From Lotus Qingwen, ibuprofen, Daqinglong Decoction, to blood oximeters, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators, the price of "medical equipment" ranges from more than ten yuan to hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of yuan.

oximeter cost? How long does it take to arrive?

author | Zhao Pu

editor | Gao Yan

source | Ye Ye Finance

During this period, the biggest change for ordinary people should be the upgrade of national "medical preparation". From Lotus Qingwen, ibuprofen , Daqinglong Decoction, to blood oximeter, oxygen concentrator , ventilator, the price of "medical equipment" ranges from more than ten yuan to hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan.

After Lotus Qingwen and ibuprofen gradually "reduced fever", "silent hypoxia", "white lung disease" and other diseases have received great attention. The demand for finger-clip oximeters has greatly increased because they can provide monitoring data for related lung diseases. For a time, many places have experienced out-of-stock oximeters.

Stimulated by a large amount of demand, some merchants have begun to think about raising prices. In the past, blood oximeters could be purchased for tens to hundreds of yuan, but some merchants hyped them up to thousands of yuan. The major manufacturers of blood oximeters also canceled their previous discount promotions due to insufficient supply.

It is understood that many parts of the country will enter the peak period of COVID-19 infection in January 2023. If the above-mentioned problems such as arbitrary price increases and insufficient supply of medical equipment cannot be solved as soon as possible, it may pose a greater life safety threat to more elderly people and critically ill patients. Currently, regulatory authorities are contacting manufacturers to expand production capacity and , and are investigating price increases.

out of stock + price increase

On December 30, on the JD.com best-selling oximeter list, Kangtai Medical (300869.SZ)’s CMS50D oximeter sold 982,000 units on the 30th, ranking first; while another CMS50DL oximeter sold 165,000 units on the 30th.

Kangtai Medical’s two oximeter sales reached a total of 1.147 million pieces. Calculated based on the selling price of 128 yuan and 118 yuan, the sales within 30 days have exceeded 145 million yuan.

Source: Jingdong official website

Baidu data shows that in the past 14 days, the search popularity of oximeter has increased by 5459% month-on-month. Meituan’s drug buying data shows that this month (December) the search volume for oximeter increased 670 times compared with the previous month, and the search volume for home oxygen concentrator also increased 33 times.

With the rapid increase in demand, the oximeter quickly became out of stock. Many buyers said they did not receive the goods a week or even half a month after placing the order.

Among the 30 oximeter models on JD.com’s best-selling oximeter list, half of them are out of stock or require an appointment to buy, including Kangtai Medical, Yuyue Medical (002223.SZ), Kangheng Medical, Oxygen Doctor and other manufacturers. Customer service also reported that the delivery time could not be estimated.

Yuyue Medical stated that while the organization is doing its best to ensure supply, it will also conduct in-depth cooperation with Meituan Medicine: Yuyue Medical’s offline direct stores covering more than 40 cities across the country have launched Meituan Medicine. When logistics is not smooth, the medical supplies that people urgently need can be delivered to users’ homes through Meituan riders.

Many users have noticed that the price of the oximeter on the JD platform in JD self-operated stores or manufacturer flagship stores is generally the official price, such as Yuyue YX102 type, YX301 type, YX306 type, etc., which are all 299 yuan, but they are basically out of stock or the delivery time cannot be estimated. In the Yuyue official flagship store on the Tmall platform, there is no search for oximeter products.

In obvious contrast, the oximeter in third-party stores shows that it is in stock, but the price is generally higher.

For example, the Yuyue YX306 oximeter sold at the flagship store of Uammex Pharmacy in Jingdong has an estimated price of 552 yuan, and other medical The price of Yuyue JPD-500E oximeter sold in equipment specialty stores ranges from 379 yuan to 399 yuan; on the Meituan drug buying platform, the price of Yuyue finger clip oximeter JPD-500E ranges from 360 yuan to 453 yuan.

It was previously reported that the price of the Yuyue YX301 oximeter sold by the "Quezhitang Pharmacy Flagship Store" was as high as 1,380 yuan. The "Beijing Business Daily" quoted industry insiders as saying, "Including the cost of obtaining a medical device certificate, the cost of a finger-clip oximeter is only a few dozen yuan."

Many netizens reported that the original price of related products in the Yuyue flagship store was as low as more than 80 yuan before, but now the price has increased several times to about 300 yuan, questioning the company's "price gouging."

On the JD.com platform, one buyer said that he bought a Yuyue YX102 oximeter for 129 yuan in September last year; another buyer posted on Weibo that the Yuyue oximeter he bought in November this year was only 89 yuan. In addition, in a community group purchase group in a neighborhood in Beijing, caring people shared a blood oximeter that can be purchased for only 69 yuan, but the specific brand was not disclosed.

