12-Dec-14 Non-communicable diseases were the cause of 78% of deaths in Latin America in 2008, estimated to rise to 84% by 2030. Obesity is at the heart of these deadly diseases, as a trigger for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Mexico has the highest obesity growth rate in the world and the highest proportion of child obesity. [image: Global Health Intelligence]

11-Dec-14 Medtronic will turn over more than USD900 million in China this year, up from only USD50 million ten years ago. Its China strategy is multi-faceted, involving imports, local R&D, patient education and M&A. Despite this success, the advantage Medtronic - along with other foreign device makers - has carved out, is increasingly under pressure from local players, whose ability to innovate and drive costs down via frugal engineering is creating a new standard of excellence. [image: China Business Review]

10-Dec-14 Korea’s National Pension Service is ramping up to focus on investments in overseas healthcare markets in 2015, in the interest of income source diversification. Major Korean corporations such as Samsung have already started investing in hospitals abroad, for example in Turkey. [image: Business Korea]

10-Dec-14 India’s fast-growing medical devices market is dogged by tax and regulatory anomalies and malpractices, making it difficult for local manufacturers. Good news: These problems will be addressed soon by the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill 2014, which is expected to be passed in the current parliament session. [image: PV Sivakumar_The Hindu Business Line]

10-Dec-14 Mergers and acquisitions in China’s healthcare sector rose to a record USD11.3 billion in the first 11 months of 2014, up 13% from a year earlier. A combination of ageing population and increasing affluence is driving the deal-making, coinciding with sweeping reforms by Chinese government. [image: Feucht Blog]

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