis ranks second, only after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

"Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)" is a classic surgical procedure for cervical spondylosis, which can completely relieve the compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, restore intervertebral height, and stabilize the cervical spine at the same time. It is widely used in clinical practice. However, the scope of application for this type of surgery is relatively limited and is not suitable for patients with multi-segmental lesions such as developmental spinal stenosis.

Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement (CADR), as an important supplement to ACDF surgery, is an emerging non-fusion technology for the cervical spine. It achieves complete decompression of the diseased segment, reconstructs the cervical alignment, and preserves the biomechanical environment of the replaced segment.

Thus, Feidu Medical launched the artificial cervical disc,This product adopts a titanium alloy base material combined with a diamond-like coating design., with good biocompatibility, imaging compatibility, and wear resistance. Meanwhile, the product provides cushion pads and mobile pads, where the mobile pads offer a stable instantaneous center of rotation, and the cushion pads absorb shocks to protect the central nervous system.

Traditional interbody fusion devices have a fixed shape and limited intervertebral distraction effects. Feidu Medical introducesExpandable Interbody Fusion Cage, the front end of the product can be rotated and expanded,The height increases by 2mm after expansion., with advantages such as minimal trauma and less disruption to posterior stability.

Feidu Medical is committed to providing a full range of scoliosis correction system products and配套工具, offering comprehensive solutions for spinal surgeons performing scoliosis surgeries. The company's K2 system not only provides various standard screws but also offers 25D semi-active correction-specific screws. In addition to conventional tools, it provides the "Big Comb" spinal整体去旋转correction system, along with standard titanium alloy rods and cobalt-chromium-molybdenum rigid fixation rods.

In 2020, the implantation volume of Feidu Medical's spinal products exceeded ten thousand cases.

Adhering to the design concept of "one plate for one procedure," Feidu Medical offers a comprehensive portfolio of foot and ankle orthopedic products, providing precise orthopedic surgical solutions for foot and ankle surgeons.

VERO-F covers more than 90% of the mainstream surgical solutions for forefoot correction, VERO-H covers 100% of the surgical solutions for arch correction, and COMO covers 100% of the mainstream surgical solutions for ankle fusion.

Feidu Medical, adhering to the company's tradition, continues to expand in the field of new orthopedic technologies. While focusing on traditional orthopedic products, it also develops artificial intelligence and personalized 3D printing technologies. These include: preoperative planning software, 3D-printed personalized implant plates for foot and ankle orthopedics, 3D-printed braces for post-deformity correction, and wearable postoperative rehabilitation tracking devices.

After the announcement of the artificial joint centralized procurement results, Wego Orthopedics and Dabo Medical hit the daily limit up, while Aikang Medical and Chunli Medical rose over 10%. With two中标 knee and hip joint products, Feidu Medical has also planned its path forward following the procurement.

"Policies will drive a major reshuffle in the orthopedic consumables distribution sector. Only companies with outstanding comprehensive capabilities, a proactive embrace of innovation, and strong overseas export abilities will seize long-term development opportunities. Against the backdrop of centralized volume-based procurement of orthopedic products, Feidu Medical will fully leverage its advantages in R&D and production to enhance competitiveness in the self-procurement market, fill the gap in domestically produced orthopedic products, and simultaneously promote the growth of the company’s operating performance."

Wang Haining, founding partner of Longmen Capital, said: Feidu Medical was founded by a team of orthopedic doctors who have the deepest understanding of the clinical needs for orthopedic supplies. Under Mr. Yue's leadership, Feidu Medical has evolved from product agency to product layout, overseas acquisitions, and establishing manufacturing facilities in China, all centered around the fundamental goal of meeting clinical needs. Since I first encountered Feidu Medical, I have greatly admired the company’s forward-thinking understanding and strategic positioning within the industry.

With the centralized procurement of orthopedic consumables, the industry is undergoing rapid changes, also bringing opportunities for import substitution to domestic companies. Through overseas acquisitions, Feidu Medical has gained access to product and quality systems of international standards. At the same time, by localizing production and establishing manufacturing facilities in China, the company has reduced production costs, allowing for the potential to offer patients high-quality yet affordable products. Additionally, Feidu's extensive overseas network, cultivated over many years, represents a significant opportunity for the company’s future international expansion. We believe that as healthcare reforms deepen in China, Feidu Medical will have the opportunity to become one of the leading players in China’s orthopedic sector.