On April 24th, 2024, the China Tooth Valley Industry Development Conference was held in Chengdu. This conference attracted more than 400 people, including experts and professors from the Chinese Stomatological Association, the Stomatological Industry Association, provincial associations, and representatives from enterprises, capital finance, and local governments.
At this conference, Xue Xueshen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Ziyang Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the High tech Zone, and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Lingang Economic Zone, introduced the development process, achievements, and vision of China's Yagu over the years to the on-site guests through three "new" aspects.
Developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions
Data shows that with the continuous improvement of national oral health awareness, the aging process of the population, and the comprehensive acceleration of domestic substitution trend driven by technological innovation, the scale of China's oral medical device market has increased from 15 billion yuan in 2016 to 30 billion yuan in 2022, with an average compound annual growth rate of about 12%, accounting for a global proportion from 16% to 25%.
"In the past seven years, China Dental Valley has gone through a development process from scratch and has achieved phased results. According to Xue Xueshen, currently, China Dental Valley's products cover more than 60 types of 4 major categories of oral equipment and more than 100 types of 5 major categories of oral materials, with 258" dental manufacturing "products from 49 enterprises being launched on the market.". In 2023, the output value will reach 3.4 billion yuan, accounting for about one tenth of the national total.
New quality productivity has become a high-frequency buzzword at this conference. Industry insiders believe that the original intention of the construction of China Dental Valley is to meet the needs of the people for oral health. Faced with the growing demand of the oral medicine and equipment market, it integrates the scattered oral industry formats in China, drives the adjustment of industrial structure and the transformation of economic development models, creates a national oral brand, and helps the high-quality development of China's oral equipment and materials industry, which is consistent with the development direction of new productive forces.
"Next, Ziyang High tech Zone will firmly grasp the primary task of high-quality development, develop new productive forces according to local conditions, innovate medical devices, and digital transformation, helping the dental equipment and materials industry accelerate towards the 'new blue ocean'." Xue Xueshen said.
Building a new highland for the development of the oral industry
"This conference is a rare opportunity for communication, and expert guidance has provided a lot of inspiration for the future development of enterprises," said Zhang Guoming, the attending guest and general manager of Sichuan Zhengmei Dental Technology Co., Ltd. He said that it is not only to build a platform for communication and learning for enterprises, but also for enterprises to enjoy full chain services in Yagu, China.
It is reported that Zhengmei Dental specializes in the research and development, service, and production of digital invisible orthodontic technology without brackets. It is one of the first oral medical device manufacturers in China to use industrial grade 3D printers and is at a leading level in the field of invisible orthodontics in China. Recently, Zhengmei Dental has obtained 25 acres of planned land in Ziyang High tech Zone, and plans to start construction this year. After completion, the annual output value will reach 200 million yuan.
In the process of development, China Yagu has gradually built three major advantages: "optimal service, fastest approval, and lowest cost.". As of now, China Yagu has signed contracts with 115 dental companies, including 15 of the top 100 companies in the global industry, including Aiqi Technology, the global pioneer of invisible orthodontics, Yingweida, a large global dental equipment and consumables R&D and manufacturing enterprise, NSK, the world's largest dental mobile phone market share, and Time Angel, the first domestic invisible orthodontic market share. China's first wireless dental enterprise, Lianyao, and Yayi Online, the top domestic online dental sales company, are accelerating the gathering of leading enterprises.
Building the "Core" Advantages of China's Tooth Valley
"We focus on building a technology innovation service system that integrates research and development incubation, public experiments, pilot scale incubation, inspection and testing, and registration and application, focusing on strengthening technological support, optimizing development environment, and enhancing core competition." Xue Xueshen introduced to on-site guests at the conference.
It is reported that after 7 years of continuous development, China Yagu has become the largest oral equipment materials industry base in the country with core support systems such as evaluation and approval, scientific and technological research and development, innovation incubation, financial services, talent introduction, and policy support. It has achieved three global firsts in planned construction area, industry chain integrity, and invisible orthodontic production.
In terms of platform, China Yagu has established a comprehensive inspection and testing alliance. It is expected that by 2025, the local inspection scope of active oral products will reach over 50%, and the inspection scope of passive products will reach over 80%. It is reported that in order to accelerate the speed of review and approval, China Yagu Park has gathered the Ziyang branch of the Sichuan Medical Device Innovation Service Station of the National Medical Products Administration's Equipment Review Center, the Ziyang branch of the Sichuan Provincial Medical Products Administration's Office in Ziyang, and the Ziyang branch of the Sichuan Food and Drug Review and Evaluation and Safety Monitoring Center to establish a Drug and Medical Device Application Service Center, helping enterprises establish a declaration system within the fastest month and achieve registration and application acceptance without leaving the park. A specialized dental industry service team has also been established within the park, providing one-on-one tracking services throughout the entire process. Class I certificates are processed on the same day in the park, while Class II certificates are not queued up by the provincial bureau. Class III certificates are processed smoothly by the national bureau, and the registration and approval time is shortened by nearly 60% compared to conventional methods.
In addition, to facilitate the import and export channels of China's Yagu, Ziyang City has built a bonded logistics center (Type B), which has been approved as an import bonded warehouse and the third export supervision warehouse in Sichuan Province; To enhance the level of technological innovation, Ziyang High tech Zone has established the "China Yagu Think Tank" and is accelerating the construction of the China Yagu Technology Innovation Center; In order to continuously improve financial support, Ziyang High tech Zone has established policy financial products such as emergency loans, park E loans, park guarantee loans, and a 2 billion yuan medical device industry development fund; To help enterprises expand their market, Ziyang High tech Zone organized enterprises to participate in five major professional dental exhibitions and established a communication and docking mechanism with Sichuan Medical Insurance Bureau and Sichuan Pharmaceutical Equipment Tendering and Procurement Service Center; In order to assist enterprises in their light equipment deployment, Ziyang High tech Zone has introduced a series of policies to provide comprehensive support from research and development incubation, technological innovation, upgrading to standardization, technological transformation, and equipment procurement.
As a witness and builder of China Dental Valley, Zhou Xuedong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, President of Sichuan Stomatological Association, and strategic development consultant of China Dental Valley, commented that "China Dental Valley is undoubtedly the backbone of the dental medical device industry and an irreplaceable backbone in the high-quality development of the medical industry on the new journey.". Zhou Xuedong stated that in the future, he will continue to deepen cooperation in research and development incubation, public experiments, pilot scale incubation, inspection and testing, and application services, continuously injecting intelligent power into China Dental Valley, helping to strengthen the core competitiveness of inspection and testing, expand the scale of the oral industry, and create the "fourth pole" of the global oral industry.
