Kail Medical: Establishes Seven Global R&D Centers, Writing a New Chapter in the Development of National Medical Devices

In April 2017, Kailite Medical was listed on the ChiNext board. This medical device company, which had been established for 15 years at that time, was using the innovation and vitality of the ChiNext board to焕发出新的光彩、迎来更广阔的发展空间。

Looking back, in the early days of ultrasound's birth, there were not many manufacturers in the global ultrasound market that focused solely on ultrasound production. With the gradual expansion of clinical demand for ultrasound, foreign medical imaging giants, through mergers and acquisitions, concentrated core technologies and gradually established complete R&D, production, and sales platforms, showing signs of monopoly.

In 2002, Yao Jinzhong, Chen Zhiqiang, and Wu Kunxiang, who came from the "regular army" Shantou Ultrasound Instrument Research Institute, decided to found Kailite Medical in Shenzhen, aiming to "upgrade the approximately 100,000 black and white ultrasound machines in use nationwide to color ultrasound machines," changing the situation where color ultrasound equipment in China's tertiary hospitals was monopolized by "foreign color ultrasound machines" represented by GPS (General Electric, Philips, Siemens).

To change the situation where international color ultrasound products monopolize the domestic market, it is necessary to take the thorny path of independent innovation and R&D. In order to overcome the "integrated system technology", a problem widely recognized in the industry, the founding team of Kailite Medical adopted a different approach, taking the model of Sino-foreign cooperation. From the very first day of its establishment, a team of more than 20 Chinese employees and 5 American employees has been engaged in intense technological research and development.

In 2003, Kailite Medical completed the prototype of a color ultrasound machine and began clinical trials and evaluations; in 2004, the SSI-1000 portable color ultrasound machine successively obtained EU CE, US FDA certification, and product registration from the China Food and Drug Administration. In the same year, Kailite Medical launched a 15-inch LCD large-screen full-function portable color ultrasound machine, which was China's independently developed fully digital color ultrasound system, thereby leading the upgrade of China's medical ultrasound industry from black and white ultrasound to color ultrasound; in 2008 and 2009, Kailite Medical won the European Ultrasound Enterprise Market Achievement Award and the European Product Quality Leading Award from Frost & Sullivan (Frost & Sullivan, a global corporate growth consulting company) for two consecutive years; in 2016, Kailite Medical developed a domestic high-definition digestive endoscope system, breaking the monopoly of foreign brands in the high-definition endoscope field.

In 2017, at the time of listing on the ChiNext board, Chen Zhiqiang, chairman of Kailite Medical, stated that the listing opened up new development ideas for Kailite Medical. Wu Kunxiang, president of Kailite Medical, mentioned that since its establishment, the company has continuously increased investment in the research and development of its own Brand, which is the cornerstone of the company's future sustainable development. After listing, the company will still focus on increasing investment in R&D, striving to enter the ranks of world-class medical device companies as soon as possible.

EvaluatedMedtech data shows that the global medical device market reached US$363.8 billion in 2013, maintaining steady growth, and is expected to reach US$513.5 billion in 2020. Emerging markets, with China as a representative, are medical device markets with enormous potential worldwide, with both product普及需求and upgrading needs coexisting, and the growth rate in recent years has been higher than the world average.

Official website information shows that Kailite Medical has three product lines: ultrasound diagnostic systems, electronic endoscope systems, and in-vitro diagnostic series. To date, the company has more than 1700 employees worldwide, including nearly 600 R&D personnel. It has established sales and maintenance networks in more than 130 countries and regions worldwide, and has established seven global R&D centers in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Harbin, Wuhan, Tokyo, Silicon Valley, and Seattle. In recent years, the company has invested about 18% of its annual sales revenue in R&D, and insists on launching no less than 3-4 new products every year. Kailite Medical will provide comprehensive and diversified clinical solutions to the global medical market with continuous technological innovation, excellent product performance, and thoughtful After-sale Service, becoming an important Chinese force in the global medical device industry.