Shanghai, China, November 24, 2020 — Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co., Ltd. (“MicroPort®”) was recently awarded “Best Open Innovator 2020” for the “Dr. X” Competition on Doctor and Medical Device Innovation. As one of 43 dedicated events at the Fifth China Innovation Challenge (Special Tournament on the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta) and the Third Yangtze River Delta International Innovation Challenge, the event was co-organized by MicroPort® and attended by the MicroPort® Senior Vice President for Technology Innovation and New Business Development, Dr. Xiang He.
With a focus on ensuring open innovation within large enterprises and taking the theme of “Medical-engineering collaboration for the accelerated commercialization of medical device innovations”, MicroPort® organized the Dr. X Competition with the aim of breaking down the barriers between clinical and engineering professionals and promoting the appropriate exchange of scientific and technological resources between doctors and engineers, thereby advancing the commercialization of medical device innovations to prolong and reshape the lives of patients everywhere.
The competition brought together 155 innovative clinical solutions from more than ten renowned hospitals in the Yangtze River Delta, covering a wide range of medical fields from rehabilitation, cardiovascular medicine and oncology to respiratory medicine, urology and robotics. All of the 16 finalists will have the opportunity to collaborate with the technical teams of the company in commercializing their creative solutions. The successful conclusion of the competition shows the determined efforts of MicroPort® in implementing the national strategy of innovation-driven development with a focus on accurately matching demand to R&D capabilities. It also demonstrates the Group’s endeavor in prioritizing the match between demands and the need for industrial upgrading across central East China.
According to Dr. He Xiang, “winning the “Best Open Innovator 2020” not only signifies the acknowledgement by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (SMSTC) and the NETC on the achievements of MicroPort® in exploring clinical needs and innovative solutions, but is also an indication of their support and encouragement for the partnership model of medical-engineering collaboration for innovation.”
At the ceremony, MicroPort® also discussed future cooperation with representatives of SMSTC and NETC to develop a new ecosystem for the commercialization of scientific and technological outcomes.
MicroPort® has always regarded innovation as its core competitiveness and the lifeline of its development, and has committed itself to the promotion of medical-engineering collaboration. In this regard, the Group has been actively supporting the commercialization of innovative solutions to cover the full cycle connecting doctors, enterprises, and clinical application. It works with hospitals to establish proof-of-concept centers to support the commercialization of innovative concepts and clinical ideas with market potential. In the future, MicroPort® will broaden its academic exchange platform for medical-engineering collaboration, and promote two-way communication between R&D professionals and clinicians. In doing so, it aims to comprehensively match innovation needs to technological achievements, thereby further enhancing innovation capabilities to develop more innovative medical solutions under the “Made-in-China” initiative.
About the China Innovation Challenge:
The China Innovation Challenge is an integral part of the Global Technology Transfer Fair 2020. Through regular roadshows under the theme “innovation for innovation”, the Challenge highlighted “global integration”, “Yangtze River Delta synergy” and “open innovation for large enterprises” through comparison of demand solutions, supply-demand matchmaking, and compilation of information on demands.