(Yicai) Nov. 25 -- Beijing has released a new policy to promote the development of the medical device industry, emphasizing strong support for the digitalization and application of artificial intelligence in the sector.

The policy, jointly issued by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and five other departments yesterday, supports medical device makers in allying with large language model firms to develop and deploy industry-specific LLMs. For projects that achieve domestic first-class and global leading standards, up to CNY30 million (USD4.2 million) will be provided based on computing power costs.

The policy encourages medical institutions to integrate new AI diagnostic and treatment technologies into their practices and to establish pricing standards based on existing prices. For innovative projects, it supports the institutions to initiate trials under a "conditionally added" approach, with the selected promotion and application of AI-assisted diagnostic and treatment projects able to receive up to 30 percent of the investment, with a cap of CNY50 million.

In addition, the policy promotes open cooperation and international expansion for innovative medical devices. For those devices that have received approval from global regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Conformity, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan, the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia, regulatory agencies of BRICS countries, and the World Health Organization, and have been approved in related foreign markets, a certain level of support will be provided for their registration application costs, with a maximum amount for a single product of CNY1 million (USD140,935) and for a single firm of CNY3 million per year.

In addition, the policy also covers the research and development registration of innovative medical devices, the transformation and application of results, the clustering of supply chains, overseas expansion, and other aspects. For instance, up to CNY2 million can be awarded for innovative medical devices hitting the market, CNY10 million for companies with outstanding clinical promotion results, and CNY50 million for building industrial facilities.

The policy is effective from the date of its release until Dec. 31, 2028.

Editor: Martin Kadiev