Hainan medical tourism pilot zone supports pursuit of beauty

China's pilot medical tourism zone in Hainan province has approved its first medical aesthetics product, and high-end international companies are stepping up efforts to take a share in the nation's booming medical aesthetics market.

On Dec 29, Ireland-based pharmaceutical giant Allergan announced that its medical aesthetics product Volux was introduced to Boao Super Hospital at the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, enabling beauty seekers at Boao Lecheng to get access to the product, which has not come to the Chinese market yet.

The zone is the only one of its kind in China that enjoys nine preferential policies, such as special permission to import medical technology, medical equipment and medicine.

Specifically, the policies allow medical institutions in the zone to import and use badly needed drugs and medical equipment from overseas that are not yet approved by the top drug authority in China.

However, this is the first time the pilot zone has approved a medical aesthetics product.

Liu Zhefeng, deputy head of the zone administration, said: "The reason we introduced a medical aesthetics product into the pilot zone is that we are seeing a constantly surging need. Every year, 600,000 Chinese go abroad to see a doctor, among whom 20 percent are seeking medical aesthetics services.

"We hope that Chinese residents can enjoy international-standard medical products without going abroad."

Chen Qiaoshan, a medical analyst at Beijing-based market research consultancy Analysys, said that the introduction of the medical aesthetics product into Boao Lecheng demonstrated that China's medical aesthetics industry is in line with international standards, and the scope of international docking has been expanded.

"Medical aesthetics consumption is one major part of overseas healthcare. Currently, the medical aesthetics market is mixed, and there are a flood of fakes. If high-end international products are introduced to China, consumers won't bother to go abroad," she said.

"For international pharmaceutical companies, it is a signal that China's medical market is further opening up to complementary pharmaceutical products. Medical aesthetics is one sector, and the next sector may be assisted reproduction," she added.

Qiu Hanhua, general manager of the medical aesthetics business unit of Allergan China, said: "In the past five to 10 years, China's medical aesthetics market demands have grown rapidly, maintaining double-digit annual growth, and the growth momentum will remain. However, the supply side is far from enough. Many high-quality products haven't entered China yet."

A report by Chinese cosmetic surgery platform Gengmei showed that in 2018, China's standard medical aesthetics market reached 495.3 billion yuan ($71 billion), growing 20 percent year-on-year. There were 22 million consumers, each spending 22,000 yuan a year on average.

"Medical aesthetics consumption is a rigid demand. With constantly surging demand, Allergan will keep on innovating to meet consumers' high-quality demands," Qiu said.

Chen Kai'an, deputy head of Boao Super Hospital, noted that the pursuit of beauty has become a manifestation of a nation's development. "In the future, we will work with Allergan on the clinical research and application of medical aesthetics products, and fulfill the demands of domestic beauty seekers."

According to Allergan, its training center will cooperate with Boao Super Hospital to train local doctors on medical aesthetics operation, in order to benefit more Chinese consumers.

Qiu noted that there are three subcategories in medical aesthetics: surgery, micro plastic injection and skin care. In the coming few years, the number of consumers choosing the first subcategory will decline and those opting for the latter two will increase.

"With the rise of consumer confidence, they prefer to adhere to the principle of not changing their looks completely, but just pursuing a better look," Qiu said.

According to the company, Allergan will introduce skin care products and medical equipment to China this year to provide Chinese consumers with multiple choices.