Expanding Mainland China Workforce Fivefold, Medtech Giant Defies Market Downturn

In the trade war, more and more medical device giants are betting on both the U.S. and Chinese markets simultaneously.

Recently, Simon Michel, CEO of Ypsomed, a global leader in infusion, announced that they will establish a local production line for the U.S. market starting in 2027. He also revealed that the number of employees in China will increase to 500 over the next ten years.

It is understood that Ypsomed currently has approximately 2,000 employees worldwide engaged in the self-injection pen business, with three-quarters in Switzerland, about 400 in Germany, and 100 in China. This means that in the future, its workforce in China will be five times the current size.

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Multiple favorable factors stimulate global expansion.

Ypsomed is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of self-injection and infusion devices, as well as an authoritative expert in diabetes care, holding a leading position in the global insulin pen market. Headquartered in Burgdorf, Switzerland, the group has established comprehensive production facilities, subsidiaries, and distribution networks worldwide. In 2024, the company celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Ypsomed is the preferred partner for numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, offering products such as injection pens, auto-injectors, and infusion pump devices for administering liquid medications. Through its mylife Diabetescare brand, Ypsomed provides a product portfolio directly to patients, pharmacies, and hospitals; meanwhile, leveraging the Ypsomed Delivery Systems brand, it conducts B2B business with major pharmaceutical companies.

Recently, the Trump administration imposed a 39% tariff on Switzerland, significantly higher than the 15% imposed on EU countries, making it the highest among all developed countries. Switzerland is home to many global healthcare giants, such as Medtronic, Novartis, Roche, and the world's largest hearing aid company, Sonova Group. The responses of these companies to the tariff war are of great concern.

In an interview, Simon Michel, CEO of Ypsomed, stated that currently, less than 10% of the company’s sales come from the US market, and the company does not manufacture in the US. Half of its products imported to the US come from Germany, and the other half from Switzerland. However, in the event of a second Trump term, we have decided to begin local production for the US market in the second half of 2027. In the medium term, the share of the US market is expected to rise to 20% of our sales.

He also revealed that the company has made it clear that the tariffs imposed by U.S. authorities will not be a reason for price reductions, and the additional import costs will be borne by customers. In addition, the company has decided to transfer the execution of U.S. orders from the Swiss company to its German subsidiary to avoid the 39% tariff.

By 2028, MedPace's investment in its US factory is expected to slightly exceed $300 million.

The medical infusion pump paired with CGM forms an intelligent automated insulin delivery (AID) system.

The incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity is continuously rising, driving rapid growth in the injection device market. Known as a weight-loss miracle drug, GLP-1 has further fueled the growth of infusion devices. In the first half of 2025, the global GLP-1 drug market is expected to historically surpass PD-1/PD-L1, with sales exceeding $35 billion, and the annual market size is expected to surpass $70 billion.

GLP-1 drugs can be self-injected in liquid form using Yipaisen's injection pen. There is a target population of 1 billion obese individuals worldwide who are at risk for more than 200 related diseases. Benefiting from multiple positive market trends, as of March 31, 2025, Yipaisen's latest fiscal year comprehensive sales reached 749 million Swiss francs (approximately 6.73 billion RMB), representing a 38% increase compared to the previous year.

In the future, MedPage will expand its staff globally, and China is one of its key markets.

Simon Michel introduced that the company currently has about 2,000 employees working in the self-injection pen business, with three-quarters based in Switzerland and the rest overseas—around 400 in Germany and 100 in China. It is expected that in ten years, we will have about 2,000 employees in Switzerland, 1,000 employees in Germany, and 500 employees each in China and in the new factory in the United States.

Interestingly, Simon Michel also added that perhaps in the future, not all employees in Switzerland will be "human"—some roles, especially in research and development, intellectual property, and procurement, could be filled by virtual agents or artificial intelligence (AI). We are heavily investing in AI, implementing dozens of projects.

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The first in the Asia-Pacific region to be established in Changzhou

After supplying products to China for over 15 years, Medpace has chosen to establish its first manufacturing base in China in Changzhou National Hi-Tech District, Jiangsu, marking an important step in its strategic layout in the Asia-Pacific region.

On June 26, 2025, Medtronic held a grand celebration to mark the official completion of its first exclusive production base in China. The new factory is located in the Changzhou High-tech Industrial Park, covering an area of 15,000 square meters, and will produce 100 million injection devices annually for the Chinese market. Notably, this base is Medtronic's first production facility established in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the introduction, the company has invested nearly 150 million Swiss francs in the base and has reserved an additional 30,000 square meters of land for future expansion. The first batch of commercial products has also been successfully put into production.

Apart from Changzhou, Medipace is advancing its global production expansion on multiple fronts. In the United States, site evaluation for a new production base has entered the final stages, with the project expected to launch within the year. In Schwerin, Germany, construction of a second factory broke ground this spring. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the production bases in Burgdorf and Solothurn are also undergoing continuous capacity optimization and expansion.

Currently, China has become the country with the largest number of diabetes patients in the world. According to statistics, in 2021, the number of adult diabetes patients in China reached 140 million, ranking first globally. It is estimated that this number will rise to 160 million by 2030 and to 170 million by 2045. The massive patient base provides a broad development space for the diabetes drug and medical device market.

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Currently, the main players in the injection pen market are companies such as Ypsomed and SHL. According to data from the consulting firm MarketsandMarkets, the injection pen market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.9% from 2024 to 2030, reaching USD 74.1 billion. UBS Switzerland predicts that by 2029, sales of GLP-1 drugs will rise to USD 126 billion, reflecting the surge in chronic diseases.

In April of this year, Medtronic announced that it would sell its diabetes care business to TecMed for $517.7 million (approximately 420 million Swiss francs or 3.8 billion RMB). The company's CEO stated that the sale was due to the company's focus on seizing the significant opportunities in the subcutaneous self-injection market and expanding its global production capacity.

As an important partner of renowned multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Sanofi, Roche/Genentech, Eli Lilly, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and AstraZeneca, Medpace has built a technological moat in the contract manufacturing field through its portfolio of over 2,000 patents.

Domestic companies such as Hanerxi, Wanhai Medical, Chengji Biotech (Hanyu Pharmaceutical), Gangan Technology (Ganli Pharmaceutical), Delphi, Meihua Medical, Tonghua Dongbao, and Zhongshan Huifeng are gradually breaking the monopoly. With the restructuring of global supply chains and the impact of tariffs, whether there will be significant changes in the future market landscape remains to be seen. Medical Device Home will continue to monitor this development.