In 2025, all the innovative medical "black technologies" that are most likely to debut in China are here.

The annual China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "CIIE") has gradually come to a close.

In the medical device exhibition hall, which has garnered much attention over the years, a total of more than 260 enterprises from around the world participated this year, and all of the world's top 10 medical enterprises and 11 Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies made their appearances. For these multinational medical enterprises, this place has always been an "innovation wind vane". Many products that have not been officially approved have benefited from the spillover effect of the CIIE, accelerating their listing process in China.

Last year, we reviewed those innovative medical products at the CIIE that have indications for a wide range of people and have already or are expected to become "blockbuster" products. What are the new highlights at this year's CIIE?

Innovative Drugs: Searching for the Next "Billion-Dollar Blockbuster"

Since Otsuka Pharmaceutical entered China in the 1980s, multinational pharmaceutical companies have undergone more than 40 years of development in China. This is 40 years of the accelerated expansion of the global pharmaceutical industry; it is also 40 years of the Chinese biomedical industry starting from scratch and going global.

For these pharmaceutical companies, developing potential "billion-dollar molecules" to drive rapid performance growth is undoubtedly the most desirable direction. Take Merck's PD-1 product Pembrolizumab ("Keytruda"), known as the "Drug King", for example. Its sales in the first three quarters of this year have exceeded $21.6 billion; while Semaglutide, a "dark horse" in the past two years, has also sold nearly $20.2 billion this year, contributing more than 70% of Novo Nordisk's sales revenue.

This is why, in the current increasingly fierce competition in the innovative drug market, pharmaceutical companies still heavily invest in research and development. According to Endpoints News statistics, in 2023, the 15 biomedical companies with the highest global R&D expenditures, including Merck, Roche, and Johnson & Johnson, have invested a total of more than $150 billion in this area, and the highest percentage of R&D in revenue exceeds 20%.

The next "billion-dollar blockbuster" may be among them.

Novo Nordisk: The GLP-1 "Family" Welcomes New Members

With GLP-1 Semaglutide, Novo Nordisk has become one of the most familiar multinational pharmaceutical companies to the public in the past two years. The financial report released on November 6 shows that in the first three quarters, Semaglutide contributed a total of 141.2 billion Danish kroner (approximately $20.2 billion) in revenue, accounting for 70% of the company's total sales.

This year, Novo Nordisk showcased a total of 15 innovative drugs, including many "world's firsts", such as the oral hypoglycemic version of Semaglutide tablet "Rybelsus", and the weight loss version of Semaglutide injection weekly "Wegovy". Both were approved for listing in China in January and June of this year, respectively.

According to 36Kr, the weight loss version of Semaglutide officially started commercial sales in mid-November this year; currently, the product has arrived in some hospitals in Beijing and other places.

Exhibition stand of the oral hypoglycemic version of Semaglutide tablet "Rybelsus"

In addition, the globally first approved weekly insulin preparation, Insulin icodec Injection, for the treatment of adult type 2 diabetes, was also exhibited for the first time. At the end of this month, this product will be officially commercially launched in China, and insulin medication will thus enter the weekly treatment era.

Eli Lilly: The Dual-Target GLP-1 Reappears

As another of the "GLP-1 Twins", the product that Eli Lilly focused on showcasing this year is still the GLP-1 dual-target product Tirzepatide, which only needs to be injected once a week and is regarded by the market as the strongest competitor to Semaglutide. In May and July of this year, Tirzepatide's indications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and weight management were approved in China one after another.

With the "Twins" in place, the competition in the GLP-1 domestic market has gradually extended from indication development to commercialization, production capacity, and other aspects. In October, Eli Lilly announced an investment of 1.5 billion yuan to upgrade the production capacity of its Suzhou factory, expand the production scale of innovative drugs for type 2 diabetes and obesity, and meet the dual needs of the European market and domestic drug supply. This is also an "important part of Eli Lilly's largest global capacity upgrade plan in history".

However, it is understood that the plan for Tirzepatide to be listed in the fourth quarter of this year may change. The official confrontation between the two major products in the Chinese market may not yet begin.

Exhibition stand of Tirzepatide

Sanofi: A New Drug That Can Delay the Onset of Diabetes

This year, Sanofi's leading product Dupilumab (trade name "Dupixent"), known as the "Immune Drug King", returned to the CIIE. Since its first exhibition in 2018, "Dupixent" has been approved in China to treat moderate to severe atopic dermatitis patients of all ages, including adults, teenagers, and children. In September this year, before the US FDA, the product also obtained the indication for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China.

"Dupixent" exhibition area

In addition, the company's another product, teplizumab, which received a marketing application acceptance at the end of August, has also attracted much attention. Teplizumab is an innovative drug used to delay the onset of type 1 diabetes. Relevant research data shows that after 14 days of continuous treatment with this drug, the onset time of type 1 diabetes can be delayed by an average of nearly 3 years. Previously, teplizumab has been launched in Boao, Hainan, and has been included in the accelerated review channel by the CDE.

Gilead: Long-Acting HIV Injectable Releases "100% Effectiveness" Data

At this year's CIIE, Gilead's core product Lenacapavir (Lenacapavir) disclosed new progress in the field of AIDS prevention.

This is the world's first approved HIV capsid inhibitor drug, which has become popular due to its long-acting function of only requiring administration twice a year. Currently, the drug has been approved in the European Union and the United States; it is understood that Gilead has submitted a listing application for Lenacapavir for HIV treatment to the domestic drug review department.

