The Indonesian medical device market is worth about $500 million in 2010 and is largely dominated by imports. Foreign companies who want to sell their medical devices in Indonesia need to obtain two licenses — a Distributor’s License and a Product License.... Read More
The Thailand medical device market is current valued at $800 million and is quickly growing. It is expected to expand at about 8% annually over the next 5 years. Meanwhile, the Thai government continues to support a universal healthcare system. Since April... Read More
Singapore passed the Health Products Act in February 2007. This Act has been implemented in stages throughout the past few years. Under this Act, all Class A-D products require Singapore medical device registration with the Singapore HSA. Also, manufacturers, dealers, importers and... Read More
On Aug. 19th 2011, the Taiwan Cabinet commenced the Taiwan Medtech Fund (TMF). TMF aims to increase investment in high-end medical devices in Taiwan. The fund plans to raise about $173 million over the next few months. Taiwan has been in talks... Read More
Chinese medical devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They are steadily competing against Western devices for domestic sales in China. However, that has not always been the case. Since the mid-1990s, China struggled with developing medical devices of the same caliber as their... Read More
During the last decade, rates of cancer have increased dramatically in Asia. Asia accounts for nearly half of all new cancer cases in the world. Some cancers that are common in Western countries--such as lung, breast, and colorectal cancers--also are common in... Read More
Recently, China passed the 12th Five-Year Plan. The new plan supports three initiatives with respect to medical devices – 1. to increase the development of China-made medical equipment, 2. to implement centralized procurement, and 3. to purchase domestic medical devices. The health... Read More
Worldwide spending on drugs is predicted to rise by 3% to 6% per year through 2015, mainly due to the growth in developing countries such as China and India. The largest spending will remain on cancer drugs, but spending on diabetes therapies... Read More
The Free Trade Agreement between South Korea and the European Union (KOREU FTA) has been now been ratified by both parties, paving the way for elimination of tariffs on EU pharmaceutical exports to South Korea. EU pharmaceutical exports are expected to increase... Read More
Local competition is increasing among Chinese medical device manufacturers, who are adopting digital technology advances and technology joint-ventures with their Western counterparts. As local Chinese medical device manufacturers catch up in technological development, they are also competing in high-end equipment manufacturing for... Read More