Second BRK Cup International Medical Device Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Officially Launched!
In the post-pandemic era, everyone’s life has undergone varying degrees of change. Young people have begun to engage in “revenge” saving, while the elderly have learned to meet their daily needs through internet platforms. Some of the logics that originally underpinned innovation in China’s medical device industry are also beingSilentlyDisruption.
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic served as a sudden, rigorous test of the healthcare supply side’s capacity to meet multi-tiered clinical demands. In the wake of shared experiences such as mask shortages and the export of nucleic acid testing kits, investors and entrepreneurs have come to recognize, through the lens of emerging global technological paradigms, the critical importance of market logic that addresses upgraded clinical needs for driving medical device innovation. Medical leadership entails not only pioneering pure scientific principles but also achieving verifiable superiority in clinical practice. Consequently, identifying commercially viable opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship by striking a balance between technology and market dynamics has become a new imperative for the medical device sector.
For a long time, China has been a major exporter of low- to mid-end medical devices globally, shipping large volumes of low-value consumables, while sales of large, mid- to high-end medical equipment were limited to sporadic individual transactions. With the accumulation of domestic experience in medical device development, optimization of manufacturing processes, and the large-scale export of domestically produced ventilators during the pandemic, the quality of Chinese-made mid- to high-end equipment has begun to gain global recognition. Under this new trend in product exports, how to efficiently integrate China’s high-quality innovative medical device production capacity into the global supply-and-demand relationship has become a new issue warranting consideration. Mr. Tang Haofu, Co-founder of Chongqing International Medical Innovation Center and Chairman of Shanghai Chuangrui Group, believes that the localization of high-end medical devices will be a trend in the development of the medical device industry, and the position of domestically produced medical devices in the export structure will be redefined.
Mr. Li Zhe, General Manager of Chongqing International Medical Innovation Center and Founder of Baichuanghui, has observed that under this innovation logic, a particular group of medical device entrepreneurs has been garnering increasing attention in recent years: clinicians. As tools for physicians, medical devices are closely tied to their operational habits, and improvement suggestions derived from doctors’ extensive practical experience have long been a vital source of innovation and iteration in the medical device sector. Such physician-driven innovation is inherently endowed with clinical application value.
However, physicians often lack commercial and operational considerations in their innovation and entrepreneurship practices. Only by leveraging third-party professional expertise can the closed loop of industry, academia, research, and healthcare be fully integrated. To help early-stage entrepreneurs across China in innovative medical devices, services, smart healthcare, and related fields better achieve the transition from technology to product, the inaugural “Direct to Cleveland” International Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, sponsored by Berry Global Health, was successfully held from July to September 2019.
Mr. Li Zhe stated that the inaugural competition received over one hundred project registrations from across China. Among the ten final award-winning projects, several have already secured new rounds of financing or achieved further product development. Mr. Tang Haofu pointed out that many participating projects gained a clearer understanding of their respective strengths and weaknesses through engagement with domestic and international industrial resources, thereby significantly advancing their subsequent technology development and fundraising plans.
In May 2020, the 2nd Bairuike Cup “Direct to Cleveland” International Medical Device Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was officially launched, with project submissions now being actively solicited. The event is guided by the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the People’s Government of Yuzhong District, Chongqing, and Chongqing Medical University; hosted by the Chongqing Yuzhong District State-owned Assets Operation and Management Co., Ltd., the Chongqing Yuzhong District Science and Technology Bureau, and the Administrative Committee for the Construction of the Dashihua New Area in Yuzhong District, Chongqing; organized by the Chongqing International Medical Innovation Center, VCBeat, and Huoshi Chuangzao; and co-organized by Chongqing Science and Technology Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Baichuanghui International Biotechnology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Chuangrui Investment Management Co., Ltd., and Chongqing Headquarters City.
The second edition of the competition aims to bring together the most innovative companies in the medical device sector across China, leveraging first-mover advantages and focusing on industrial clusters to attract the country’s top innovators in the health and medical industry, thereby accelerating the comprehensive and balanced development of Chongqing’s medical device ecosystem.
The competition is open to applicants across China, with two offline sub-venues established in Shanghai and Suzhou, as well as two online remote venues. A diverse judging committee, comprising experts from Cleveland Clinic, national venture capital and investment professionals, and hospital specialists, will conduct evaluations, due diligence, on-site defenses, and entrepreneurial mentoring for participating companies, aiming to identify the core future forces of the medical device industry.
This competition focuses on non-listed companies or projects in the medical device sector, including those engaged in the R&D, manufacturing, and production of high-tech products, as well as related equipment, consumables, IVD, and POCT. Eligible entities must possess independent intellectual property rights free of disputes, operate in compliance with regulations, maintain a good social reputation, and have no record of misconduct.
Participating companies must have conducted adequate market research and competitive analysis, possess a well-established business model, and meet the preliminary conditions for industrialization. They must hold independent intellectual property rights with no disputes, operate in compliance with regulations, and maintain a good social reputation. Participation is primarily open to enterprises.
All teams advancing to the finals will have the opportunity to engage in direct business collaboration and resource alignment with the organizers:
Ecological Empowerment: The organizer will leverage its advantages to guide and support teams advancing to the National Finals in areas such as strategic ecological cooperation, expansion and implementation of application scenarios, and matchmaking with international resources, ultimately achieving synergistic development within the ecosystem.
Resource Empowerment: The International Medical Innovation Center will fully leverage its industrial clustering advantages, using industry demands as a driving force to provide direct support and incubation—including capital infusion, resource allocation, venture capital investment, and industrial collaboration—to teams that advance to the national finals.
Bonus Empowerment: All enterprises shortlisted for the finals will receive substantial cash awards based on their rankings.
From the date of this notice until 20:00 on July 12, 2020, enterprises that self-assess as meeting the eligibility criteria may voluntarily register on the official competition website at www.cncimic.com and submit complete application materials to the designated email address of the Competition Organizing Committee at 2020brk@cncimic.com. Applicants shall be responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of the information provided.