Seizing Opportunities in the Wave of Domestic Innovation: Future Trends in China's Cardiovascular Medical Device Sector

The Heart: The Final Frontier in the History of Human Surgery. Since the first successful open-heart procedures, human civilization has continued to write one miracle after another. With a history spanning barely a century, cardiac surgery is now being propelled forward by a wave of technological innovation. How vast is the potential for future advancements in the cardiovascular field?

According to the Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China (2020), the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China continues to rise, with an estimated 330 million people currently affected. Moreover, CVD is the leading cause of death among non-communicable diseases worldwide. Cardiovascular chronic diseases are the most widespread conditions affecting population health, particularly among middle-aged and elderly individuals, and they impose a substantial economic burden on global healthcare systems.

Rising demand has kept the market热度 consistently high. According to data from VCBeat, global investment and financing in the cardiovascular consumables sector showed an upward trend from 2015 to 2021, with explosive growth occurring in 2020 when total financing surged by 237% year-over-year. In 2021, financing saw a modest increase, with 58 deals totaling $1.943 billion. This lucrative sector features overseas giants such as Medtronic, Abbott, and Edwards Lifesciences, while domestic innovative enterprises are continuously breaking through, striving to catch up with these industry leaders and fostering original R&D capabilities.

At present, China’s interventional techniques for congenital heart disease are relatively mature and safe, ranking among the world’s leaders in ventricular septal defect (VSD) occlusion. The volume of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures has reached the million mark and is expected to enter a period of plateaued growth. Meanwhile, although the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) sector started later, it has now accelerated onto a fast track, giving rise to a cohort of market leaders. The markets for mitral and tricuspid valve interventions are broad at their inception and may become the mainstream in the future. Supported by national policies promoting innovation-driven development, medical innovation has made significant progress. As a crucial component thereof, innovation in cardiovascular medical devices has entered a phase characterized by domestic substitution and indigenous innovation. Addressing critical technological bottlenecks is currently key to narrowing the gap between China and international frontiers in the cardiovascular field.

On June 17, 2022, the Cardiovascular Innovation Development Forum will be held online, featuring the premier release of VCBeat’s industry research report. Clinical experts and innovative enterprises will interpret future trends in the cardiovascular industry from multiple perspectives.

Forward-Looking Perspective: What Is the Future of Innovation in Clinical Surgical Procedures?

With the development of new surgical techniques and novel materials in cardiovascular surgery, an increasing number of patients are able to receive improved care with less invasive procedures, and more clinicians are becoming capable of delivering such treatments. The foundation of clinical innovation lies in identifying needs, practical observations, and bold creativity. This is a path built by teams, emphasizing interdisciplinary and professional collaboration. The integrated development of medicine and engineering represents the future trend of innovation in cardiovascular medical devices.

A Trillion-Yuan Blue Ocean: The Golden Age of the Heart Valve Market

Within the high-value cardiovascular consumables industry chain, the segment attracting the most attention is undoubtedly heart valves, encompassing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and interventional therapies for mitral and tricuspid valve diseases. The domestic TAVR sector exhibits strong certainty and rapid growth, poised for explosive expansion in the future. Meanwhile, with advantages in pricing and technological innovation, import substitution by Chinese-made products is imminent. The Transcatheter Mitral Valve (TMV) intervention sector is characterized by strong unmet clinical needs, vast market potential, and extremely high technical barriers, making it the most sought-after track in the cardiovascular consumables field. Over 20 domestic companies have entered the TMV space, rapidly advancing their pipelines to catch up. The tricuspid valve sector is still in its nascent stage, with domestic and international enterprises at comparable levels of capability. Combining clinical demands to achieve breakthroughs in R&D and innovation is one of the keys to seizing a competitive advantage in this emerging track.。

Domestic Substitution: Unstoppable Innovation Across All Sectors

Amid favorable policies such as price reductions for high-value medical consumables through centralized procurement, domestically produced medical devices are seizing a prime opportunity to accelerate import substitution. From the perspective of clinical diagnostic applications, the combination of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) and Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR) can provide a comprehensive functional assessment ranging from epicardial coronary arteries to intramyocardial microcirculation. This approach is poised to propel the precise diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease into a new era. Domestic FFR and IMR technologies are leading the way in precise coronary diagnosis, making precision interventional therapy for cardiovascular diseases the future trend.

In the field of interventional valve therapy, more than 10 companies in China have laid out their TAVR pipelines, propelling the market into a fast-growth phase. The TMV sector is equally hot, positioning the Chinese valve industry at a pivotal development stage and making it a prime track for domestic products to replace imports. In addition, the peripheral intervention market offers substantial growth potential. First, the peripheral sector started relatively late in China, with domestic enterprises still in their early stages. Second, foreign brands dominate the market, but their high unit prices limit access for some patients. Currently, a cohort of Chinese peripheral intervention companies is accelerating product launches to achieve import substitution.

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Cardiovascular Innovation Development Forum

Forum Time: Afternoon of June 17, 2022

Forum Organizers: VB100, VCBeat, Artery Orange, VCBeat Research Institute, Artery New Medicine

Section: Frontier Perspectives

● 14:00-14:20

Tao Liang | President, Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital

● 14:20-14:40

Qu Xinyu | Senior Researcher at VCBeat

Section:Technological Transformation, Innovative Pathways

● 14:40-15:00

China's Path of Innovation in Valve Interventional Therapy

Gao Dan | Vice President of Finance and Capital Markets, Peijia Medical

● 15:00-15:20

Chinese Wisdom Illuminates the Global Field of Structural Heart Disease

Lin Lin | CEO and Founder, Huihe Medical

● 15:20-15:40

Continuous Innovation: Building an International Brand for Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Implantable and Interventional Medical Devices with High-Quality Products

Gong Xiaoyan | Founder of InnoCare Medical

● 15:40-16:00

Coronary Macro-Diagnostics in Full Swing: How to Crack the Puzzle of Micro-Diagnostics?

Huo Yunlong | Founding Shareholder of Rainmed Medical; Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University