Source: Weibo netizen

On the investor interaction platform, as early as the end of November, someone had noticed the oximeter problem of Yuyue Medical. A user mentioned in a question on November 25 that the Kangba area in Inner Mongolia purchased oximeters and oxygen concentrators from Yuyue Medical. Are there any other regions that purchase them?

On December 12, a user asked, "Recently, the company's oximeter is out of stock on major e-commerce platforms. Is the production capacity unable to keep up? Is there centralized government procurement?"

Just after the above question, on December 28, a user asked, "Since the release of YQ in early December, the price of your company's oximeter Taobao store has risen like a rocket. Ten yuan, it has risen to 339 yuan today, and it is 299 yuan after coupons. What is the original intention of this price increase? As a leading company in the industry, should we set an example by doing this? "

As for the price of the oximeter, a staff member from the Yuyue Medical Board Secretary's Office told the media that 299 yuan is the original price in the company's self-operated flagship store. If the previous purchase price for consumers was lower than 299 yuan, it may be because the company has given profit margins in different activities, and the prices of labor, logistics, and raw materials are all increasing, so it has been adjusted back to the original price.

Supervision: Expand production capacity, investigate price increases

In response to the current shortages and price increases of oximeter, regulatory authorities in various regions are increasing management efforts.

It is understood that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has recently organized the industry and information technology authorities and manufacturing companies in Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shenzhen and other places to increase the production and supply of finger-clip pulse oximeters. The daily output has increased from 115,000 units in early December to more than 250,000 units. The next step will be to continue to help companies expand production capacity and speed up meeting market demand.

In response to the price increase of Yuyue Medical’s oximeter, staff of the Danyang Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Jiangsu Province told the media that relevant complaints have been received and the bureau has begun an investigation.

In addition, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission and Beijing Municipal Medical Security Bureau jointly issued the "Notice on Further Improving Severe Treatment Service Capabilities." It is required that on the basis of strengthening the community's mapping of people recovering from home isolation, organizations should organize the distribution of blood oxygen clips to high-risk groups such as the elderly, self-test blood oxygen at home, and clarify and concise monitoring and early warning standards.

The rapid and substantial increase in demand for oximeter is closely related to the recent cases of "silent hypoxia".

On December 21, Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, pointed out in his speech that when the number of patients increases significantly, treatment for the elderly should be improved. Regarding the ability to monitor at home, should be wary of "silent hypoxia" in the elderly. It is recommended that families with conditions can purchase it themselves, or neighborhood committees can distribute simple finger pulse oximeters to elderly people over 80 years old to monitor whether high-risk individuals for infection are at risk of severe disease.

Source: Can Gallery

" Fan Deng Reading " APP founder Fan Deng also released a video calling on everyone to pay attention to hypoxia in the elderly and prepare oximeter for observation at any time.

He shared that after being infected with the new crown , the elderly are prone to "silent hypoxia", but the symptoms are very mild, the fever is not high, and they just feel "confused." These mild symptoms are easy to be ignored, but the actual blood oxygen level is already very low. After his father became confused, a CT scan in the hospital found that the blood oxygen level was only 66, and the lungs had turned white in large areas.

Source: Fan Deng Video

In March this year, the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Ninth Edition)" issued by the National Health Commission showed that one of the indicators for judging severe cases in adults or children is: in the resting state, when breathing air, the oxygen saturation is ≤93%.

Normal blood oxygen saturation is above 94%, and if it is below 90%, it means hypoxia. Hypoxemia will lead to hypoxic perfusion of various organs, affect aerobic metabolism, and eventually lead to functional failure, coma, shock, and even death.

It should be noted that because the supply of blood oximeters currently exceeds demand, it is even more important to identify whether the manufacturer of the blood oximeter is formal. Unofficial manufacturers may have a large gap in product quality and accuracy, causing data distortion and affecting medical judgment.

Industry insiders said that the most important thing when choosing an oximeter is to look at the type of medical device. The accuracy of blood oxygen is relatively high, so you need to buy the "Class II 07" category, which is the respiratory system medical monitoring level.

In addition, to identify whether a manufacturer is a regular manufacturer, you also need to look at the "registration certificate number", which is compiled according to the year when the qualification was obtained. The older the manufacturer, the farther away the manufacturer's number is, and the more accumulated experience and technology it has. For example, the registration certificate number of Kangtai Medical is "Ji Medical Standard 20192070190"; the registration number of Yuyue Medical is "Su Medical Standard 20172071070".

Source: Kangtai Medical Oximeter

Some doctors also pointed out that the main function of the oximeter is monitoring. Those with conditions and rigid needs can be equipped with oxygen concentrators or ventilators. They are mainly prepared for the elderly with underlying diseases or severe patients with low immunity, but there is no need to panic hoard.

