Two Types of Medical Supplies to See Major Price Cuts, Reductions May Exceed 30%

As the routine promotion of centralized procurement for medical consumables continues, regional alliance procurement is continuously reshaping the market landscape.

Recently, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Joint Medical Products Procurement Platform released two announcements, officially disclosing the selected results of the volume-based joint procurement for dural (spinal) membrane patches and indwelling needles. This procurement covers public medical institutions (including military medical facilities) within the alliance region and adopts a "volume-linked, mutual selection" mechanism, linking to the lowest national centralized procurement price to secure stable clinical supply through volume-for-price agreements. The procurement periods are two years and three years, respectively.

The results show that this round of centralized procurement clearly demonstrates a trend of domestic dominance and foreign retreat, with domestic brands accounting for 95% of the selected products and foreign brands only 5%. Only four multinational companies—Terumo, BD Medical, B. Braun, and Integra LifeSciences—were included. In the peripheral intravenous catheter segment, domestic leaders such as Suzhou Linhua and Weihai Jierui took the lead; in the high-value neurosurgical segment of dural (spinal) substitutes, domestic firms including Zhenghai Bio, Guanhao Bio, and Beijing Daqing Bio dominate the market. As widely used and broadly covered basic consumables and high-value neurosurgical implants, these results further confirm that centralized procurement is becoming a key accelerator for domestic substitution, continuously narrowing the traditional premium pricing space for imported brands.

So far, the official overall reduction in this centralized procurement has not been announced. According to preliminary estimates within the industry, the average price reduction for these two types of consumables may exceed 30%, achieving a balance between controlling medical insurance costs, reducing the burden on patients, and the sustainable development of enterprises. Compared to the significant price reductions of some varieties previously, the reduction in this round is more moderate.

Domestic brands capture 95% of the market share

This "3+N" alliance procurement in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, following the centralized procurement of coronary stents, artificial joints, and spinal consumables, is another comprehensive review of high and low-value medical consumables. Its results have a strong demonstration and spillover effect on the national market. From the perspective of corporate ownership and the structure of selected suppliers, this centralized procurement shows a one-sided pattern, with domestic companies becoming the absolute main force.

As a widely used basic low-value consumable in clinical practice, peripheral intravenous catheters feature mature technology and intense competition, with domestic manufacturers having long achieved technological breakthroughs. In this round of centralized procurement, local brands such as Suzhou Linhua, Weihai Jierui, and Tuoren Medical have firmly secured market dominance thanks to their consistent quality and economies of scale, with domestically produced brands accounting for nearly 90% of the procurement volume. Previously, premium safety-engineered catheters—dominated by foreign companies like BD, B. Braun, and Terumo—have seen their market shares continuously eroded under the centralized procurement rules, as their price advantage has diminished.

Dura mater (spinal) patches, as high-value implantable consumables in neurosurgery, have long been dominated by foreign brands in the high-end market, with product prices remaining high. In this centralized procurement, domestic companies such as Zhenghai Bio, GuanHao Bio, MiDerma Regenerative Medicine, and Beijing DaQing Bio have made a strong breakthrough. Among them, Zhenghai Bio tops the list with 80 selected products, followed closely by GuanHao Bio and DaQing Bio with 53 and 51 products, respectively, forming the first tier of domestic brands. In terms of overall share, domestic brands have secured over 95% of the selected slots, while foreign brands can only maintain a small presence in a few specific models and niche areas.

In terms of foreign investment, only four companies have barely made it onto the list, with their overall market share significantly reduced. Industry insiders pointed out to the 21st Century Business Herald that under the condition of equal product quality and clinical recognition, the bulk procurement policy has broken the long-standing premium advantage enjoyed by foreign brands. Local companies have greater advantages in supply chain stability, response speed, and service capabilities in lower-tier markets, coupled with a sufficient number of registration certificates and a full range of product lines, gradually achieving comprehensive substitution of imported products. The foreign strategy, which relied on brand premiums and academic promotion, is gradually becoming ineffective under the rules of volume-based procurement and the linkage of volume and price.

