China: The Wild, Wild East for Medical Devices

Every medical device company is asking, "How can we take advantage of emerging opportunities in China?" Given the country's economic and population booms--China is home to one fifth the world's population--many analysts expect its medical device market to shortly come into full bloom, enjoying a compound annual growth rate of 15% over the next 10 years from a base of approximately $10 billion in 2007. Fueling this growth are positive improvements in China's business climate, making China a much less risky place to do business. Multinational firms are forming alliances in China to help them reach an untapped 1.3 billion patient population, even as a new breed of venture capital-backed, Western-style Chinese companies begins to grab a home court advantage.