On November 12, Eli Radiopharma announced the completion of its Series A financing round, raising nearly RMB 400 million. The round was led by Huagai Capital and co-led by Bayland Capital, with participation from Boyu Ventures, Delian Capital, and other institutions, while existing shareholders continued to increase their investment. As an innovative radiopharmaceutical company focused on integrated diagnosis and treatment of oncology and neurological disorders, Eli Radiopharma will primarily use the proceeds to advance its core pipeline into the clinical stage, focusing on preclinical research, clinical trial applications, and early-stage clinical development of candidate drugs. The funds will also strengthen its research and development platform and talent team, enhance clinical development and international expansion, accelerate differentiated innovative projects into clinical trials, and provide patients with more precise diagnostic and therapeutic options.

Tengyun Medical's independently developed second-generation "Integrated Visualized Prostate Thermal Vapor Ablation System" recently completed first clinical trials at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. It integrates the catheter-tip endoscope and ablation component into a single host unit, ending external cystoscope dependence. Physicians can visualize and operate with one device, easing the workflow. Unlike first-generation products and imported rivals requiring dual-device docking, it redefines the form factor with global leadership. The first-generation device, benchmarked against imports in prospective randomized controlled trials, holds EU MDR CE certification and joins the DRG and DIP payment framework to improve accessibility. The launch marks Tengyun Medical's shift from domestic substitution to source innovation, giving benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients a more efficient, ultra-minimally invasive option and strengthening its urology edge.

On November 11, 2026, Sichuan Neautus Traditional Chinese Medicine Co., Ltd. officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with its shares opening up 37%. As of press time, the company's share price stood at HKD 55.2, giving it a market capitalization of about HKD 3.5 billion. The primary use of the proceeds is to expand capacity: building two digital, automated production lines for general and toxic decoction pieces, plus low-temperature storage and controlled-atmosphere warehousing, to add about 6,000 tonnes of capacity by the end of 2028, for a total of more than 16,000 tonnes.

On October 30, Huawei's continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system won approval from China's NMPA, becoming its first Class III medical device and entering a hotly contested market. Despite 30-plus approved products in China, mature ecosystems from Abbott, Dexcom and domestic giants Sinocare and SIBIONICS, and a price war driving unit prices to around RMB 100, CGM still grows fast: MicroTech Medical's H1 2026 revenue rose 118.7% year on year. Unlike its blood pressure monitoring built into smartwatches, Huawei's is a standalone device with stronger medical attributes and a tougher differentiation challenge. With rivals' channels entrenched and products homogenized, whether its wearables strength can break the pattern remains to be tested. It reflects Huawei's deepening health-monitoring push and a shift from hardware competition to AI services and ecosystem integration.

AI for Science is held back by dirty wet-lab data and non-standardized manual work. In 2023, Tianjin University professor Duan Xuexin founded CVGBIO to give AI hands and feet that "hold steady", using original Hypersound technology. Giants such as Google have explored self-driving wet labs, but cell experiments, given heterogeneous living material and hard-to-quantify handling, remain the hardest link, leaving data poorly reproducible and slowing AI drug discovery. Genes and proteins already have standardized tools; cell work has long lacked programmable, recordable devices that keep cells alive while handling high-concentration, low-volume samples. With nearly a decade of GHz acoustic streaming, CVGBIO fills that gap with standardized, traceable cell-experiment solutions that improve data quality, link models to real experiments, and push data-driven life science and drug development toward industry.

BrightGene Medicine (688166.SH) has announced positive Phase III results for BGM0504, a once-weekly injectable for type 2 diabetes, establishing it as a formidable challenger to current market leaders. In monotherapy, BGM0504 demonstrated superior glycemic control, with the 10 mg dose achieving a 2.6% HbA1c reduction in 32 weeks, numerically outperforming tirzepatide and semaglutide in cross-study comparisons. In a head-to-head combination therapy trial, BGM0504 10 mg proved statistically superior to semaglutide 1.0 mg, delivering a 2.41% HbA1c reduction versus 1.95% at 32 weeks, with sustained efficacy at 52 weeks. Both trials exhibited a favorable safety profile. These landmark findings position BGM0504 to potentially redefine diabetes care and challenge the dominance of Eli Lilly's tirzepatide and Novo Nordisk's semaglutide in the global market.