Some netizens shared that Apple Watch, Huawei Watch, Xiaomi Band and other sports bracelets with heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring can also be used for emergency monitoring. In addition, the "JD ABC Health" applet can also measure blood oxygen data. However, it should be pointed out that the above alternatives cannot be used as a basis for medical diagnosis. If you feel uncomfortable, you still need to seek medical treatment in time.

"Oximeter concept stock " takes advantage of this opportunity to turn around? While the supply of

oximeters exceeds demand, the listed companies of "blood oximeter concept stocks" have not seen the previous surge in stocks similar to Lotus Qingwen. Instead, there has been an "abnormal" phenomenon of executives continuing to reduce their holdings.

At present, Kangtai Medical, Yuyue Medical, and Biotech (300246.SZ) are the more mainstream listed companies that produce oximeter.

Among them, Kangtai Medical is headquartered in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. It was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in August 2020. At that time, the issuance price of new shares was 10.16 yuan per share. When was first launched, the stock price of Kangtai Medical reached about 307 yuan per share, but then fell all the way. By October this year, the lowest intraday stock price reached 20.11 yuan per share, a drop of more than 90%.

Source: Kangtai Medical stock price

What is even more concerning is that Kangtai Medical executives have been reducing their holdings of the company's shares , and there is no record of increasing its holdings of .

According to Oriental Fortune Network data, since September 2021, a total of 8 executives of Kangtai Medical have reduced their shareholdings by a total amount of approximately 593 million yuan, while the amount raised by the initial stock issuance in 2020 is approximately 417 million yuan.

Among them, executives concentrated on reducing their holdings in March this year, and in April, the 2021 financial report was released. Its revenue, net profit, operating cash flow and per share Revenues have all fallen sharply, with operating cash flow of only about 4.6474 million yuan, and falling 99% year-on-year to ; net profit was about 352 million yuan, down more than 42% year-on-year; revenue fell more than 35%, to about 909 million yuan.

This year’s first to third quarter financial reports show that Kangtai Medical’s revenue and net profit continued to decline, with declines of 35.75% and 39.53% respectively. It is understood that Kangtai Medical’s revenue has continued to decline since the first quarter of 2021, and the company seems to have no better way to reverse the decline.

Source: Kangtai Medical official website

Kangtai Medical stated in response to investor questions in December this year that in the past two years, the company has produced more than 25 million units/sets of oximeters and supplied them to customers around the world. The current daily output of finger-clip oximeters can reach 100,000 units.

However, the company's secretary of the board of directors also admitted that due to the relaxation of overseas epidemic control, the company's overseas sales have declined significantly, leading to a decline in the company's performance. According to the listing prospectus of Kangtai Medical, the company mainly focuses on overseas sales, and overseas sales revenue accounted for more than 72% in 2019.

What is noticeable is that even though the supply of blood oximeters has exceeded demand since December, driving up the stock price of Kangtai Medicine (as of the close of December 30, the stock price of Kangtai Medicine was 32.57 yuan), one of the executives, Xu Yunlong, still reduced his stock holdings by about 14 million yuan.

In addition, Yuyue Medical, Kangtai Medical’s main competitor, is not having an easy time either.

As a leading company in the domestic medical device industry, Yuyue Medical's revenue in the first three quarters of this year was approximately 5.116 billion yuan, down 3.65% year-on-year; net profit was approximately 1.135 billion yuan, down 15.99% year-on-year, and net income per share fell 16.73%.

Source: Yuyue Medical official website

At the same time, as mentioned above, due to the significant price increase of Yuyue Medical's oximeter at the sales end, the Danyang City Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Jiangsu Province has begun an investigation. This is both a reminder and an encouragement to Yuyue Medical.

According to the " China Times " report, Yuyue Medical has three violations in 2021 and was fined by Jiangsu Food and Drug Administration, Shanghai Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities. The products involved include gastric lavage machine , sleep apnea machine, etc.

Currently, all parts of the country are facing or will soon face the peak of new coronavirus infections. Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Yichang, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shandong and other provinces and cities have announced that the upcoming January 2023 is expected to be the peak period of new coronavirus infections. Moreover, as the Spring Festival approaches and more people return to their hometowns, COVID-19 infections may continue to spread to rural areas.

The elderly in urban and rural areas and critically ill patients need more medical resources such as oximeter. We hope that manufacturers of COVID-19 medicines and medical devices can produce as much as they can at this time and sell them at affordable prices.

Although some manufacturers are facing declines in revenue, profits and other performance indicators, it is best not to make money from the "national crisis" at this time. I believe that the market will give longer and richer returns to those conscientious companies.

Do you think an oximeter is a necessity? How many friends around you are waiting for the delivery of the oximeter? Welcome to leave a message and comment!