Advanced Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals Showcase 'Exhibits to Products' Journey at CIIE, Accelerating Localization in China

Interface News reporter |Huang Hua

Interface News Editor |Xu Yue

After eight editions of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), many multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies have further become investors and co-builders in the Chinese market.

Journalists from The Paper noticed at this year's CIIE that multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies are increasingly investing in factories in China and promoting the localized production of drugs, which has become a prevailing trend. Through the platform of the CIIE, global innovative products can be efficiently imported and their commercialization accelerated.

Acceleration of the Localization of High-End Medical Devices

Martin Fischer, President and CEO of Zeiss Greater China, officially took office on October 1 this year. Just over a month later, he came to China and participated in the 8th CIIE for the first time.

Fei Mingyuan said in his speech at the Zeiss booth: "As an important platform for openness, the CIIE has brought many valuable opportunities to technology companies like Zeiss."

At Carl Zeiss' booth, the company showcased its first domestically produced high-end surgical microscope, the PENTERO 800 S — a device used to magnify the surgical field during microscopic surgery, which has completed localized production in Suzhou.

In July last year, ZEISS officially opened its factory in Suzhou Industrial Park, which spans over 13,000 square meters. The news that ZEISS was going to build a factory in Suzhou garnered significant attention at the time, as it marked the first time the German optics giant purchased land and built a factory in China, with a total investment of approximately 250 million yuan. The domestically produced high-end surgical microscope, PENTERO 800 S, was born in this factory.

At this year's CIIE, ZEISS's Suzhou factory witnessed an "explosion of localized products." In addition to the aforementioned high-end surgical microscope made in China, three advanced research microscope systems also rolled off the production line at ZEISS Suzhou in September this year. ZEISS has become the first international manufacturer in the industry to achieve localized production and delivery in the fields of laser confocal and field emission scanning electron microscopes.

ZEISS Surgical Microscope PENTERO 800 S

The Localization of Medical Devices in China

On the other hand, the willingness of foreign enterprises to invest heavily in building factories in China to produce high-end equipment also reflects the increasing demand for high-end medical devices in China.

During the CIIE, Gu Yushao, Global Senior Vice President and Greater China President of Medtronic, stated in an interview with media including Interface News that China's medical device market holds great potential, whether in terms of market prospects, supply chain, or original innovation capabilities.

Gu Yushao believes that, from a market perspective, China is the second largest market in the world. In the next 10 years, China's population aged 65 and above will reach 300 million, with enormous healthcare demands, and by then China is expected to become the largest single market in the world. Moreover, China’s supply chain is one of the most competitive globally, and its high-end medical devices have advanced from "catching up" to "best-in-class." The integration between clinicians and entrepreneurs is deepening, which implicitly drives product iteration and fosters continuous original innovations in China.

Laurent Leksell, founder of Elekta and chairman of the global board, has come to China for the CIIE more than once. Headquartered in Sweden, Elekta is a medical device company specializing in precision radiation therapy. The founder of the company invented the world's first Gamma Knife.

At the opening ceremony of the CIIE, Lexel told the media that since its first participation in 2018, Elekta's localization process in China has significantly accelerated — from establishing a regional headquarters and forming a joint venture to now achieving local manufacturing of its entire product line. These products not only serve patients in China but will also be exported from China to over 120 countries and regions worldwide.

At the announcement to achieve full-line product localization in China by 2025, Elekta also showcased at the CIIE a series of core equipment that the company can manufacture in China — including the latest generation Leksell Gamma Knife Elekta Esprit, the new-generation precision intelligent radiotherapy platform Elekta Evo, and the precision brachytherapy system Elekta Flexitron among other key products. Notably, Elekta Esprit, after its debut at the 2023 CIIE, achieved localized production in just two years.

Elekta Esprit, the latest generation of Leksell Gamma Knife by Elekta

According to reports from The Paper, Elekta's full range of products, including those on display, have achieved localized production in China, meeting the diverse clinical needs of patients. Meanwhile, Elekta’s Beijing factory hosts its most comprehensive product line globally, a feat not achievable by all factories, marking China’s accelerated growth as an indispensable production and innovation hub within Elekta's global supply chain.

Data from Siemens Healthineers more specifically demonstrates the significance of China's productivity to multinational corporations, serving as a strong driving force for their investment in China.

As of August this year, Siemens Healthineers' Shenzhen base has delivered a cumulative total of 10,000 medical devices, with 65% sold to the global market, and has nurtured more than 300 core local suppliers. Additionally, in January this year, Siemens Healthineers broke ground on a high-end medical equipment R&D and manufacturing base in Shenzhen, with a total investment exceeding 1 billion yuan.

More localized products are on the way.

