China’s rapidly aging population is expected to see a surge in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, driving demand for heart assist devices in the country. However, the risks associated with mechanical heart assist devices have led to increased interest in physiological heart assist devices as a safer and more effective alternative. As a result, the domestic cardiac assist market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 6% through 2030, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, “China Cardiovascular Procedures Count by Segments and Forecast, 2015-2030,” reveals that China accounts for close to 23% of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) heart assist devices market in 2023.

Ayshi Ganguly, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Mechanical heart assist devices have revolutionized heart failure treatment by providing an alternative to transplant surgery. However, patients remain at risk of bleeding, infection, and device failure, which can damage the heart and other tissues over time. Additionally, these procedures are expensive, and monitoring patients is time-consuming for healthcare providers.”

Against this backdrop, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has recently granted initial two patents to French medical device company FineHeart’s Flowmaker for the treatment of severe heart failure.

Flowmaker, which can be implanted in just 90 minutes, has wireless charging and is an alternative to bypass surgery. With the two patents protecting the device’s design, FineHeart is expected to have a competitive edge in China’s heart assist devices market.

Ganguly concludes: “Physiological heart assist devices are scoring over the mechanical devices owing to their compatibility with the human body, thereby diminishing unwanted biological reactions and injuries. With future FDA and CE regulatory approvals, such innovations should facilitate global market expansion within the heart assist market and revolutionize the landscape of heart failure treatments.”