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In Depth
Dropping Unprofitable Customers: 17 Listed Medical Device Enterprises Streamline Operations The medical device industry saw a sharp paradigm shift in 2026: 17 listed device makers unveiled a collective "subtraction" strategy in their half-year reports, reshaping their customer bases. The trend spans IVD, imaging, and consumables, marking a turn from blind scale-chasing to precise quality-chasing. Some shed low-value customers outright — HONSUN, DIAN Diagnostics and others shut inefficient outlets, scaled back low-margin distributor business, and cut loss-making projects, abandoning traditional distribution business with long payment cycles and heavy capital use. Others tactfully refocused on top-tier resources, with Mindray and United Imaging deepening key-account ties and steering resources to high-value-added business. Small distributors and grassroots hospitals are the main casualties, as centralized procurement squeezes terminal margins. This is no short-term winter strategy but a collective pivot to "picking customers" in pursuit of high-quality, sustainable growth.
11min read
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Xinhuanghe Pharma Conquers the "Everest" of Dry Powder Inhalation, Ending Two Decades of Foreign Monopoly On September 18, 2026, the NMPA approved Xinhuanghe Pharma's Budesonide and Formoterol Fumarate Powder for Inhalation (II) for marketing. As China's first approved generic of the product, the approval breaks a foreign monopoly of more than two decades and marks a domestic drugmaker's breakthrough at the "Everest" of dry powder inhalation. Xinhuanghe Pharma's predecessor traces back to Jiufu Pharmaceutical, founded in 1923, which was later folded into Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (SPH) and acquired and renamed by Chenpon in 2014. Amid an industry transition, Chairman Peng Zhaohua chose dry powder inhalation — a technically demanding drug-device combination — over low-cost generics and the hot biologics track. After prolonged investment and R&D breakthroughs across API, formulation, and device, the company has revived a veteran drugmaker and brought patients a high-value domestic alternative.
9min read
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In Depth
“Cadaver Skin Needling” Stirs the Medical Aesthetics Industry, as the Underlying Biomaterials Gain Massive Popularity in China! South Korea’s “cadaver skin injection” Re2O, derived from donated human skin tissue, has sparked ethical and safety concerns in China, bringing extracellular matrix (ECM) into focus. After decellularization, ECM retains biological activity and is widely used in tissue repair. Related medical devices are approved in China, but facial wrinkle reduction is prohibited. Identified as an aging biomarker in 2025, ECM is gaining new applications in medical aesthetics amid advances in microparticulate technology. China’s ECM industry is growing rapidly, with firms such as Shengzhi Runhe and Medgen Life Sciences raising multiple financing rounds and expanding from R&D to mass production. Major medical aesthetics and pharmaceutical companies are also investing in the field, driving ECM toward commercialization.
9min read
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MNC China LensExpert Interview
An Interview with Bayer's Friedemann Janus: A Third of Drugs in Development Come from China — What Is Bayer Looking For? Dr. Friedemann Janus, Senior Vice President of Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division, said China's innovative drugs are embedding deeply into the global system, with about a third of drugs in development originating from China. Multinational pharma's China strategy has shifted from license-in of mature pipeline assets to early engagement with biotech teams to grasp their innovation logic. Bayer, which sees China as a key source of high-quality innovation, has built a network linking startups with global capital and R&D experts via Co.Lab sites in Shanghai and Beijing, a venture capital alliance, and global roadshows during 2024–2025. Janus believes China's pharma industry has moved past "Me-too" and "Fast-Follow" toward "Best-in-Class." The core issue now is how multinational pharma can embed even earlier in China's innovation ecosystem and drive local innovation into global R&D, business development, and commercialization — a fundamental elevation of China's global pharma position.
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Insurers Start to Backstop the Money Burned on Innovative Drug R&D Innovative drug R&D insurance is an emerging track in China's pharma industry, sharing drugmakers' R&D failure risk via financial tools. PICC P&C, with Taiping P&C and Sunshine P&C, recently issued the first life-science R&D insurance policy in Beijing — a breakthrough for China. It distinguishes clinical liability insurance (third-party liability) from R&D loss insurance (drugmakers' own losses). Overseas, Clinical Trial Funding Insurance (CTFI) is key: it reimburses incurred costs when a trial misses its primary endpoints, shifting risk from drugmakers to insurers. MCI (Medical & Commercial International) and peers underwrite Phase I, Phase II, and select small Phase III trials with USD 3–35 million budgets, covering small molecules and antibodies but not gene therapies. This gives domestic drugmakers a risk-hedging tool, signaling deeper integration of tech finance and biomedicine.
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Policy
Full Online Processing for Drug Import Clearance! Time Required for Single-Batch Import Registration Reduced to Minutes On September 21, 2026, Beijing Port became the first in China to fully digitize customs clearance for imported drugs, issuing the nation’s first electronic “Import Drug Customs Clearance Slip.” The reform replaces paper-based counter processing with an online workflow covering application, review, electronic seal generation, and self-printing. QR codes enable real-time verification. Processing time has been reduced to minutes, with documents issued within seconds, cutting labor and time costs. The reform improves cross-border trade efficiency, accelerates imports of urgently needed rare disease drugs and key APIs, and supports the biopharmaceutical industry. Combined with Beijing Port’s “Green First” inspection service, it further expedites product market entry and enhances efficiency across the pharmaceutical import supply chain.
3min read
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Next-Gen Heirs Take the Helm: 30-Something Scions Lead Billion-Dollar Pharma Firms Amid Strategic Transformation A wave of 'pharma second-gens'—mostly in their early 30s with elite global educations and diverse professional backgrounds—are stepping into leadership roles at multi-billion-dollar Chinese pharmaceutical companies. From Joincare’s Zhu Linlin and CSPC’s Cai Lei to MicroPort’s Brian Chang and Hualan Biological Bacterin’s An Wenjue, these heirs are driving strategic pivots toward innovation, internationalization, and capital-driven growth. Their rise coincides with industry-wide shifts away from generic drugs amid pricing pressures, as they leverage expertise in R&D, M&A, and global business development to navigate a new era of biopharma competition.
9min read
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