FT: Circumcision device challenges mainland copycat image

China’s leaders have long lamented a perceived lack of innovation in the country but, according to the Financial Times, there is at least one area where Chinese companies have taken the lead — male circumcision.
In article by Jamil Anderlini published on Wednesday, the FT reported that the World Health Organization has prequalified a Chinese-made sterile, single-use, disposable device called Shangring that is used to circumcise boys and men over 13 years old without resorting to surgery.
Male circumcision is recommended by the WHO as a strategy for reducing the transmission of Aids and other sexually transmitted infections.
Randomized controlled trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have found circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by about 60 per cent.
“Shangring will be particularly valuable in countries with high HIV transmission rates, such as many parts of Africa,” the WHO said in a statement, as quoted by the FT.
“WHO prequalification of Shangring is hugely exciting,” the newspaper quoted Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO representative in China, as saying. “Shangring is a great example of Chinese innovation, and its prequalification by WHO is another example of the increasing role China is taking in global health through its world-class health and medical production capabilities.”
Anderlini’s article further details how the new device, produced by Wuhu Snnda Medical Treatment Appliance Technology Company, has already been used extensively to perform circumcisions in China, where more than 1m devices have been sold in recent years.
But WHO prequalification will allow it to now be used in parts of the world with very high Aids transmission rates.
According to the company, as quoted by the FT, the Shangring “consists of two concentric plastic rings that sandwich the foreskin of the penis, allowing circumcision without stitches or notable bleeding.”
The device works by cutting off blood supply to the skin, which shrivels and falls off after several days.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped fund clinical trials and pilot studies on the safety and acceptability of Shangring and provided technical assistance to support WHO prequalification of the device.
For decades Chinese industries have been accused of copying products from developed markets and for years the government has tried to encourage innovation in virtually every field.
But in even the most cutting-edge industries, such as IT and computing, Chinese companies tend to emulate successful models from other markets rather than come up with ground-breaking advances.
Within China, experts and officials have blamed everything from the complexity of the Chinese language and traditional education methods to political repression from the authoritarian Communist party for a lack of innovation.
In the healthcare sector more broadly, China is still in the process of catching up, but according to the FT many analysts believe there will be much more innovation in future.
“There is very little innovation in the pharmaceutical sector in China, for example. It is very much behind when it comes to research and development,” said Dr Schwartländer. “But what I see is many, many very smart people and a new generation of researchers who are much more oriented towards global markets, toward end quality assurance, and I believe there will be much more innovation in the future.”