The Era of Endoscope 'Consumabilization' Has Arrived: Guangzhou Ruimed Launches Disposable Endoscopes to Address Critical Clinical Challenges

Among all medical devices, endoscopes are among those with a higher risk of cross-infection.

“Guangzhou Ruipai’s self-developed single-use endoscope can effectively address the infection risks associated with traditional endoscopes, filling a market gap for single-use endoscopes.”“Ms. Li, Managing Director of Guangzhou Ruipai Medical Devices Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Guangzhou Ruipai’), stated.”

In just four years since its establishment, Guangzhou Ruipai has developed multiple single-use endoscope products, with a portfolio spanning hepatobiliary, respiratory, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, urology, gynecology, and other specialties. Currently, two of its single-use endoscopes have completed clinical trials.Leveraging its strong product advantages, Guangzhou Ruipai secured tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A financing from Yuanhe Origin and Cowin Capital in 2019.

With its technical complexity and challenges in cost control, the disposable endoscope industry is fraught with difficulties, deterring most players from entering. How has Guangzhou Ruipai addressed these issues, and what advantages have enabled it to become one of the first movers? To answer these questions, VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Ms. Li, Managing Director of Guangzhou Ruipai, for her insights.

Endoscopes are widely used in clinical practice across various departments and for the treatment of different diseases. They are mainly categorized into optical endoscopes, fiber-optic endoscopes, and electronic endoscopes.Guangzhou Ruipai is a global supplier of cost-effective disposable electronic endoscopes.

Ms. Li pointed out,Compared with single-use electronic endoscopes, traditional reusable endoscopes have the following disadvantages:First, the complex structure makes thorough sterilization and cleaning difficult, thereby increasing the risk of cross-infection. Second, the high acquisition cost limits the range of surgical procedures that hospitals can perform. Furthermore, the requirements for cleaning, drying, and sterilization result in high operational costs for hospitals. In addition, the endoscopes are prone to damage during use, cleaning, and sterilization, leading to high maintenance costs. Finally, factors such as sterilization and maintenance contribute to a low turnover rate for endoscope usage.

In contrast, the advantages of single-use electronic endoscopes lie in: No risk of cross-infection; reduces hospital procurement costs and facilitates procedure implementation; no need for disinfection or sterilization, eliminating associated labor and facility costs; no maintenance costs; the absence of disinfection and maintenance steps enables consecutive surgeries, thereby improving efficiency.

The reusable endoscope market is plagued by significant pain points and has long been monopolized by foreign companies, which also signals substantial market opportunities for novel single-use electronic endoscopes, with the potential to achieve orderly partial domestic substitution within the endoscope market.

Endoscopes Are Beginning to Become “Disposable”: How Can Companies Efficiently and Rapidly Gain a First-Mover Advantage in This Sector? Guangzhou Ruipai’s Pace of Strategic Deployment Is Worthy of Emulation.

“We began focusing on this field in 2010. At that time, we consulted with clinical experts in China, who indicated strong clinical demand for single-use endoscopes and expressed their support. The trend toward treating endoscopes as disposable consumables was foreseeable,” said Ms. Li.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the medical device industry and as a serial entrepreneur, Ms. Li holds a highly optimistic view of the disposable endoscope market after conducting thorough research and analysis. “At that time, there were virtually no players in the Chinese market. Although we had been focusing on this field since 2010, the company was not officially established until 2015. Those five years were dedicated to preparation,” Ms. Li explained.

Ms. Li pointed out,It is extremely challenging to ensure that single-use endoscopes match the performance of traditional endoscopes while maintaining cost control, particularly because the components in the lens assembly fail to meet the requirements for single-use consumption.This is also why Ms. Li’s team did not establish a company for R&D at that time (2010). She stated,Until around 2013,With advancements in industrial technology, breakthroughs in the supply pricing of key components and a significant reduction in costs finally led to the decision to invest in the research and development of disposable endoscopes.

After five years of meticulous preparation,In December 2015, Guangzhou Ruipai was officially established on Guangzhou International Bio Island., is a national-level high-tech enterprise. Thanks to thorough preliminary preparations, product development proceeded seamlessly. Ms. Li introduced,A GMP-compliant manufacturing facility was established in the first half of 2016, facilitating the successful launch of new products and their rapid entry into the product registration testing process.

Rapid response times are made possible by the strong team behind it. Ms. Li introduced,The core founding team structure of Guangzhou Ruipai is an "iron triangle.", the other two are the Chairman and the Executive Vice President & Director, both of whom have nearly 30 years of experience in the medical device industry. They have backgrounds in clinical medicine and biomedical engineering, respectively; previously served as senior executives at well-known Fortune 500 medical device companies; and possess extensive industry expertise in marketing, sales, and management.

Furthermore, Guangzhou Ruipai boasts a robust R&D team.The R&D team comprises an engineering team and clinical experts. The engineering team members hail from renowned companies such as EPSON and Mindray, bringing extensive experience in product structural design and manufacturing processes. The expert team consists primarily of clinicians from leading hospitals in China, who leverage their years of clinical experience to identify cutting-edge clinical needs and provide professional guidance for product development.

In terms of product strategy, Guangzhou Ruipai chose to focus on endoscopic products with high technical barriers and large patient volumes in its first phase.The two single-use endoscope models currently launched meet the clinical requirements for examination and diagnosis. Users believe they can replace traditional endoscopes, and their pricing aligns with the standards for single-use devices.

She introduced that the self-developed disposable electronic endoscope incorporated numerous innovations from the outset of its design. For instance, it combines the advantages of traditional endoscopes, features a structure and functional design that are entirely independently developed, and aligns with the clinical requirements for conventional endoscopes. Furthermore, it introduces several novel innovative improvements based on traditional endoscopic technology.

Finally, when it came to discussing the advantages, Ms. Li stated,Guangzhou Ruipai’s core advantages are twofold. First, it enjoys a “first-mover advantage,” with its products currently leading in the single-use endoscope market. Second, it demonstrates significant technical strengths in product definition, structural design, and manufacturing. Beyond product R&D, the company has also invested in upstream equipment development, establishing a complete industrial chain.

Ms. Li stated that the company has already established its sales and distribution channels across China and in select overseas markets.We will expand our product portfolio to achieve comprehensive coverage of application scenarios for single-use endoscopes, ushering in a new era of single-use endoscopy.