It is worth noting that

Gilead exhibition area

In June this year, in an HIV prevention study for cisgender women, Lenacapavir showed 100% effectiveness, and none of the 2134 enrolled women were infected with HIV; the follow-up results about 3 months later further showed that 99.9% of the subjects using Lenacapavir did not develop HIV infection. Compared with the background HIV incidence rate (bHIV), Lenacapavir reduced the HIV infection rate by 96%.

Merck: More Than 50 Million People Have Used HPV Vaccines

At this year's CIIE, Merck showcased nearly 30 drugs and vaccines approved in China, covering multiple fields such as oncology, diabetes, and anti-infection. Keytruda and the nine-valent HPV vaccine are still the highlights. The company told 36Kr that so far, more than 50 million Chinese women aged 9 - 45 have been vaccinated with the company's HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and cervical lesions related to HPV infection.

Merck's pipeline under research

In addition, it is worth noting that in the disclosed R&D pipeline, there is also an innovative therapy Sotatercept for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a cardiovascular disease. This is a product that Merck acquired for $11.5 billion by acquiring the innovative pharmaceutical company Acceleron in 2021. It was approved in the United States in March this year; and a listing application was just submitted in China in October.

Under the aura of Keytruda, the story of Merck's first "blockbuster" actually being born in the cardiovascular field is slightly overshadowed. In the post-Keytruda era, Merck is eager for new growth opportunities. In the company's plan, expanding the cardiovascular sector is one of the core strategies. It is expected to launch 8 new drugs/indications for cardiovascular diseases and achieve $10 billion in revenue by 2030, and Sotatercept is the top priority.

In the second quarter of this year, Sotatercept's sales reached $70 million, higher than the industry's expected $57 million. The market expects that by 2029, the product's sales are expected to reach $6 billion.

Medical Devices: Expecting the Disruption Brought by AI

In 2024, both the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to research related to artificial intelligence in the medical field. Using an AI product to "disrupt" the traditional diagnosis and treatment methods, while improving clinical effects and reducing the burden on medical insurance and patients, has become the most anticipated future in the industry.

In the medical device exhibition area of this CIIE, well-known enterprises such as Medtronic, GE Healthcare, Abbott, Illumina, Varian, Elekta, and Siemens all appeared. And AI is the high-frequency word mentioned by each medical device company.

Some practitioners mentioned to us at the CIIE site that after going through the early stage of "AI + image recognition" and the basic stage of medical informatization, everyone shows a more accepting and embracing attitude towards AI in terms of conceptual cognition and technological iteration, hoping that the "intelligent medical era" empowered by AI can come faster.

GE Healthcare: The Debut of the Large Model Product Led by the Chinese Team

At this year's CIIE, GE Healthcare showcased a total of 17 innovative products, covering fields such as precision medicine, primary care, and the integration of digital and real innovation. By deeply integrating digital technologies such as AI, deep learning, and automated workflow, it shows the integration of global cutting-edge technology and Chinese wisdom.

Among them, the large model product "TechEase" led by GE Healthcare China's digital team has attracted attention. It is understood that its development is based on the needs of local medical imaging equipment users. In the past, many equipment user manuals had problems such as inconvenient access and difficult understanding, and it was also difficult to obtain real-time responses from manual support around the clock. To solve these problems, GE Healthcare China's digital team, in collaboration with the global artificial intelligence team, innovatively developed "TechEase" based on multimodal data to provide real-time intelligent question-and-answer services.

Currently, "TechEase" has been supported for use on several GE Healthcare's CT, magnetic resonance, and ultrasound equipment. Users can use it through the WeChat mini-program.

Huang Feng, Chief Digital Officer of GE Healthcare China, introduced that as a medical imaging equipment enterprise, GE Healthcare is actually more concerned about how to make the equipment itself more intelligent, such as making image imaging faster, scanning time shorter, and radiation dose lower. For example, the company once used AI to develop a low-dose, high-quality use technology for CT, reducing the radiation dose to 30% of the original. Currently, more than 50 enterprises from the fields of artificial intelligence and other fields have collaborated with GE Healthcare Shanghai Innovation Center.

GE Healthcare exhibition stand

Siemens Healthineers: The World's First 7T Magnetic Resonance Equipment Debuts

Siemens Healthineers is a "full-attendance student" at the CIIE. Nearly 20 new products were exhibited at this CIIE, and the most eye-catching one is a 7T magnetic resonance equipment MAGNETOM Terra.X.

Simply put, the magnetic field strength (unit T, that is, Tesla) is the core indicator to measure the performance of the magnetic resonance system. According to the strength of the static magnetic field generated by the magnet, the magnetic resonance system is divided into low field (0.1 - 0.5T), medium field (0.6 - 1T), high field (1.5 - 2T) and ultra-high field (3T). The stronger the field strength, the higher the image resolution and the faster the human body imaging speed. For example, the emerging 3T magnetic resonance image in recent years can already distinguish details of 1mm; and at 7T, even 0.5mm fine imaging can be achieved.

In the field of scientific research, the application of the 7T magnetic resonance system has been for more than several decades. However, due to reasons such as high price and technical limitations, it has not been widely popularized in clinical applications. In April this year, the US FDA approved the listing of MAGNETOM Terra.X (allegedly priced at $9 million); in September this year, this product also officially landed in China, officially宣告ing the entry of the 7T magnetic resonance system into the clinical era.

It is understood that MAGNETOM Terra.X has the world's first 8-channel dynamic parallel transmission architecture, which can greatly improve the transmission uniformity; in addition, it also integrates artificial intelligence to provide enhanced 7T imaging capabilities, and can complete high-resolution brain and knee joint examinations in less than 15 minutes.

Having been deeply rooted in China for more than 30 years, Siemens Healthineers'