Many medical device makers are strengthening their ties to China. Philips, General Electric, Medtronic, Siemens and others are stepping up manufacturing on the mainland, both to cut costs on equipment sold in the US and to open up the China market. Plenty have done so already. Philips on April 11, 2008, bought a company in the southern city of Shenzhen that makes patient monitoring equipment, and has formed a joint venture in China that produces MRI, CT, ultrasound, and X-ray gear sold in the U.S. Siemens and opened a research and manufacturing center in Shanghai. Medtronics bought a 15% stake in Shandong Weigao, a medical equipment manufacturer. Given the track record of Chinese companies in toys, food and drugs, some medical experts wonder whether mainland manufacturers are reliable enough for sensitive medical equipment. “ Many of these devices are life-sustaining , and it is critically important that they be manufactured to specification”, says Dr. William H. Maisel, director of the Medical Safety Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The Food and Drug Administration is setting up offices in China. Congress is considering legislation calling for more inspection of foreign drug and device makers and requiring documentation of safety before products are accepted in the US. But FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Escehnbach says the agency has difficulty keeping up with the flood of products from other countries, especially China.” (Extract from Business Week , May 12, 2008)AMREP China and AMREP Mexico are currently doing or have done work for Philips, GE Medical, Siemens and Medtronic in China and Mexico.
For more information on AMREP medical devices work contact Isabel at 1 954 4430046
