European MedTech: China medical equipment VBP: Lessons from the past, risks for the future

Research evidence excerpt

European MedTech: China medical equipment VBP: Lessons from the past, risks for the future

Global Research

24 July 2026ab

European MedTech Equities

Europe including UKChina medical equipment VBP: Lessons from the

past, risks for the future Healthcare

Graham Doyle

Analyst

graham.doyle@ubs.com

Proposed VBP expansion brings plenty of questions -> we try to answer them +44-20-7568 2587

Since the Chinese authorities signalled last Tuesday that they intend to expand volume- Kavya Deshpande

based procurement (VBP) into medical equipment – which we view as potentially the Analyst

biggest market shift in medtech over the past decade – we have received significant kavya.deshpande@ubs.com

investor interest. Our discussions suggest perceptions of what VBP entails, and its +44-20-7567 8515

potential implications for capital equipment manufacturers, vary considerably. In this Thyra Lee

note, we outline the evolution of VBP, explain how and why it may be extended to Analyst

medical equipment, and assess the likely investment implications. While the proposals thyra.lee@ubs.com

are at an early stage, we believe Elekta (Sell) and Carl Zeiss (Neutral) are among the most +44-20-7568 0083

exposed to potential revenue headwinds, with GE Healthcare (Neutral), Siemens Jun Deng

Healthineers (Neutral) and Philips (Buy) also facing increased pricing pressure. Analyst

jun.deng@ubs.com

China VBP: Origins, mechanics and lessons from consumables +852-3712 2103

Before VBP, China's medtech market was fragmented, with hospitals buying through

distributor networks that drove price variation and limited transparency. Introduced to

medtech in 2020, VBP initially targeted high-value consumables, using centralized

tenders and guaranteed volumes to secure major price cuts (often >50% at the end-