Since the central government announced plans to revamp the mainland medical system last year, players in this sector have all rolled up their sleeves and have prepared to share a slice of the 850 billion yuan stimulus package, which aims to renovate the nation's rigid healthcare environment and ensure fair and affordable care for the world's biggest population.

However, some new entrants to the mainland market believe they need to locate their business strategically, in order to stand out from the crowd.

"We are one of the three largest providers of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) technology to cure aortic aneurysm in the world; but when we started our business on the mainland in 2007, we were immediately confronted with fierce competition from the local and international players," Philip Nowell, director Global Business Unit leader of the US based Cook Medical, told China Daily in Hong Kong.

Nowell believes the mainland's healthcare reform will result in explosive demand for advanced technology, especially in the second- and third-tier cities where hospitals are most desperate for facility upgrades.

"Although EVAR has been widely adopted in most major cities and academic hospitals, it is rarely seen in hospitals of small cities, which are targeted to benefit from the healthcare reform. It will be our key market to explore for the next few years," said Nowell.

One of the leading causes of death in the world, aortic aneurysm is a concomitant of improved living standards and is a common disease in the mainland.

EVAR is an advanced technique used to treat aortic aneurysm, a weakened and bulging area in the aorta - the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body - where a rupture could be life-threatening.

EVAR causes less discomfort to the patients and requires shorter hospital stays, while its costs are comparable to those associated with traditional open-heart surgical repair. Nowell said the promotion of this new technology in the second- and third-tier cities will require a lot more effort, as physicians need sufficient guidance and expertise to master this complex technique.

"What the physician lacks most is experience, so our major job is to provide help to some Chinese physicians by bringing experts from the US and have them working together. These doctors will later assist and help those doctors from hospitals of second- and third-tier cities to master EVAR," said Nowell.

Cook Medical's EVAR has been adopted in 100 hospitals all over China, from big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, to smaller ones, e.g., in southern Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province; northern Jiamusi in Heilongjiang province; and western Shihezi in Xinjiang Uygur Automonous Region.

However, considering the billions of dollars the Chinese government plans to invest for hardware and software upgrading in over 300,000 hospitals, Nowell said the company will increase product choice and broaden product lines to beef up sales.

"The global EVAR market reached US$1 billion in 2008 and I expect the market will feasibly climb to US$2-2.5 billion by 2015. The mainland is the fastest growing market in the world, and our business growth increased 49 percent to US$7.7 million last year. We are planning to manufacture products in China, and to offer more affordable new technologies to local patients in the near future," said Nowell.

China Daily

(HK Edition 05/07/2010 page2)