Medtronic Chengdu Medical Innovation Center Officially Opens to Accelerate Clinical Translation and Support Chengdu's Trillion-Yuan Medical Industry Cluster

Sichuan Online Reporter Xiao Yingpei

On June 2, the Medtronic Medical Innovation Center (Chengdu) officially opened and commenced operations at the Xinchuan Innovation and Technology Park in the Chengdu High-tech Zone. As Medtronic's seventh medical innovation center globally and its second in China, it will be integrated into Medtronic's global innovation network to promote the sharing of high-quality resources and accelerate the translation of cutting-edge medical technologies into clinical applications.

A relevant official from the Biological Industry Development Bureau of Chengdu High-tech Zone stated that, as the first Fortune Global 500 multinational pharmaceutical and medical device company to establish a production base in Sichuan, Medtronic has successively set up production bases for portable hemodialysis systems and next-generation sensor-augmented insulin pump systems in the zone. Among them, the portable hemodialysis system production project is Medtronic's first global innovative hemodialysis system development and manufacturing project. The project has already met the conditions for mass production and is expected to complete system design validation by the end of this year, aiming to finalize clinical trials and achieve market launch at the earliest opportunity. The next-generation sensor-augmented insulin pump system production project will implement technological upgrades to existing insulin pump products to manufacture a new generation of devices for the domestic market in China. These products are scheduled to officially commence production within this year.

Building on a solid foundation of cooperation with Chengdu and the successful advancement of industrialization projects, Medtronic has announced an additional investment of USD 26 million to independently establish a high-end medical innovation center within the Xinchuan Innovation Technology Park in the Chengdu High-tech Zone. Covering an area of 12.5 mu, the facility will primarily focus on the research and development of high-end innovative medical products and the training and education of physicians. It will feature specialized functional units, including a medical device R&D laboratory, an angiography hybrid operating room, and an ICU training suite. Once operational, the center is expected to train approximately 7,000 healthcare professionals annually. In the future, it will also integrate Medtronic’s global medical resources across Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey, and Brazil, thereby accelerating the translation of Chengdu’s cutting-edge medical technologies into clinical outcomes.

“High-performance medical devices are one of the five key focus areas in our '14th Five-Year Plan' for the pharmaceutical and health industry.” The aforementioned official stated that Chengdu High-tech Zone has currently cultivated a number of innovative biopharmaceutical enterprises. Among them, HitGen and Yuandong Bio have successfully listed on the STAR Market, while Olin Bio is scheduled to list on the STAR Market in early June. Beite Pharma has passed the ChiNext listing committee review, and Haisco Pharma’s application for a STAR Market listing has been formally accepted. Additionally, Clover Biopharmaceuticals and Keymed Biosciences have submitted their listing applications to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Looking ahead, the zone will continue to focus on building competitive advantages in specialized segments of high-performance medical devices, thereby supporting the development of Chengdu’s trillion-yuan medical and health industry cluster.