China’s State Council targets high-quality development of pharmaceutical, medical equipment industries
CGTN
China’s State Council has deliberated and adopted work plans on promoting the high-quality development of the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries in the 2023-2025 period, a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang noted on Friday.
At the meeting, it was emphasized that efforts should be made to enhance the supply capacity of more sophisticated, high-quality medicines, key technologies and pharmaceutical materials, as well as accelerating the pace of shoring up China’s weak links in high-end medical equipment.
Measures should be taken to offer full-chain support to pharmaceutical research and development, while encouraging and guiding leading medical enterprises to develop and expand, in a bid to enhance the sector’s industrial concentration and market competitiveness, it was determined.
The importance of protecting the security of traditional Chinese medicine’s development was also highlighted.
Supportive policies should be fine-tuned to promote the upgrading of domestic medical equipment, and support should be given to universities and enterprises in jointly cultivating a group of leading talents in the sector, it was noted.
Guidelines on the planning and construction of affordable housing were also deliberated and adopted.
Efforts to do a good job in the planning and design of affordable housing, while ensuring the quality of construction and attaching more importance to supporting facilities and public services, were urged.
Today, medical devices come in all shapes, sizes and budgets – be it a hand-
held laser or imagine machine, everything’s available in the market. The larger and more sophisticated the device, the more expensive it turns out. 8000+ organizations produce medical equipment like MRIs, particle accelerators, and CAT scans – which are among the most costly medical equipment in the market.
Some people argue that medical technology is among the main spenders of the healthcare industry.
- Particle accelerator
is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to incite charged particles to extremely high speeds and energies and to capture them in a nicely-defined beam. It is used for the treatment of cancer and the diagnosis of many diseases. Critics are doubting that the $100+ million price label for such a device would be cost-efficient ultimately,
2) CAT Scanners
CAT scans are basically X-ray tests that contain cross-sectional images of your body using a computer and X-rays. They are also called computerized axial tomography. These sophisticated scanning machines look like massive doughnuts and can cost up to $2.7 million.
3) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
The MRI machine uses radio waves and magnetism to create images of your body. The superconducting magnetic systems in each of the machines constitute about 1/3 of the whole $2.3 million.
4) Robot Surgical Machines
Robot surgical machines can cost about $2.3 million. Being less invading than typical surgery, robotic surgeons go through smaller risk of damaging organs and tissues,
5) 3-D Mammography Machines
Mammograms are X-ray tests for breasts and are designed to detect breast cancer. The new gen mammography screening uses 3D imaging rather than the general, flat 2D screening. Going by the name ‘tomosynthesis’, the 3D devices and their software set medical services back nearly $760,000.
