Medical devices: Where is the gap between us and Germany?

When it comes to "Made in Germany", the first thing people think of is usually cars and machinery. In fact, Germany is also a leader in the global medical device market. From injection equipment, plastic surgery consumables, to cutting-edge electronic measuring instruments, they are all selling well around the world. The reporter recently conducted a visit and investigation in Germany, hoping to find out the secret of the success of German medical devices and find reference points for the development of China's medical device industry.

Every country needs German equipment

The latest data from the German Federal Statistical Office shows that the total output value of Germany's medical device industry in 2012 was about 22.3 billion euros, an increase of nearly 3% over the previous year. This figure is equivalent to 8.44% of its GDP, which is much higher than the share of the national economy of the medical device industry in other European countries.

Wieler, a medical economics expert at the German Institute for the World Economy, told reporters that Germany has a medical device industry scale second only to that of the United States in the world, with more than 170 medical device manufacturers. At present, about 2/3 of the medical device products produced in Germany are exported, and the export volume of products exceeds Japan, ranking second in the world. The largest export market is the European Union, accounting for about 40% of export revenue. The third is Asia, mainly China, and the fastest growth rate.

Each country needs different German medical devices. "The United States favors X-rays, MRIs and endoscopes," said Wieler, who values German quality more. Poland and other countries particularly welcome German pacemakers, dialysis machines and MRIs, because German equipment standards are the highest. In the Chinese market, high-end medical equipment (such as CT, MRIs, endoscopes, dialysis machines, etc.) dominates the high-end market. The latest data released by the Samsung Economic Research Institute of China shows that Siemens of Germany has a market share of 20.2% in China's CT and ultrasound equipment markets.

R&D efficiency is higher than that of the United States

The beautiful "transcript" of German medical devices is closely related to the R&D environment. "Generally speaking, a medical device product in Germany must be updated after three years." Weiler said that Germany is the innovation center of medical technology in Europe, with about 1,300 such patent applications each year, ranking first. The German medical device industry spends 8% of its sales profit on research and development, which is twice the average of Western countries, and has the highest R&D efficiency. The cost of developing new equipment is about 8 million to 10 million euros; while the United States needs 80 million US dollars (about 60 million euros) to develop the same product.

Weihain, a technical expert of Siemens' Medical Systems Group, told reporters that the group currently has representative offices in more than 120 countries, more than 20 in China, and offers customized services and value-added services for different needs, as well as a 24-hour spare parts center. The group invests more than 1.6 billion euros in research and development each year. Most of Siemens Medical Systems Group's products represent the world's highest level, such as CT machines, MRIs, angiography equipment, ultrasound scanners, and mammography machines. At the production base in Kernat, the reporter saw that the factory was fully enclosed and spotless. From manufacturing, assembly to system debugging, it was done in one go.

Policy support also promotes the development of German medical devices. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Health launched the "Healthy Economic Export Plan" to help German companies develop potential customers. The German government has also established a foundation, and corporate patents can receive 500,000 euros in health research and development funds. The German Federal Ministry of Health also has a Federal Drug and Medical Device Agency, which is composed of medical experts, engineers, etc., for supervision.

However, the German "Handelsblatt" recently pointed out that the European debt crisis, the global economic downturn, high prices, and increasing competitors have put German medical devices in crisis. In particular, China has caught up in the field of mid- and low-end medical devices. For example, China's Mindray Company has squeezed the share of German products in the fields of monitoring, biochemical blood testing, and ultrasound imaging. Despite this, Wieler is still optimistic about emerging markets such as China, Russia and the Arab region.

Where is the gap in Chinese manufacturing?

Compared with the strong performance of German medical devices, Chinese products do not seem to be so popular. Xu Shan, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of the China Medical Device Industry Association, pointed out: "In domestic hospitals, the number of domestic and imported devices is basically 30% and 70% respectively." Bai Zhipeng, secretary general of the China Medical Equipment Association, said that international brands account for nearly 90% of the market share in China's high-end equipment field. Although some domestic devices have good performance, they have almost no market in tertiary hospitals and can only be sold to secondary or even township hospitals. Bai Zhipeng said that Neusoft Medical's products are the best among domestically produced products, with a market share of only 9%.

But there is still hope for Chinese medical devices. In the first half of 2012, with the overall decline in world medical device trade, China's medical device trade reached US$13.83 billion, ranking third. Among them, Germany is the fourth largest export market, with major products including cotton wool, gauze, bandages, ventilators and weight scales. Although my country's export products are still mainly low-end, with the rise of national enterprises such as Neusoft, Wandong, and Anke, China has made breakthroughs in CT, MRI, and color ultrasound, and has continuously squeezed the profit margins of German products. Philips Medical, whose prices were once high, even cooperated with Neusoft to jointly produce low-end and medium-end products. In 2012, Neusoft launched a 64-slice spiral CT, announcing that China's CT has since entered the ranks of international mainstream competition.

German experience tells us that Chinese medical devices must first have their own core technology and value. Cao Hongguang, chief scientist of TCL Medical Group, believes that the research and development of core technologies and components is difficult to complete by a single enterprise, and the country needs to organize forces to concentrate on key issues. Secondly, all-round innovation is required in production methods, management mechanisms, etc. For example, Neusoft Medical adopts the "virtual manufacturing" method, that is, product research and development, system design, sales and services are completed independently by the enterprise, but components are purchased globally. Finally, hospitals should be brought into research and development. If large hospitals can be involved in the project establishment, program design, and production process, it will not only save a lot of detours, but also be conducive to the formulation of clinical specifications for innovative products.