Beijing Konruns Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (603590.SH) announced on November 11 that the first subject has been enrolled and dosed in its Phase II clinical study (KC1086-COM-01) evaluating KC1086 tablets in combination with fulvestrant for the treatment of HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. KC1086 is the world's first KAT6/7 dual-target small-molecule inhibitor to enter clinical development, representing a novel mechanism of action paired with the established estrogen-receptor antagonist fulvestrant. The Phase II trial is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of this combination regimen in patients with hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer, a subtype accounting for approximately 70% of all breast cancer cases globally.

Published in Circulation, the SEASON-AR trial is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with severe pure aortic regurgitation. The multicenter Chinese study enrolled 212 high-surgical-risk patients, randomizing them to the VitaFlow TAVR system plus medical therapy versus medical therapy alone. At one year, the TAVR group achieved a 66% relative risk reduction in the primary composite endpoint of all-cause death, disabling stroke, or heart failure rehospitalization (8.3% vs. 24.8%). TAVR also significantly improved NYHA functional class, six-minute walk distance, and left ventricular reverse remodeling. While the trial noted a 20.2% rate of permanent pacemaker implantation, it provides groundbreaking randomized evidence that TAVR can dramatically improve outcomes for pure aortic regurgitation patients lacking surgical options.

In early November 2026, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer secured regulatory approvals from China's NMPA within a single week, highlighting their accelerated push into the Chinese market. The newly approved therapies span autoimmune, rare, and cardiovascular diseases, including Sanofi's expanded indication for Dupixent, J&J's pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment, and Pfizer's non-factor hemophilia therapy. While these concentrated approvals underscore China's growing strategic importance and improving regulatory environment, the companies still face downstream market access challenges, such as hospital formulary inclusion and medical insurance coverage, to fully realize their commercial potential.

IASO Biotechnology announced that its CD20-targeting in vivo CAR-T product, IASO208, has received IND approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This milestone follows an implied IND clearance from the U.S. FDA in September 2026, making IASO208 the first Chinese lentiviral vector-based in vivo CAR-T product to secure FDA authorization. Developed on the proprietary InTelliCAR™ platform, IASO208 offers a revolutionary single-infusion therapy that engineers T cells directly inside the patient's body, eliminating the need for cell harvesting and preconditioning chemotherapy. Early data from an investigator-initiated trial in China demonstrated favorable tolerability and promising anti-tumor activity. With the dual regulatory approvals, IASO's in vivo CAR-T platform officially enters simultaneous clinical development in both China and the U.S., with plans to leverage Chinese clinical data to launch a Phase Ib study for relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the U.S.

China's brain-computer interface (BCI) sector is booming. In the first half of 2026, it recorded 62 deals totaling over RMB 7 billion, equal to the previous five years combined, or roughly one every three days. Most founders of the nearly 100 domestic BCI firms are professors and researchers, aged over 45, who endured a decade of neglect and were once dismissed as "charlatans." Tsinghua, Zhejiang University, and the University of Science and Technology of China represent three paths: signal acquisition and engineering, medical-engineering integration and translation, and flexible materials and minimally invasive implantation. About 90 percent entered mid-career, their backgrounds directing work on chips, electrodes, algorithms, and applications. As core technologies tip and China's NEO becomes the first approved invasive BCI, policy support under the China Brain Project and the 15th Five-Year Plan is driving the shift from a "laboratory narrative" to an "industry narrative."

Dr. Song Yunlong, an AI drug discovery scientist, launched his third venture Yunji Zhiyao in April 2026. With business development (BD) deals over $7.8 billion and drugs in late-stage trials or approved, he advocates shifting new drug research and development from random trial-and-error to a model of "AI modeling, automated experimentation and expert collaboration." He emphasizes AI-driven drug discovery (AIDD) leadership, dual-engine drive and rapid iteration for efficiency. Yunji Zhiyao uses AI to empower the full small-molecule drug development chain. It built an end-to-end AIDD platform from target assessment to ADMET prediction and delivered high-value, differentiated pipelines. Dr. Song notes that while AIDD improves research and development efficiency, it does not overturn the clinical-translation logic. The platform is one part of the industry; correct asset selection and strategic direction determine a biotech's future. Only with the right direction can efforts yield value.

