Genesis MedTech completed the acquisition of Nantong Horcon, a domestic suture company

Recently, the emerging medical technology company Genesis MedTech announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nantong Horcon, a domestic suture company; at the same time, Genesis MedTech also announced the cooperation with the South Korean company Sejong Medical, and it will be exclusive agent of puncture devices produced by Sejong. Prior to this, Genesis MedTech Group successfully integrated Reach Surgical-a leading domestic minimally invasive surgical instrument company with anastomat and energy products (ultrasonic knife) as the main products.

With the introduction of sutures and trocars, Genesis MedTech has a complete portfolio of surgical products. The continuous development of minimally invasive surgery contributes to domestic product innovation; Sutures and trocars are surgical instruments. Among all the instruments required for surgical operations, anastomats, sutures and energy products are the most commonly used instruments/consumables. According to data released by Top Trust in 2019, the market shares of above three types of products accounted for 33%, 26% and 17% of surgical instruments, respectively. In recent years, the development of minimally invasive surgery is gaining momentum, with an amount continuing to increase, showing a sign to replace open surgeries. Public information shows that in 2015, the number of minimally invasive surgical procedures in China was only 4,248 per 1 million people, and the number has increased to 8,514 by 2019. With the popularization of minimally invasive technology and the improvement of purchasing power of patients, it is estimated that by 2024, the number of minimally invasive surgical procedures per 1 million people in China will increase to 18,242.

The growth of products such as endoscopic anastomats, ultrasonic knife and trocar is expected to have a promising future due to development of minimally invasive surgical procedures. However, data of Top Trust shows that both the endoscopic anastomats markets and the ultrasonic knife market are dominated by foreign brands, with a market share of over 70% and over 80% respectively. The strategic goal of “driving the innovation of domestic products and providing complete surgical portfolio” was established by Genesis MedTech when entering into this field, and one of the actions was the acquisition of Reach Surgical. Founded in 2005, Reach Surgical is a national high-tech enterprise located in Tianjin. In 2009, Reach launched the first domestic endoscopic linear cutting anastomat; In 2011, the first domestic anastomat was launched; in 2014, the first domestic electric endoscopic anastomat was launched; in 2019, the ENDO III series of endoscopic anastomat independently designed by Reach Surgical became the first domestic brand entering the European market. The Reach’s products that fill the gaps in domestic brands have been recognized by the market in terms of technological level and quality: it has stood out among many international brands and became a major supplier for more than 500 large domestic hospitals; the products successfully gained its own share in the international markets such as Europe, America, South Korea, etc., becoming a leading-exporter of domestic surgical instruments. From 2019 to 2020, Genesis MedTech fully integrated Reach Surgery, and developed a new generation of high-performance products by optimizing strategy and empowering R&D to further expand the product line. In May of this year, Reach Surgical's new generation of intelligent electric endoscopic anastomat “Anzhi” was officially approved for the market, bringing together a number of design innovation points: “Anzhi” is adapted to the disposable blade cartridge to ensure that every cut in the operation is sharp and efficient; it has a 55-degree large turning angle, bringing more operating flexibility; in addition to the electric firing retreat, the smart chip of Anzhi can also achieve 15-second pre-squeeze reminder, insurance light reminder, power detection and other functions.

Horcon introduced a new generation of packaging

Keeping up with the needs of doctors and patients, Genesis MedTech continues to expand its product line and introduces trocars and sutures into its product portfolio, which undoubtedly underpins Genesis MedTech’s strategy of “providing complete surgical portfolio”. Although the market size of trocars only accounts for 4% of total surgical instruments, it will grow at an accelerated speed along with increase in the number of minimally invasive surgical procedures. Public data shows that in 2019, the market size of domestic disposable cannula trocars is about 1.7 billion yuan, and by 2024, its market size is expected to be close to 5.1 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 23.4%. Sejong, established in 1996, is a listed company in South Korea. Sejong’s full specification access series products include two categories, that is the disposable laparoscopic trocar series and disposable multi-channel single-hole series, which are suitable for various laparoscopic procedures. In addition to high quality, Sejong pays more attention to clinical use. It has unique designs among the same type of products, including trocar fetch button, multi-channel single-hole rapid smoke exhaust design, etc.

According to industry veterans in the field of sutures, China's suture market is developing steadily, but about 80% of the market share is occupied by imported brands, and the prices of which are generally higher than those of domestic products. After being acquired by Genesis MedTech, Horcon said that the company will intensify efforts to expand the ranges of suture products with the help of R&D innovation and business development capabilities of Genesis MedTech. “Genesis MedTech is established to bring high-quality products to more patients at affordable price.” Wang Xin, Chairman and CEO of Genesis MedTech Group, said, “Minimally invasive surgery still requires more innovative and cost-effective instruments. Patient needs are always at the core of medical companies. We will make full use of the healthy open innovation platform of Genesis MedTech Group to provide more quality products to doctors and patients, and contribute to the development of domestic minimally invasive surgery. ”