At the CIIE, exhibits become commodities, and commodities become localized. There are many stories of multinational pharmaceutical and device companies sharing opportunities in China's medical device market. These stories are not limited to the large medical equipment field.

Among these, EssilorLuxottica's Stellest lenses were introduced at the third China International Import Expo in 2020. These lenses create a non-focal beam in front of the retina, generating a signal zone that slows down axial growth, thereby effectively slowing the progression of myopia. This product is considered a milestone in myopia control.

Thanks to the influence of the CIIE, Stellest, as a myopia management brand, has quickly gained recognition, and its products have rapidly achieved mass production in China. According to reports from Interface News, the production of Stellest lenses has been assigned to Essilor Optical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("Essilor Shanghai" for short). It is one of the group's major global lens production bases, established in Songjiang in 1995, marking its 30th anniversary this year. Additionally, at this year’s CIIE, the Stellest smart glasses equipped with Stellest 2.0 lenses made their global debut.

EssilorLuxottica Stellest 2.0 Lenses

According to Gu Haiying, Global Senior Vice President of Haleon and General Manager of Mainland China and Hong Kong, the company has personally experienced the "exhibits turning into blockbuster products" at the CIIE. Products showcased in previous editions, such as the Centrum Nutripack series, Voltaren Long-Acting Anti-Inflammatory Pain Relief Gel, and Sensodyne Gum Repair Toothpaste, all achieved market responses exceeding expectations in the Chinese market. Both the Voltaren Long-Acting Anti-Inflammatory Pain Relief Gel and Sensodyne Gum Repair Toothpaste are locally produced products.

Additionally, within the year, Haleon has completed the full acquisition of its over-the-counter joint venture, Sino-American Tianjin SmithKline, strengthening Haleon's supply chain operations and innovation potential in China. Meanwhile, the company has initiated a plan to increase investment and expand production in Suzhou, continuously enhancing local production and R&D capabilities.

At the same time, more multinational pharmaceutical and device companies are continuously advancing the localized production of drugs and devices in China. This includes the currently highly anticipated tirzepatide injection — a GLP-1/GIP dual-target drug — which has already approached $25 billion in global sales in the first three quarters of this year. It is a product highly likely to become the new "blockbuster drug" globally within the next few years.

At the same time as the CIIE was held, Interface News reporters noticed that the official website of the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) showed that Eli Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceuticals' tirzepatide injection was proposed to be included in the priority review category, meaning the product is expected to welcome localized production in China.

In October 2024, Lilly invested 1.5 billion yuan to upgrade its Suzhou plant, hoping to expand the production scale of innovative drugs for type 2 diabetes and obesity. In May and July of the same year, the diabetes treatment and weight management indications of tirzepatide were approved in China. Currently, tirzepatide injection in China is an imported product, and its localization also means that China is about to welcome the "Chinese version of tirzepatide."

Besides Eli Lilly, Boston Scientific's localized production is also advancing. According to the reporter from Interface News, the company's first manufacturing base in China, namelyShanghai LingangThe factory has currently achieved a phased breakthrough — samples of four product models have successfully come off the production line; at present, the clinical reports for these four products have been completed and submitted for registration, indicating that they are one step closer to approval and local production.

At the CIIE, Bian Xin, General Manager of Roche Pharmaceuticals China, stated that China is Roche's second-largest global market. Roche's new biopharmaceutical production base in Shanghai, with an investment exceeding 2 billion yuan, is a key milestone in its deepening localization strategy. "As the first base by a multinational pharmaceutical company to achieve localized production of large-molecule antibody biologics in China, it strongly demonstrates Roche's long-term confidence in the Chinese market."

During the CIIE, Roche Pharmaceuticals revealed that its Shanghai factory will take the lead in promoting the localized production of the ophthalmic innovative drug Faricimab Injection (RoVisia). Relevant preparatory work is already underway, with phased progress expected by the end of next year.

Collaboration between multinational pharmaceutical companies and local firms further helps both parties share opportunities in the Chinese market and even the global market.

For example, the AiBLE Digital Intelligence Innovation Ecosystem by Medtronic Kanghui made its debut during the 2023 CIIE. Two years later, Medtronic Kanghui, together with Jinhai Medical and Jialiang Medical, jointly released the navigated minimally invasive spinal endoscopy technology.RobotGuided Laser Ablation Minimally Invasive Technology. It is a representative achievement that combines intelligent devices within the AiBLE ecosystem with the technical capabilities of local enterprises. Additionally, the Medtronic Kanghui NIM-Eclipse Intraoperative Neural Monitoring System, which was first exhibited at the CIIE last year, has now been approved for use in both China and Japan, officially expanding its reach overseas.