Shanghai, China – From July 21 to July 22, Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort®") attended the BIOME Device China 2017, during which Dr. Hongyan Jiang, Vice President of Research & Development Support and Shared Service, delivered a keynote speech on behalf of MicroPort®. Hosted by Innovative Service Special Committee of China Association for Medical Devices Industry, the forum was themed on "Improving the Quality of Implantable/Interventional Devices and Shortening the Cycle of Product Research and Development ('R&D')." Professionals from food and drug administrations, notified bodies, hospitals, and medical device companies were invited to give lectures on topics including the latest submission regulations and guidances at home and abroad, studies regarding the performance and safety of advanced biomedical devices, improving clinical trial protocol, accelerating clinical translation, and enhancing product quality and competitiveness by optimizing technology.
Biomedical materials and implantable/interventional devices are multidisciplinary, knowledge-intensive, high-tech fields that require the support of upstream and downstream knowledge, technologies and environment. Lack of advanced core materials is one of the major bottlenecks that prevent the development of domestically made biomedical devices. During the forum, Dr. Hongyan Jiang delivered a speech on "Device Design: How to Select the Best Biomedical Raw Material." Taking drug-eluting stent and bioresorbable stent as examples, Dr. Jiang introduced the development history of biomaterial and minimally invasive devices, elaborated how the stent materials impact on the device performance, and summarized the strategies and rules in material selection. Dr. Jiang said: "The clinical demand fuels innovation of medical devices which leads to higher requirements for design and medical materials. The more we know about the history of medical materials' application in implantable/interventional devices, about material suppliers, and about material performance, the more likely for us to avoid detours in the journey of learning material selection, and eventually to enhance R&D innovations."
In recent years, MicroPort® has achieved fruitful results in biomedical material field, especially in terms of import substitution. For instance, it develops implantation-grade polylactic acids degradable materials, and established independent implantation-grade textile platform, Precision Medical Tubing Extrusion and Injection Molding Center, and Special Material R&D and Processing Center. With its independent innovations, MicroPort® hopes to break the monopoly of imported products, drive the industrialization of new biomedical materials and other related medical devices, and accelerate the promotion of clinical application, so as to help push forward the technology innovation in China's medical device industry especially high value-added medical consumable sectors including cardiovascular, orthopedic and artificial organ areas.