(Yicai Global) Dec. 31 -- China Changfeng Electromechanical Technology Research and Design Institute and one of its units are investing CNY41.65 million (USD6.5 million) to develop a machine that supplements oxygen levels to save critically-ill Covid-19 patients and reduce the country’s reliance on imported models.

The pair will build an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation apparatus that serves as an external heart and lung, removing carbon dioxide from the blood stream and sending oxygen-filled blood back into the body, subsidiary Aerospace Changfeng said yesterday.

More and more patients critically ill with Covid-19 have been saved through the use of ECMO gear, but most ECMO products in China are imported and as a result are hard for local medical institutions to get hold of. Changfeng Electromechanical intends to fill this gap.

Changfeng Electromechanical will invest CNY37.5 million (USD5.9 million) and Aerospace Changfeng the rest. Seventy percent of the product’s intellectual property rights will belong to Changfeng Electromechanical and the rest to the unit.

Changfeng Aerospace’s share price [SHA:600855] closed down 3.5 percent today at CNY17.38 (USD2.73). However, the stock has risen 55 percent since the end of October and is close to a record high.

Editor: Kim Taylor