Addressing AI drug development pain points — low clinical translation rates and single-point predictions overlooking system-level side effects — Dr. Li Lei, founder of CANCHEN TECH, proposes "virtual organ" technology. Founded in Shenzhen in 2025, the AI4S firm offers China's only full-scale spatiotemporal simulation spanning "molecule-cell-tissue-organ." Its team includes top scientific and industry talent, with work in Cell. In 2026, it raised tens of millions of RMB in multiple rounds from investors including Oriental Fortune Capital. It fixes the "black-box prediction" paradigm via high-precision digital twins and whole-body collaborative simulation, and launched industry-first applications: a training data platform at Southwest Intelligent Computing Center, an AI multi-omics platform with BGI Genomics, a neonatal screening and critical care system with top hospitals, and a full-modality brain simulation. CANCHEN TECH is driving commercialization through standardized solutions.

In this episode of "Going Global ING," we interview Peng Yifei, General Manager of Tigermed-Jyton, on the logic behind Chinese medical device companies going global. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tigermed focused on medical device CRO services, Tigermed-Jyton serves over 2,100 clients across more than 30 countries. It specializes in high-risk Class III innovative devices, mainly supporting startups and mid-sized firms without mature teams. Leveraging Tigermed's 2,000-strong overseas localized team, it uses a hybrid model of "frontline local engagement and back-end support from China," cutting client costs while ensuring compliance and efficiency. Medical device exports are steadier than the vibrant pharmaceutical expansion. Through its project pipeline, the CRO sees companies' real decision pathways — from hesitation and trial-and-error to successful market entry — offering valuable references for the global layout of domestic pharmaceutical and device enterprises.

In November 2026, Neusoft's NeuViz P10 won the Shizuishan First People's Hospital tender at RMB 38.88 million, the first homegrown photon-counting CT in a northwest prefecture-level city. The win signals ultra-high-end imaging equipment moving into lower-tier markets, as the field shifts from "technology myth" to "commercial free-for-all." By early November, China had awarded over 66 photon-counting CT units, with prices down from nearly RMB 60 million to around RMB 40 million. Siemens holds most installations on its first-mover edge, while Neusoft and United Imaging accelerate their layouts; Neusoft has units at several tertiary hospitals. The tender shows that, backed by the national equipment renewal policy, procurement is shifting from "research demonstration" at top hospitals to "rigid clinical demand" in prefecture-level cities, pointing to explosive potential and a reshaping market.

In 2026, the global semiconductor price surge is hitting medical device makers, with leading firms Mindray and United Imaging Healthcare facing gross margin pressure. The AI industry's siphon effect has diverted resources, tightening supply and raising prices of upstream materials such as chips and precious metals. Life support, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), and medical imaging are among the affected sub-sectors. Patient monitors are squeezed hardest, as motherboards and IC chips make up a high share of costs. The common "outsourced processing and in-house assembly" model cannot hedge systemic cost increases, so upstream volatility flows directly to downstream income statements. Rising electronic component prices now pose performance decline risks for leading companies. Mindray has warned its full-year gross margin will fall as costs rise, underscoring the threat to profitability.

At the 2026 Tencent Global Digital Ecosystem Summit, Tencent Healthcare launched a "Healthcare AI Agent Toolbox," shifting from standalone apps to agent-centered capability collaboration. Alex Ng, head of Tencent Healthcare, said healthcare AI does not lack new apps; the pain point is fragmented tools hard to fit into real workflows, capping efficiency. Hospital care and pharma R&D span multiple systems, so AI must understand the business, call tools, and clarify responsibilities. The toolbox turns accumulated models, tools and knowledge into modular, combinable atomic capabilities, breaking system silos so scattered expertise works together in complete workflows. The move reflects a new judgment: the edge is no longer more standalone apps, but connecting professional capabilities so AI deeply participates in and optimizes the full workflow, creating real value.

