Strong demand for intelligent blood glucose management drives MicroTech Medical's overseas revenue surge by 227.2% | Global Trailblazer

Introduction:

Looking globally to explore a second growth curve has become a definite direction, yet how to expand overseas still tests the wisdom and courage of every Chinese enterprise. Brand globalization, supply chain globalization, cross-border e-commerce... there are numerous paths, but no one-size-fits-all solution; North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America... the markets are vast, yet each comes with its own set of challenges. Behind every expedition lies the hands-on exploration of Chinese enterprises; on every distant coastline, more and more figures from China are emerging.

The "Global Trailblazers" column aims to find benchmark enterprises that have expanded overseas in various fields, break down practical cases from a professional perspective, distill methodologies through shared insights, and uncover new possibilities amid differences.

Following innovative pharmaceuticals, the global expansion of medical devices is ushering in a boom. According to data from Zhiyan Consulting, from January to April 2026, China's export value of medical instruments and devices reached USD 7.090 billion, up 12.40% year-on-year.

Among them, the global expansion trend of the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) category can be regarded as a typical industry sample of evolving from "import substitution" to global breakthrough. CGM, whose formal academic name is "Continuous Glucose Monitoring System", can continuously track changes in human blood glucose levels. As "glucose management" becomes a popular lifestyle, it has rapidly entered the daily lives of the general public.

Before 2020, China's CGM market was almost monopolized by foreign brands. From the approval of the first domestic product in 2021 to the present, domestic brands have not only rapidly increased their market share in China, but even begun to compete head-on with international giants in overseas markets such as Europe.

Medtrum, which focuses on the R&D of diabetes management medical device products, is a typical representative in the CGM global expansion wave, and is also one of the few CGM manufacturers that have both insulin pump and CGM products. In 2025, Medtrum achieved a revenue of RMB 661 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 91.20%, and a net profit of RMB 40.15 million, marking its first profitable year.

What is more noteworthy behind this growth is the rapid expansion of Medtrum's overseas business. In 2025, overseas revenue reached RMB 343 million, a sharp year-on-year increase of 227.20%, and for the first time its scale exceeded domestic revenue.

01

From Treatment to Monitoring

Covering the Full Diabetes Management Product Portfolio

The traditional insulin pumps previously used by people with diabetes were mainly tubing-connected models, which needed to be carried around and connected via a catheter to an indwelling needle attached to the abdomen, making them inconvenient to transport.

In contrast, the patch insulin pump developed by Medtrum integrates all components including the motor, medication reservoir, drive system, and infusion needle into a miniature device weighing only 23 grams. It can directly infuse insulin on demand and precisely control the injection dosage.

Leveraging this product, Medtrum quickly opened the door to the diabetes management product category. In 2021, Medtrum's blood glucose monitoring product AiDEX G7 began commercial sales both domestically and overseas, bringing in nearly RMB 4 million in operating revenue for the company that year.

Also in 2021, Medtrum was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with total annual revenue reaching RMB 151 million.

By 2024, the CGM business had become the main growth driver for Medtrum. According to the company's financial report, CGM revenue accounted for 52.2% in 2024, reaching RMB 180 million; in 2025, the CGM business accounted for 68.30% of total revenue, generating RMB 452 million in revenue.

A large part of the driving force behind Medtrum's CGM business growth comes from the popularization of the "glucose management" concept among the public in recent years. Blood glucose monitors, which were previously only used by people with diabetes, have become as essential a lifestyle item for health-conscious individuals as sports watches. Data from Magic Mirror Insights shows that in 2025, CGM sales on domestic online e-commerce platforms reached approximately RMB 1.54 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 45.8%. In mature overseas markets, users who actively manage their blood glucose levels already account for 10% of CGM users.

To allow more users to access and use CGM, Medtrum has continued to carry out marketing and promotion efforts over the years. For example, in 2025, it sponsored large-scale events such as the Tonglu Half Marathon and Chengdu Marathon, inviting participants to try on CGM products and observe real-time blood glucose changes during exercise; it also partnered with Tims Coffee to penetrate more young consumer groups through a "coffee + blood glucose monitoring" package.

At present, the artificial pancreas product is a new direction that Medtrum is actively developing, and the first domestic product is expected to be launched by the end of this year. According to Shi Yonghui, Executive Director, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Medtrum, this product combines an insulin pump with CGM: the CGM monitors blood glucose in real time, a self-developed AI algorithm calculates the required insulin dosage, and the insulin pump automatically and precisely infuses the insulin. This artificial pancreas product will primarily target hospital channels, and the first use must be completed in a medical institution.

In addition, Medtrum will continue to launch new CGM models this year, which will be priced more affordably compared to the existing product line.

02

Clearing CE Certification, Securing Insurance Coverage

227% Overseas Growth

Medtrum's global expansion journey began almost simultaneously with its domestic market expansion. In 2017 and 2020, Medtrum's insulin pump and CGM products obtained EU CE certification respectively. "After obtaining EU CE certification, the subsequent registration thresholds are greatly reduced when entering regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, which can accelerate market access," Shi Yonghui explained.

Since 2021, Medtrum has established marketing teams in major regions including Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific, building the framework of a global organization.

Obtaining CE certification is only a ticket to enter the market; accessing the local medical insurance market is the key to large-scale commercialization, which requires supplementing local clinical data, collecting questionnaires from doctors and experts, and conducting comparative evaluations with international brands. Medtrum first entered Eastern European clinical markets such as Italy, Poland, and Romania, cooperating with local CRO companies to supplement clinical data, and prioritized collaborating with doctors from locally well-recognized hospitals to gain more trust for medical insurance access, before gradually expanding to developed Western European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In the European market, Medtrum adopts a flexible multi-brand strategy: in the medical insurance market and hospital channels, it can launch co-branded products with large local distributor partners; in the C-end retail market, it uses its own brand, mainly selling through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

Regarding this, Shi Yonghui explained: "Unlike China's well-developed e-commerce retail market, sales of CGM products in Europe are still dominated by hospitals and professional distributors. Therefore, a country-specific strategy is required, with customized adaptation based on the needs of different countries."

Facing competition from Chinese enterprises, overseas giants use their first-mover advantage to block competitors with a "patent network". "Patent litigation is one of the required courses for the internationalization of Chinese medical device companies. Chinese companies in other industries (such as mobile phones, robotic vacuum cleaners, and endoscopes) have already gone through similar stages, but they were all able to break through in the end," Shi Yonghui stated. In response to the patent sniping from industry giants, Medtrum has continuously upgraded its product designs to fundamentally avoid the patent blockades of overseas giants, while continuously filing its own innovative invention patents.

In 2025, Medtrum's revenue reached RMB 661 million, a year-on-year increase of 91.20%; among this, overseas revenue was RMB 343 million, a sharp year-on-year increase of 227.20%, accounting for a proportion that for the first time exceeded domestic revenue. With continuously improving operational efficiency and declining expense ratios, the high growth of both domestic and overseas businesses drove Medtrum to achieve profitability for the first time.

From the perspective of the global CGM market landscape, at present, enterprises that can independently develop CGM and insulin pumps are mostly concentrated in the United States and China, while other countries and regions lack the supporting industrial capabilities for such products.

Europe has always been a fiercely competitive main battlefield for Chinese and American enterprises. However, as foreign enterprises have not paid sufficient attention to emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America, and have invested relatively limited resources in local market education and channel construction, this has provided more development opportunities for Chinese enterprises.

* All views expressed are from the interviewed institutions or individuals and are for reference only.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Zhejiang Enterprises Global Expansion Comprehensive Service Hub", author: Zhejiang Enterprises Global Expansion.