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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

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Korean firms benefit from booming Chinese medical market

  • PUBLISHED :August 24, 2018 - 17:21
  • UPDATED :August 24, 2018 - 17:22
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[THE INVESTOR] Korean medical device companies are establishing their presence and rapidly increasing their footprint in China, a huge market that is rapidly facing an aging society with rising medical needs.

“China is highly expected to become Korea’s largest export destination for the industry where global medical device firms are eager to enter,” Lee Jin-su, an official at Korea Health Industry Development Institute told The Investor. 




In 2017, Korea’s medical device shipments to China rose 14.3 percent on-year to US$508.6 million while those to the biggest export partner US increased 2.1 percent to US$512.1 million.

Chinese consumers’ growing interest in medical procedures to refine their appearance has largely contributed to the growth. The main drivers of exports to China are dermal injectable fillers, diagnostic ultrasound systems, daily soft contact lenses and dental implants, data from Korea Health Industry Development Institute showed.

While geographical proximity gives Korean companies an advantage for exports, regulatory hurdles are still a challenging task, especially under Beijing‘s “Made in China 2025,” a state-led industrial policy that aims to increase the competitiveness of the domestic high-tech industries which includes biopharma and advanced medical products.

“Some Korean companies are facing difficulties to gain Chinese approval as the country tends to protect homegrown devices but we expect exports to China will continue to grow as Korea’s Health Ministry is working to support them,” Lee said.

Here are the key Korean medical technology device companies that are making progress in China.



Samsung Medison

Based on its No.1 market share in Korea, the country’s largest diagnostic ultrasound system maker is focusing on making strong inroads into the US and China.

It recorded 32 percent growth in China last year and expects the demand to rise this year, especially in the latter half, peak season for the medical device industry.

“Samsung Medison is making efforts to expand sales by introducing premium ultrasound imaging devices to large Chinese hospitals and promote Samsung’s superior technologies,” a company official said. 



LG Chem

LG Chem’s hyaluronic acid filler Yvoire is gaining traction after its China launch in 2013.

Thanks to the plastic surgery market in China that is growing six times faster than the global average, the dermal injectable logged 45 billion won (US$40.21 million) in revenue last year, up 21.6 percent from a year earlier.

“We hope to raise our market share based on the high brand value of Yvoire that we have built by entering the market before rivals,” said Kim Ju-nam, a spokesperson for the firm.

He added that the Chinese dermal filler market has just begun to grow and has the potential to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of over 30 percent until 2020.



Osstem Implant

This company is capitalizing on the increasing demand for dental implants in the Chinese market due to rising aging population.

Osstem Implant is the largest player in China, posting 73.7 billion won sales in 2017, up 46 percent from a year ago.

After the domestic market grew saturated, the company has turned its eyes to emerging markets such as China, as the US and European markets are dominated by forerunners like Switzerland’s Straumann and US-based Dentsply Sirona.


By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)   

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