Against the backdrop of rapid expansion in the global minimally invasive surgical device market, Veress needles, essential core consumables for laparoscopic surgery, have formed a market landscape dominated by international brands with domestic players catching up rapidly. BD, Teleflex and Storz hold major global market shares, while domestic manufacturers including Weigao Holdings and Hangzhou Nuosheng Medical are accelerating domestic substitution and reshaping industry competition landscape by leveraging policy support, cost advantages and technological upgrades.

International manufacturers have decades‑long deep engagement in the minimally invasive sector. With well‑established R&D systems, rigorous clinical validation and global sales channels, they firmly control the high‑end hospital market. As a global medical device giant, BD's Veress needles are the top choice for Grade‑A tertiary hospitals in Europe and the United States, featuring a safe blunt‑tip protection design and consistent product quality. Covering laparoscopic surgeries across all departments, they form one‑stop solutions matched with BD's own laparoscopic systems, generating strong customer loyalty. Teleflex focuses on optimizing operational performance with more flexible needle shafts suitable for complex puncture scenarios such as obese patients and abdominal malformations. Relying on its advantages in endoscopic equipment, Storz delivers Veress needles perfectly compatible with laparoscopic instruments, making them standard equipment in high‑end operating rooms. With brand reputation and technical barriers, these international brands occupy over 70% of the global high‑end market. However, their high prices and long procurement cycles make them poorly suited to cost‑sensitive demands of grassroots hospitals in China.

Surging domestic demand for minimally invasive treatment and national policy support for domestic production of high‑end medical devices have brought development opportunities for domestic manufacturers. As a leading domestic supplier of medical consumables, Weigao Holdings took the lead in entering the Veress needle sector. Adopting 316L medical‑grade stainless steel in line with materials and specifications of international products, it strictly complies with the ISO 13485 quality management system and has obtained NMPA certification. With cost‑performance only half that of imported alternatives, its products have rapidly captured the grassroots hospital market in China. Specializing in the niche segment of minimally invasive puncture devices, Hangzhou Nuosheng Medical addresses clinical pain points, optimizes needle length and taper design based on physical characteristics of Chinese patients, and launches differentiated Veress needles dedicated to gynecology and general surgery, breaking imported brands' monopoly on product specifications.

Small‑and‑medium‑sized manufacturers mainly target the low‑end market, mostly using 304 stainless steel and adopting low‑price strategies. Nevertheless, their products suffer from low machining precision and loose quality control standards, only applicable to basic surgeries in township health centers. As domestic medical quality control standards rise, market space for low‑end products keeps shrinking, triggering accelerated industrial reshuffling with resources concentrating on leading domestic brands.

In terms of market demand, the annual growth of global laparoscopic surgeries drives rising demand for Veress needles. In China, minimally invasive surgeries are increasingly accessible to grassroots medical institutions, leading to a sharp surge in procurement demand at primary‑level hospitals and creating a broad market for domestic manufacturers. Still, domestic brands face technical shortcomings: minor gaps remain behind top international brands in core safety structural design and precision machining processes, accompanied by insufficient accumulation of clinical real‑world data. Consequently, high‑end tertiary hospitals still mainly adopt imported products.

In the future, domestic manufacturers will continuously increase R&D investment, learn from safety designs of international brands, optimize needle structure and machining processes, accumulate clinical real‑world data, and promote inclusion of their products in procurement catalogs of high‑end hospitals. Meanwhile, capitalizing on China's complete industrial chain, they will cut production costs, enhance product competitiveness, gradually achieve full domestic substitution of Veress needles, break international brands' monopoly, and help elevate the standard of minimally invasive surgery in China.