Shanghai StairMed has started pre-IPO tutoring, China's fourth BCI company to seek a listing this year. Backed by Alibaba and Tencent, it has raised RMB 2.6 billion, the industry's most; its fully invasive product beats Neuralink on implant count and in-body time, and its lead product entered NMPA's innovative device review, completing enrollment. Earlier, Neuracle Medical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. filed a STAR Market IPO that was accepted, holding the world's first Class III registration for an invasive BCI, yet revenue still relies on non-invasive EEG, with its core invasive product early in commercialization. With StairMed joining, China's BCI "IPO lineup" is taking shape: Neuracle leads on approvals, StairMed on financing; the race for the world's first BCI stock is heating up as the industry speeds from R&D to commercialization and public markets.

In the first half of 2026, sales of domestic ophthalmic optical biometers overtook imported brands, a major market shift. The field was long dominated by imports such as Zeiss, and in pre-cataract examination, the most technically demanding, domestic devices left a gap owing to insufficient precision and stability. Yet cost-effectiveness, convenient service and after-sales support built in the myopia prevention market have won domestic brands most of the optometry segment. In recent years leading makers have completed technology iterations, adding visualization and new-generation IOL formulas and clearing that high bar. Expanded premium IOL use and tiered diagnosis are unlocking grassroots demand that high-priced imports cannot reach, while TowardPi and MediWorks installations climb, extending from single scenarios to complex clinical coverage and eroding the import monopoly.

In August 2026, neusight and Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital reported a breakthrough in invasive brain-computer interfaces for visual reconstruction. Implanting electrodes in epilepsy patients' primary visual cortex (V1), the team induced phosphenes with artificial electrical signals and assembled scattered dots into lines, contours and simple Chinese characters. The investigator-initiated trial (IIT) delivered several global breakthroughs: one parameter set reused across days stably reproduced the same pattern; specific parameters induced dynamic phosphenes; and adjusted parameters produced patterns from gray-white to red-purple. Unlike retinal prostheses needing an intact optic nerve, writing directly into the visual cortex bypasses the eye, offering hope to blind patients with optic nerve atrophy. By solving the "visual encoding" problem, neusight proves an industry-led innovation model and marks a milestone toward writing vision into the brain.

Merck, in China over 90 years, uses the 2026 China International Import Expo (CIIE) for its transformation: elevating it from a sales market to an innovation and collaboration hub. Showing 16 drugs across cardiovascular, oncology and other areas, Merck is "integrating Chinese innovation into its global portfolio." Pimicotinib embodies "Chinese innovation for the world," Pergoveris reflects "China speed," and human thyrotropin beta shows partnership commercialization. Merck has deepened research and development ties with local firms Hybribio and Hengrui Pharma, adding the oral GnRH antagonist SHR-7280, and partnered with Alibaba Health, JD Health and the China Alliance for Rare Disease (CARD), building solutions in digital chronic disease management, precision care and access. They link China's innovation and clinical resources to Merck's global research and development network, globalizing Chinese innovations and shifting from product introduction to innovation export and co-creation.

Facing the challenge of 330 million cardiovascular patients in China and a projected 4.3 million annual PCI procedures by 2030, Philips is advancing its "China Strategy 2.0" by focusing on clinical needs beyond hardware upgrades. To address complex coronary and structural heart diseases, Philips integrates imaging, diagnostics, and therapeutic equipment into an intraoperative workflow-centered solution. Leveraging multi-source image fusion across decision-making, navigation, treatment, and verification, the solution tackles challenges posed by vascular tortuosity, calcification, and other complex lesions. Built on the Azurion platform and the next-generation IntraSight Plus intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) system, it supports precise clinical decisions while reducing procedure time and radiation exposure, improving treatment accuracy and patient outcomes. This integrated approach offers an innovative model for China's image-guided intervention sector.

HUTCHMED has closed its exclusive licensing agreement with GSK for its KRAS-EGFR ATTC (HMPL-A830), securing a $110 million upfront payment and up to $1.185 billion in potential milestones for overseas development. Concurrently, China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) announced a strategic initiative to integrate artificial intelligence into drug review and regulatory processes to foster innovation and enhance oversight. These developments headline a busy week in China's pharmaceutical sector, which also saw regulatory milestones for Ascentage Pharma and FDA approvals for Kingfriend and GSK.

