Shanghai-produced device key to brain-stroke treatment
A researcher at Zhangjiang-based MicroPort NeuroTech works on a medical device.
A Shanghai-based technology company is the first domestic firm to develop a full range of product lines for interventional brain stroke treatment, a milestone in breaking a foreign monopoly.
MicroPort NeuroTech in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in the Pudong New Area has released eight self-developed products for the treatment of ischemic, hemorrhagic and obstructive cerebrovascular diseases.
A subsidiary of MicroPort Scientific Corporation, a leading medical device company, MicroPort NeuroTech has received a new round of investment from domestic strategic investors totaling US$150 million.
It was founded in 2012 as one of the earliest Chinese medical device companies to focus on the neurointervention field.
The company has developed China's first intracranial stent system "APOLLO," and the world's first intracranial stent graft system "WILLIS." The APOLLO stent has filled a gap for the intervention treatment of ischemic strokes in China, according to the company.
Another two key products in the NUMEN coil embolization system have been approved by the United States and South Korean food and drug administrations to enter their markets. They have also been certified by the European Union. Moreover, the first overseas implantation surgery using the products has been completed.
A Shanghai-produced vascular reconstruction device from MicroPort NeuroTech.
About 100,000 patients in serious condition have been treated with NeuroTech products in about 2,000 domestic hospitals in 31 provinces and cities, the company said.
It has acquired more than 100 patents in China and abroad, and is listed as a pilot high-tech company for Shanghai's construction of a scientific innovation center with global influence.
The company has also invested in Israeli tech firm Rapid Medical, and become its major shareholder to optimize its product lines. A key product Tigertriever, a new stent to remove embolisms, has been admitted to China's National Medical Products Administration's special approval procedure for innovative medical devices.
Brain strokes are among the most fatal diseases in the world following cardiovascular diseases, and stroke morbidity in China is the highest in the world, said Xie Zhiyong, president of NeuroTech.
An increasing number of young people have suffered from brain strokes in China in the past three decades, requiring more interventional devices, Xie said.
MicroPort Scientific Corporation was established in Shanghai in 1998. It has become a leading medical device company, releasing the world's first targeted drug-delivery heart stent and China's first pacemaker made to international standards.
Researchers at MicroPort NeuroTech.
