The Chongqing Medical Device Industrial Park in Nan’an District was successfully established as a featured construction base in Chongqing, empowering the core growth pole of the healthcare industry in the region on 30 July.

Nan'an District and the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone place great attention on such a promising market and aim to further develop by engaging in the healthcare industry. 

The worth of the medical devices demanded in China has exceeded 1 trillion yuan (about 154.5 billion U.S. dollars). In 2020, the medical device industry generated a total output value of over 600 billion yuan hence the market gap worth over 400 billion yuan. Moreover, the gross profit margin of the medical device industry exceeds 40%, and the tax borne is 2-3 times that of the traditional manufacturing industry, resulting in substantial economic benefits.

Comprehensive Ecosystem for the Medical Device Industry

Nan'an District has a solid foundation for the development of the healthcare industry. It has generated a certain market scale as one of the first regions where the Chongqing government participated in the healthcare industry. There were a total of 156 companies that met the annual output standards in January-June 2021 in the district, achieving revenue of 29.29 billion yuan with a year-on-year increase of 35.8% in 2019 and an average growth rate of over 16% in the past two years.

Nan'an District aims to achieve breakthroughs in the healthcare industry by engaging in the medical device sector. Chongqing Medical Device Industrial Park is one of the few industrial parks among the 18 featured construction bases approved this time, which indicates the promising development outlook of the medical device industry. The confidence of Nan’an District and Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone in the development of the medical device industry in the region stems from their brand-new understanding and construction of the ecosystem of the medical device industry.

There are currently more than 30 medical device companies in the district, among which 8 meet the designated annual output standards. The number is expected to reach ten this year. Many of these companies develop, produce, and sell medical devices at the same time. Due to the corresponding reforms, the medical device industry ecosystem has been restructured and optimized. Nan’an District has realized clinical validation of medical devices relying on the 16 medical device clinical trial groups in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and covered product R&D, quality inspection, registration, OEM production, and after-sales services relying on Chongqing Juxinyi Pharmaceutical Technology and its platform. In this way, companies and institutions specializing in a single field can also be a part of the medical device industry chain. Chongqing Medical Device Industrial Park built by the local government in Nan’an District consists of three parts, Chengbang Technology Industrial Park, Laifu Medical Industrial Park, and the land for industrial projects around the Chongqing East Railway Station. The construction of the Chengbang Technology Industrial Park is already completed. The construction projects of the other two parts are expected to be completed and delivered in the medium-to-long term. The ecosystem of the medical device industry will be fully established.

Create Core Component in the Industry Chain

In 2019, under the joint efforts of the Nan'an District Healthcare Industry Development Promotion Center and the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Chongqing Juxinyi Pharmaceutical Technology (hereinafter referred to as "Juxinyi") was introduced and became the most important component of the entire medical device industry chain in Nan’an District. Juxinyi provides integrated services to the medical device industry. It mainly covers scientific research, consulting, quality inspection, product registration, and OEM production services.

The company was established to optimize the industry ecosystem and solve the pain points of medical device-related enterprises and institutions. Juxinyi is the first platform offering integrated services to the medical device industry in the west China region and holds the best registration service capabilities, and generates the best results in this sector in the entire city. With its services, the registration process for Class II medical devices can be shortened by about half a year, bringing significant economic benefits to ordinary enterprises. Nine other companies have joined Juxinyi, serving 79 enterprises across the country. Juxinyi has become the largest platform providing incubation services in the entire medical device industry chain in Chongqing.

Optimize Business Environment

Nan'an District has a solid foundation and delivered an outstanding performance in developing the traditional pharmaceutical industry in Chongqing. There are over 300 pharmaceutical distribution companies in the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone. The corresponding sales revenue accounts for more than 50% of the overall sales revenue in this sector in the entire city, gaining a leading position in the entire city west China region. To fully tap the potential of existing pharmaceutical companies, the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone actively attracts investment while helping traditional pharmaceutical companies to transform and upgrade into medical device developers and manufacturers. The Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone has issued policies to reward and support new product registration, industrialization, talent acquisition projects, and third-party service platforms. Compared with drug R&D, developing medical devices faces lower barriers, require smaller investments, and generates faster returns. It is a major challenge to fully explore local enterprises’ potential to drive the development of the entire medical device industry.

Nan'an District adheres to the idea of attracting investment both internally and externally. It closely focuses on the positioning of the featured industry and the industry chain development. While actively promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional enterprises in the region, it also attracts high-quality projects in developed regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Bohai Rim to expand and strengthen the medical device industry cluster and enhance the industrial modernization. In the process of creating a fair business environment in the district, the role of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, a large grade 3 level A hospital, can’t be neglected.

The National Drug (Device) Clinical Trial Institution of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University was originally among the first batch of clinical pharmacology bases established by the Ministry of Health in 1983, and it is one of the few clinical trial bases for medical devices in the western region of China. Clinical trials play a crucial role in the development of the medical device industry. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University is a top 100 hospital in China. It is also where Nan’an District’s unique advantages lie. The hospital has reached an agreement with Nan'an District to provide high-quality clinical trial services for the medical device industry in the district. In addition, in the process of introducing newly launched medical devices in hospitals, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University will also open a "green light" for the products of outstanding providers.

Chongqing Weiteng Medical Equipment is a high-tech medical device company established in 2007. Chairman Jin Wei introduced that the company’s instruments for proton therapy and ultrasonic debridement machines, among others, are utilized in 60% of the large grade 3 level A hospitals nationwide. In May 2020, the company entered the Chongqing Medical Device Industrial Park by taking part in the Nan’an District’s projects to acquire investors and started its rapid growth. “We believe in the prospects of the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone. A lot can be done here.”