HUTCHMED completed an exclusive development and licensing agreement with a GSK subsidiary for HMPL-A830, an innovative oncology candidate. HUTCHMED received an upfront payment of $110 million and is eligible for up to $1.185 billion in milestone payments plus tiered royalties, bringing the potential deal value to $1.295 billion. The agreement covers global markets outside Greater China. HUTCHMED will lead global Phase I development, after which GSK will assume further development and commercialization.HMPL-A830 is an antibody-targeted therapeutic conjugate (ATTC) that links a selective small-molecule KRAS inhibitor to an anti-EGFR antibody, aiming to overcome resistance in KRAS-mutated solid tumors by targeting both EGFR and KRAS signaling pathways. Its global Phase Ia trial was initiated in September 2026 in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic solid tumors. Its clinical benefits, pharmacokinetics, and safety remain to be validated.

The People's Daily published a commentary stating that extreme low prices will not win across the board in China's volume-based procurement (VBP) for drugs and medical consumables, signaling a shift towards a multi-dimensional evaluation framework that weighs price, quality, and supply reliability. Meanwhile, Innovent Biologics presented the first Phase I clinical data for IBI3001, a first-in-class EGFR/B7H3 bispecific ADC, at the ESMO 2026 congress, showing promising early efficacy with an 87.5% objective response rate in a biomarker-positive subgroup.

Since 2026, medical device giants including BD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Olympus, and GE HealthCare have rapidly reshuffled their China leadership — not simple personnel changes, but a strategic upgrade accompanied by organizational restructuring and resource reallocation. Olympus, for example, has elevated China to an independent strategic region, with its head reporting directly to the global CEO and greater autonomy to tackle local challenges and accelerate market recovery. GE HealthCare has carved China out of its "Global Markets" region and formed a provincial government affairs team to address volume-based procurement. Despite short-term swings from quality rectification or policy, the wave shows multinational medtech companies are raising China's strategic priority — deepening local decision-making, refining product portfolios and aligning government affairs — to respond faster and revive growth.

On October 12, 2026, Boehringer Ingelheim inaugurated its China R&D Center in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, integrating scientific discovery, early development, and translational research. The center aims to strengthen early clinical development and external innovation. Its Early Medical Team will focus on disease mechanisms, biomarkers, and proof-of-concept studies, with China participating in all pre-PoC projects. The External Innovation Team will seek local opportunities through business development and licensing (BD&L) and venture capital investments. The China team currently participates in over 70% of the company's early-stage clinical studies and all pivotal trials, supporting global first launches and simultaneous drug approvals.

Viatris Inc. has announced a $1.65 billion cash acquisition of Pacira BioSciences to expand its non-opioid pain management portfolio with established products like EXPAREL and ZILRETTA. In global regulatory developments, China's Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals reported that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted its marketing authorization application for fluzoparib, a PARP inhibitor for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, highlighting its growing ambitions in European markets.

In the first three quarters of 2026, Medtronic invested approximately $2.7 billion in intensive M&A activities. This included leading a $100 million Series D financing round for China-based Pulnovo Medical. Additionally, Medtronic made strategic investments of approximately $700 million in China's Cornerstone Robotics and Israel's Pi-Cardia; acquired three companies, including CathWorks and Scientia Vascular; and invested in Beluga Medical and CARDIOACC. Although the specific financial advisors were not explicitly mentioned in the text, PwC provided relevant data support. Leveraging its strong cash flow, Medtronic aims to address gaps in cardiology and neuroscience through strategic acquisitions, rapidly acquiring high-growth, near-commercialization innovative technologies to synergize with existing businesses and drive growth.

The recent $7.8 billion deal between Novartis and China’s Abogen Biosciences for the mRNA-encoded T-cell engager ABO2203 marks a pivotal shift in the mRNA landscape—from vaccines to programmable therapeutics. As multinational pharma increasingly prioritizes platform capabilities over single molecules, the spotlight turns to delivery technologies that enable precise, repeatable in vivo expression. Companies like METiS TechBio are emerging as key players by combining AI-driven nanodelivery platforms with modular therapeutic payloads, aiming to validate not just individual candidates like MTS-109—a trispecific mRNA-TCE for autoimmune diseases—but the broader potential of 'in-body drug manufacturing.' With clinical data still early, this wave represents a strategic bet on the future of immune engineering, where success hinges less on what mRNA encodes and more on where it’s delivered.