Despite this, few companies in the region have scaled globally.

Asia-Pacific’s medtech sector is projected to reach $132b by 2030, due to ageing populations, rising chronic disease burden, and healthcare workforce shortages.

The report, Building Global Champions: The Asia-Pacific Region’s Next Medtech Wave, found that the region is shifting from a manufacturing base to a genuine innovation source.

Kevin Chang, head of Bain’s Healthcare & Life Sciences practice in Greater China, said the region’s role was long defined by manufacturing, adaptation and execution, but is now entering a different phase — one where it generates innovation rather than just absorbing it.

Despite this shift, few companies in the region have scaled globally, which Bain traced to five structural gaps holding them back.

On funding, seed and Series A rounds totalled just $2.2b across 124 deals in 2025, whilst only 10% ($2.3b) of Asia-Pacific buyout value went to medtech. Most capital funded already-established platforms rather than companies moving from innovation to commercial scale.

The region also faces a shortage of regulatory and clinical talent experienced in international trials, global regulatory pathways and quality systems, alongside delayed global patent filings that limit licensing and mergers and acquisitions opportunities.

Weak commercialisation infrastructure and limited access to key opinion leaders outside home markets compound the problem, as does a lack of health-economic evidence needed to support adoption and revenue after approval.

Regionally, Japan and Australia have led on product development over the past two decades, whilst China and India have moved beyond volume manufacturing. South Korea has emerged as a credible engine for software-driven medtech, and Singapore has built strength in clinical translation and productisation.

Executives from EDBI, J.P. Morgan, A*STAR and Enterprise Singapore framed Singapore as a hub connecting regional innovation to global capital, talent and clinical networks.

Bain concludes that investments made over the next 24 months will determine the region’s role in the global medtech landscape, with the potential for Asia-Pacific to become a leading exporter of medical innovation by 2030 if these structural gaps are addressed.