08-May-16 It all started when “doctors” with no proper medical training from Putian in Fujian posted ads offering to treat venereal diseases. Three decades later, the Putian natives control more than 80% of China's private hospitals, and have close ties with military medical centres. They are now alleged to have provided unsuccessful cancer treatment to Wei Zexi, who died in Apr-16. [image: Reuters / China Daily]

08-May-16 Venture funding in healthcare globally reached a record USD4.5 bn in 302 deals in 2015, a four fold increase since 2011. A new generation of healthcare startups, focussing on the consumer market, has been gaining rapid ground. China, India and Singapore have become hotbeds for healthtech start-ups, most about doctor and clinic discovery. [image: Deal Street Asia]

28-Apr-16 Fitbit, the leader in connected health and fitness, and Tmall.com, China's largest third-party web platform, owned by Alibaba, have signed an MoU to expand Fitbit’s reach in China. The partnership will introduce the Fitbit platform to hundreds of millions across the country. "Since 2014, we’ve seen steady growth in the market," said Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer at Fitbit. [image: Fitbit]

05-May-16 An electronic system could save patients millions of hours in queues at public sector clinics in Hong Kong. In 2014/15, each patient had to wait two hours on average. The system tracks the patient from arrival to the time they enter the consultation room, and queue status is updated on a screen informing patients how long they have to wait. [image: South China Morning Post]

03-May-16 The China FDA 2015 annual report details a fall in the registration of new medical devices to 7,530 from 8,340 in 2014. Toughening of Chinese regulations may have discouraged some applicants. The proportion of IVDs in the figures is large at 40%, but for imported medical devices there are almost as many new registrations as renewals. [image: Brandwood Biomedical]