True Health (02697) and General Technology Liaoning Pharmaceutical reached a strategic cooperation to expand the minimally invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment market in Northeast China

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 25, True Health (02697) issued a voluntary announcement announcing that it had signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with General Technology Liaoning Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “General Technology Liaoning Pharmaceutical”) in Shenyang on August 22. Based in the three northeastern provinces, the two sides will cooperate on the construction of minimally invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment systems, equipment compliance, and specialist capacity enhancement, and adopt models such as joint specialist construction, equipment technical services, and operational leasing to promote the standardization and implementation of minimally invasive cancer intervention technology.

Supply-demand fault and market gap for cancer diagnosis and treatment in Northeast China

This strategic layout is based in the three northeastern provinces, and it just hits a key area with a high incidence of cancer in China.

According to data from the National Cancer Center, China added about 4,824,700 new cases of malignant tumors in 2025, ranking first in the world. According to data released by the Liaoning Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in April 2026, the incidence of cancer in the province was 41268/100,000, and the incidence of malignant tumors among urban residents increased by 2.33% per year from 2012 to 2024.

There is a combination of two factors behind the high incidence of tumors in the Tohoku region. The first is driven by aging. Tumors are diseases that are highly age-related. According to the “China Statistical Yearbook 2025” and the Statistical Bulletin of Jilin Province, the proportion of people aged 65 and above in Liaoning has reached 21.9%, ranking first in the country; Jilin is 20.5%, and Heilongjiang is 19.4%. All three provinces far surpassed the national average, and the population structure fundamentally increased the overall risk of cancer incidence.

Second, there is a high level of regional incidence. According to a recent study by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, residents in Northeast China have a lifetime risk of developing lung cancer at 7.86%, the highest in the six major regions of the country, which is significantly higher than the national average of 6.52%. Furthermore, cancer types such as colorectal cancer, female breast cancer, and thyroid cancer also rank among the most common types of cancer in Northeast China, and the regional cancer spectrum characteristics are obvious.

The large patient base, combined with deep aging, forms a solid foundation for cancer diagnosis and treatment needs in the Northeast region. However, the boom on the demand side did not fully cover the supply side. Minimally invasive interventional procedures such as percutaneous biopsy and tumor ablation are still far from popular in county and city hospitals due to their high reliance on precision equipment and doctors' operating experience. The triple dilemma of lack of equipment, technical gaps, and lack of talent has existed for a long time. The gap between supply and demand forms a definite market gap.

Technological Empowerment and Cooperation Implementation

General Technology Liaoning Pharmaceutical is the only provincial platform company established by “China Pharmaceutical and Health Industry Co., Ltd.” under “China General Technology (Group) Holdings Co., Ltd.”, an important state-owned enterprise directly managed by the central government.

For equipment manufacturers, joining hands with a central enterprise provincial platform like this is worth far more than just one more shipping channel. Through this company, True Health has obtained compliant procurement channels for public hospitals in Liaoning Province, connected to the pharmaceutical business networks of central enterprises in the three northeastern provinces, and gained a foundation of trust for long-term cooperation by relying on central enterprise credit.

According to the agreement, the cooperation between the two parties is not a simple procurement of equipment, but is aimed at the systematic export of minimally invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment. True Health's integrated diagnosis and treatment capabilities in the field of robots for percutaneous puncture surgery and ablation surgery will be fully integrated into the Northeast market through models such as specialist co-construction, equipment technical services, and operational leasing. Reports from the Health and Health Commission and health insurance departments will be completed before the project is implemented to ensure compliance first and clear up institutional barriers for subsequent large-scale replication.

The announcement stated that this cooperation will accelerate the large-scale implementation of the company's self-developed minimally invasive oncology surgery robots and specialist solutions in Northeast China, create a replicable oncology specialist model, and enable regional medical upgrades. The board of directors believes that this cooperation is beneficial for both parties to complement each other's advantages, enhance the company's market influence, and conforms to the interests of the company and all shareholders.

The nationwide layout is being accelerated

As a pioneer and leading enterprise in the development and commercialization of robots for percutaneous puncture surgery and ablation surgery in China, True Health Medical listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June this year as the “First Puncture Robot”. A number of products independently developed by the company have obtained three types of medical device registration certificates from the State Drug Administration. Among them, the navigation and positioning system for puncture surgery was recognized as the first in China, the navigation and positioning microwave ablation system was recognized as the first in the world, and the integrated minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment plan for accurate lesion location and ablation treatment already has a mature commercial basis. People's Daily rated it as “the first locally listed company in Hengqin and the first listed biomedical company in Macau.”

As of June 1, 2026, the company's products have entered nearly 100 medical institutions across the country, with a cumulative total of more than 7,200 surgeries, with a technical success rate of 100%; 6 devices were delivered in 2025, and revenue increased from 1.791 million yuan in 2024 to 12.178 million yuan, an increase of about 5.8 times over the previous year, with a gross margin of 76.3%. From “obtaining a license” to “installing” to repurchasing consumables, a closed commercial loop is being formed at an accelerated pace.

From the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the old industrial base in Northeast China, from the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone to the national layout of True Health Care, a provincial platform for central enterprises, we are completing an in-depth strategic advance spanning thousands of kilometers. The commercial landscape of minimally invasive tumor surgery robots extends from the coast to the hinterland, and from a technical highland to a high demand ground.

When the demonstration effects of the benchmark project are gradually released, and when the specialist co-construction model moves from a single point to replication, the “true health plan” for minimally invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment is expected to take root in more high-demand regions. The scarce value of “the first puncture robot stock” is being seen by more regional markets.