Medtronic Global Senior Vice President and Greater China President Gu Yushao stated: "The cooperation between Kangdi Medical and Pangyun Medical can form complementary resources and deep integration. It will inject new vitality and momentum into the medical industry development, accelerate the localization process to drive industrial growth, benefiting patients worldwide."”

The domestic market size in 2023 exceeded 8 billion yuan, with more than 75% of the share occupied by the two major brands, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic.In 2015, Medtronic acquired Covidien for $49.9 billion, adding 17 categories to its suture business and covering 95% of clinical scenarios.

This timeIn collaboration with Shanghai Pangyun Medical Technology Co., Ltd.Medtronic Kangdi, formerly known asChangzhou Kangdi Medical Stapler Co., Ltd., founded in 1999,Acquired wholly by Medtronic in 2019, it is an important part of Medtronic's localized development in China. Benefiting from Medtronic’s global strategic vision and R&D support, Kangdi has expanded its surgical product line horizontally, focusing on staplers while extending to energy platforms.Surgical Sutures, surgical accessories, surgical robot consumables and other integrated surgical solutions for major surgeries.

In October 2024, Medtronic Kangdi and Changzhou National High-tech Industrial Development Zone signed an investment cooperation agreement today.Jointly build a "smart manufacturing" base and "innovation" center that integrates the production of high-end surgical products and equipment with innovative R&D incubation.Changzhou Kangdi Medical Stapler Co., Ltd. will introduce advanced products and new technologies from Medtronic's Major Surgery Division, strengthen the localization strategy of integrated surgical solutions, and build a medical technology innovation hub in the Yangtze River Delta.

Shanghai Pangyun Medical Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2019 and is one of the rising forces in China-produced suture lines. Initially, Pangyun Medical focused on the research and production of barbed sutures. In 2021, it acquired Zhuhai Daotian, a company founded in 2007 that specializes in surgical suture medical devices.

After the merger, the two companies formed a complementary relationship and became one of fewer than 10 companies in China capable of providing a full range of surgical suture products.Its product line includes absorbable barbed sutures, absorbable PGA sutures, non-absorbable polypropylene sutures, non-absorbable nylon sutures, non-absorbable polyester sutures, as well as polyester sutures with pledgets used in valve surgeries.

The Market Faces a Shake-up

On July 16, the third China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Chain Expo") officially opened.Medtronic Debuts at the Chain Expo, Fully Explaining Its "Local Full Value Chain" Strategy, Proposing to Build a Localized Ecosystem Network Covering R&D, Production, Clinical, Collaboration, and Services Supported by Five Synergistic Chains.

• Medical Innovation Fusion Chain:Driven by clinical needs in China, Medtronic continuously promotes the collaborative innovation of local medicine and engineering. The birth of the Lantern catheter is a typical practice where the concept of left bundle branch pacing was first proposed by Chinese doctors, then jointly developed and transformed by enterprises, and ultimately fed back into the global market. In recent years, Medtronic has also been actively promoting the rapid approval and clinical application of localized products in fields such as neurointervention and rhythm management in China, such as the Miracor coil, further shortening the path from discovery to market entry in China.

  

  
  

• China Manufacturing Chain:Relying on Changzhou Kanghui Science Park and Kangdi Surgical Integration BaseMedtronic's Shanghai factory and other nodes, the company has initially built up a "smart manufacturing + export" system with China at its core. Take the "Genesis Electric Anastomosis" as an example, which achieved 100% local research and development design in 2024. The product took only one year from project initiation to mass production, has covered more than 500 hospitals in China, and has been exported to international markets, becoming a diversified player in the field of surgical electric staplers.

• Value Co-creation Chain:Facing new technological challenges in fields like chronic disease management and surgical innovation, Medtronic is establishing a therapy validation and market transformation platform centered in China through mechanisms such as the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone and real-world studies. Since its pilot launch in Lecheng in 2021, the Symplicity Spyral RDN system has completed multi-center clinical exploration in China's real-world setting and received regulatory approval in China in 2024, becoming the world’s first RDN interventional treatment device to gain approval in China, the U.S., and Europe.

• Intelligent Service Chain:By introducing technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twin, and structural simulation, Medtronic is upgrading the management of complex diseases from "surgical optimization" to a "digital closed-loop." Using structural cardiovascular diseases as an entry point, Medtronic is expanding its intelligent service chain. For example, it is developing integrated follow-up, remote management, and coronary re-intervention support solutions around the Evolut FX+ platform, enabling patients with valvular heart disease to achieve a closed-loop path for long-term postoperative monitoring and retreatment compatibility.

  
  

• Collaborative Supply Chain:Currently, Medtronic has established a local supply chain network in China with approximately 7,000 partners, forming a highly collaborative manufacturing network for China-produced products. Among them, nearly 90% of indirect procurement is provided by local enterprises, and some core components and systems already directly serve overseas factories. In areas such as green logistics, digital warehousing, and quality collaboration, Medtronic works closely with its supplier partners to implement the ESG framework, helping local companies integrate more rapidly into the global medical supply chain.

So, under the tariff crisis and the upcoming pressure of centralized procurement, how will Medtronic's localization strategy drive sustained growth in the Chinese market? Medical Device News will continue to monitor.