Multiple medical device industry analysts stated that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Alliance, as one of the earliest and most influential regional centralized procurement platforms in China, often sets a precedent that other provinces follow in terms of rule design and bid award outcomes. The simultaneous implementation of procurement for these two categories of medical consumables signifies that the trend toward full domestic substitution for low-value consumables and accelerated domestic substitution for high-value consumables has now been firmly established, marking the industry’s shift from channel-driven competition to comprehensive competition based on product quality, cost efficiency, and innovation capabilities.

Price tiers differ significantly

The selected price data shows a clear differentiation in the pricing logic between low-value and high-value consumables, with a significant price gap, reflecting the characteristics of market-oriented pricing under different technological barriers, material processes, and clinical risk levels.

IV catheter products face intense competition and feature mature technology, with relatively concentrated pricing. The highest winning bid price is RMB 24.35 per unit, submitted by Beijing Volt, Hengtai Medical, and Terumo; the lowest winning bid price is RMB 5.47 per unit, submitted by Aidi Medical—a price differential of approximately fivefold. Given their high clinical usage volume and high degree of product homogeneity, centralized procurement has effectively driven prices back to reasonable levels, further reducing the financial burden on patients and the medical insurance fund. Previously, multi-province alliance IV catheter procurement programs achieved average price reductions exceeding 50%; this Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei procurement initiative continues the approach of moderate price reduction and volume-based pricing, balancing enterprises’ reasonable profit margins with sustainable supply.

Dural (spinal) patch products exhibit significant price stratification due to substantial differences in materials, manufacturing processes, biocompatibility, and clinical indications. Among chemically synthesized products, the lowest proposed winning price is 132.66 RMB per patch from B. Braun, while the highest is 10,635 RMB per patch from Medprin Regenerative Medical, resulting in a maximum price difference of nearly 80-fold. This vast price gap does not simply reflect inflated pricing but stems from differences in material origin (animal-derived, chemically synthesized, or regenerative medicine materials), product structure, applicable surgical procedures, and biosafety profiles. The centralized procurement policy does not impose a uniform, across-the-board price cut; instead, it respects clinical distinctions, implements tiered pricing, and avoids prioritizing the lowest price alone, thereby safeguarding clinical choice and product innovation.

To date, the authorities have not officially announced the overall price reduction for this round of centralized procurement. Preliminary industry estimates suggest that the average price reduction for these two categories of medical devices may exceed 30%, striking a balance among medical insurance cost control, patient burden reduction, and sustainable enterprise development. Compared with the steep price cuts observed for certain products in previous rounds, the reduction in this round is relatively moderate, reflecting an optimization and transition of centralized procurement policies—from a sole focus on price reduction toward a more holistic approach emphasizing product quality, supply security, and innovation support.

From an industry impact perspective, this round of centralized procurement will further drive market consolidation. Small and medium-sized enterprises lacking core technologies and relying on single products and regional distribution channels will be increasingly phased out, while leading companies with comprehensive product portfolios, large-scale production capacity, and nationwide service networks will continue to expand their advantages. For domestic companies, winning inclusion in the procurement list means rapid hospital access and the ability to trade volume for price, enabling them to leverage centralized procurement to penetrate grassroots and county-level markets and further increase market share. For foreign-invested companies, their former advantages in the conventional consumables segment will diminish, prompting a strategic shift toward high-end, innovative segments with higher technological barriers and greater clinical differentiation, thereby establishing differentiated competition.

The current procurement result announcement period runs from March 12 to March 16. Following the implementation of the selected results, clinical use and medical insurance payment will be synchronized, further reducing the burden on patients and improving the efficiency of fund utilization. Industry experts generally believe that with the ongoing normalization and institutionalization of medical consumables procurement, the medical consumables industry will continue to evolve towards innovation-driven, quality-focused, centralized, and localized development. The domestic medical equipment industry is currently experiencing a new round of structural opportunities.