Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) that have occurred in the Chinese medical device sector have greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to GlobalData’s Medical Devices Deal Database, the number of key M&A activities in major markets of China quadrupled from 2018 to 2021. The leading data and analytics company notes that In vitro diagnostics (IVD) remains the most active market for investors in China, especially in areas related to COVID-19 tests and expects this to continue in 2022.

Tina Deng, MSc, Principal Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The medical device industry has been facing fierce competition due to China’s volume-based procurement policy in recent years. The players in the medical devices market have been under pressure for organic growth. Additionally, device manufacturers need to keep investing on novel technology to update mature product lines or expand new product portfolios. Therefore, to continuously grow and enter high-potential market segments, many medical device companies choose to speed the development by accelerating M&As.

“The most active market is IVD, followed by medical equipment distributors, specialized sectors, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular devices, and hospital supplies. The value of deals in IVD accounts for approximately 31% of the total deals value from 2018 to 2021. While other medical device companies struggled during the COVID-19, revenue of IVD manufacturers, specifically COVID-19 testing firms, received a great boost. As a result, players are actively seeking M&A opportunities to further strengthen their product offerings and expand market share in China.”