Sinergis Surgical Robot Loses Bid After Challenge, Price Surges by RMB 10.54 Million

Bid opening results show: Lot 2 (2 sets) was awarded to Shenzhen Jingfeng Medical, with equipment model MP2000B, at a bid price of RMB 14.46 million, equivalent to RMB 7.23 million per unit; Lot 3 (1 set) was awarded to Harbin Sizherui IntelligentMedical DevicesA joint-stock company won the bid with the Kangduo SR2000 brand, quoting RMB 5.5 million; Sub-bid 1 (one set) was annulled due to fewer than three qualified suppliers. Among the three valid bid packages, two were awarded to domestically produced products, seemingly breaching the defensive line of imported brands.

However, the situation was not yet set in stone.

One month later, the results of Bid Package 2 were overturned. The correction notice indicated that the supplier had challenged the original award decision, and some of the challenges were upheld. Upon confirmation by the procuring entity, Intuitive Surgical-Fosun Medical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., originally ranked second, was awarded the contract as the replacement winner, resulting in Jingfeng Medical losing the bid. Although the procurement still involved two sets of laparoscopic surgical systems, the winning bid amount increased to RMB 25 million, representing an increase of RMB 10.54 million compared to the original result.

The public announcement did not disclose the specific grounds for challenge, making it impossible to determine whether the correction pertained to qualification review, technical response, evaluation determination, or other stages. Consequently, it is difficult to directly attribute the change in outcome to clinical data, after-sales service, or any specific capability. Unfortunately, the originally winning bid featured a significantly lower price yet failed to retain its status following the challenge review. This demonstrates that in the procurement of large-scale medical equipment, a price advantage does not guarantee a finalized outcome.

Surgical robots are highly systematic devices. After procurement, they involve long-term services such as installation, maintenance, repair, technical support, and personnel training. Taking Intuitive Fosun as an example, its technical services cover equipment installation, maintenance, upgrades, and repairs, and provide 24/7 technical support throughout the year.

The four-arm laparoscopic surgical robot MP2000B, manufactured by Edge Medical, was approved in October 2025 for use in multi-specialty surgeries including urology and gynecology. While its installed base ranks among the highest for domestically produced systems in China, the da Vinci system boasts over 11,000 installations globally, twenty years of clinical follow-up data, and a training network covering more than a hundred hospitals. As bid evaluation shifts from price priority to comprehensive scoring, the gap may lie in certain less visible aspects.

In fact, the centralized procurement of medical equipment in Guangxi has been fraught with challenges from the outset. In October 2025, GE Healthcare won the bid for 11 CT systems at a price of RMB 102 million. Shanghai United Imaging immediately filed 12 complaints. Although most were dismissed, the project was ultimately ordered to be annulled due to "circumstances affecting the fairness and impartiality of the procurement." Public information shows that in 2025, nationwideMedical DevicesProcurement-related challenges and rights-protection cases surged by 40% year-on-year, while the bid rejection rate climbed by 15 percentage points, with more than 20 public bid rejections recorded in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Guangxi is merely one participant in the nationwide wave of centralized medical equipment procurement, making such scenarios far from uncommon.
On June 23, the draft amendments to the Bidding and Tendering Law and the Government Procurement Law were simultaneously submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. The former raises the maximum fine to 2%, introduces lifetime industry bans, and provides for the rejection of abnormally low bids; the latter undergoes its first revision in over two decades since its implementation, shifting its focus from "regulating expenditures" to "protecting competition," and targeting bid rigging, collusion, and discriminatory clauses. — The regulatory framework is evolving from merely "enabling procurement" to "ensuring high-quality procurement."
It is evident that securing a place on the procurement list and submitting competitive bids constitute only part of commercialization; relying solely on low pricing is not a sustainable strategy. Every aspect—including bid documentation, technical responsiveness, clinical evidence, product maturity, compliance certifications, and post-procurement delivery capabilities—must withstand rigorous procurement and review processes. While centralized volume-based procurement has driven down prices, the supporting regulatory frameworks still require time to mature. Currently, for domestic medical device manufacturers, the threshold of “functional usability” has been crossed, but there remains a significant gap to becoming the “preferred choice.”