China becomes launchpad for ASX health plays

With its sheer scale, ageing population and a government rolling out the red carpet for cutting-edge medical tech, China has become a proving ground that’s increasingly hard for ASX health outfits to ignore.

Compumedics isn’t the only Aussie med-tech with serious skin in the China game.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX), for instance, is running several China-based Phase III registration studies.

The ZIRCON-CP trial of its kidney-cancer imaging agent TLX250-CDx is being conducted at Beijing Cancer Hospital and other leading oncology centres, in conjunction with strategic partner Grand Pharmaceutical Group.

The first Chinese patient was dosed late-2024, and the study remains active in 2025.

Cochlear (ASX:COH) continues its three-decade clinical presence in China.

In June, the company launched its Nucleus Nexa smart implant within the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, a government-sanctioned hospital hub that fast-tracks novel devices and collects clinical evidence for mainland approval.

EZZ Life Science (ASX:EZZ), meanwhile, has quietly pulled off one of the sharpest China plays on the ASX, turning a niche Aussie wellness brand into a breakout star.

In FY24, revenue surged 79% to $66.4 million, with a clean $10.4 million in EBITDA and zero debt on the books.

And 80% of that cash came straight out of Greater China, thanks to a killer e-commerce strategy across Douyin, Tmall, Kuaishou and O’Mall, where its anti-ageing pills and children growth chews have become chart-toppers.

Parents in China can’t get enough of EZZ’s kids’ range, and the company just dropped a fresh $21 million deal to push into Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.