From Singapore to the Global Stage: Local Urology MedTech Firm Ranks Among the World’s Top Five

Advanced MedTech CEO Wong Yau Chung frequently visits clinics to speak directly with frontline medical staff, transforming their feedback into a driver of continuous improvement for the Group’s products and services. (SPH Media)

Headquartered in Singapore, Advanced MedTech’s Group CEO Wong Yau Chung noted in an interview that the group is the only Southeast Asian company among the world’s top five urological medical device manufacturers. Currently, the group is accelerating its business expansion, and aims to break into the global top three within the next three to five years.

As a Singapore-based, globally oriented urology medical technology company, Advanced MedTech’s business operates in more than 100 countries, with a strong presence across Europe, the United States, and several key markets.

After establishing its industry position over 40 years ago with the world’s first extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) technology, the Group has continued to pursue breakthroughs in urology by enhancing its technologies and developing new products. At the same time, it has expanded its product lines and service models through strategic acquisitions, gradually building a comprehensive business platform encompassing shock wave, laser, endoscopy, and related services. In the past two years, the Group’s business has achieved double-digit growth, with outstanding results.

As the Group moves toward its next phase of development, support from Enterprise Singapore (Enterprise SG) has played a crucial role, particularly through the Scale-Up program, in further clarifying its global development strategy, strengthening leadership and organizational capabilities, and supporting its ambition to become one of the world’s top three urology medical technology companies within the next three to five years.

From A Single Focus to a Diversified Platform

Technical engineers demonstrate Advanced MedTech’s Thulio laser lithotripsy technology, with real-time on-screen imaging showing how the laser precisely fragments stones to enable minimally invasive treatment. (SPH Media)

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is Advanced MedTech’s most representative „flagship product“. First introduced in 1983 by its subsidiary Dornier MedTech, the technology uses focused shock waves that penetrate the body to target and break internal calculi (stones) into fine particles. This allows treatment to be completed without the need for invasive surgery.

According to Wong Yau Chung (48 years old), CEO of Advanced MedTech, prior to this technology’s introduction, surgical intervention was the sole method for kidney stone removal. Consequently, the launch of this non-invasive technique attracted considerable interest and rapidly gained market traction.

While promoting shockwave technology, the Group also actively invested in research and development, subsequently introducing its own laser lithotripsy technique. This technology involves delivering a thin laser fiber through a flexible endoscope to the vicinity of the stone, where high-energy laser pulses are used to fragment it. Although it is a minimally invasive procedure, laser lithotripsy offers greater precision, allowing it to treat not only kidney stones but also ureteral stones and cases that cannot be treated by ESWL.

“2010 marked a turning point for the Group. At the time, our business development had reached a relatively mature stage, but we asked ourselves: what more could we do? Many people only knew us as an ESWL company, but we decided to change and provide comprehensive solutions for urology.”

As a result, the Group stepped up its investment in research and development, and launched additional products and services, including disposable flexible endoscopes and other medical consumables. He added that, aƞer years of development, laser lithotripsy has now surpassed extracorporeal shock wave therapy. Thulio, launched by the group in 2022, is becoming another „flagship product“ in the industry due to its faster and more effective stone fragmentation performance.

Powering Progress: Enterprise Singapore’s Role in Acceleration

Wong Yau Chung (second from leƞ in the front row) said that participating in the Enterprise Scale-Up Program allowed the group’s management to engage in in-depth exchanges with expert advisors, from which they benefited greatly. (Photo provided by Enterprise Singapore)

As a result, over the past two years, Advanced MedTech has participated in and completed Enterprise Singapore’s landmark program – the Enterprise Singapore Scale-Up Program. Wong Yau Chung said that the Group benefited greatly, as its management team used the opportunity to engage in in-depth exchanges with expert consultants, and further clarify the company’s direction towards developing a „diversified platform.“

“In the past, Enterprise Singapore provided us with substantial support, such as various grants and resources. The Enterprise Scale-Up Program, however, is different; it truly focuses on capacity building.”

The Enterprise Singapore Scale-Up Program is designed to help high-potential companies develop into industry leaders and accelerate their growth. This 12-month program gives participating companies’ leadership teams the opportunity to collaborate with experts and build partnerships, networks, and collaborations with industry professionals.

Wong Yau Chung said, „Under this program, Enterprise Singapore has provided us with extensive support in terms of both strategy and leadership development, allowing us to learn from industry experts locally and overseas, and gain many in-depth and insightful analyses and perspectives. With these insights, we were able to develop more precise market strategies and better plan for future growth.“

For example, the team re-evaluated the priorities of different markets and further segmented the U.S. states and hospital types, enabling more targeted allocation of resources.

As the company expanded, management complexity increased significantly, necessitating upgrades to leadership and corporate culture. Under this program, Enterprise Singapore arranged various training opportunities for the Group’s leadership team, including overseas courses at leading U.S. universities. These experiences broadened the management’s perspectives, introduced new ways of thinking, and inspired them to reach even greater heights.

“The biggest gain, in fact, was a shiƞ in mindset,” he said. „Oƞen, it’s not a question of capability, but of first recognizing that the methods that brought success in the past may not carry you to the next stage.“

Empathize to empower the community

When asked about what drives sustained expansion, Wong Yau Chung stated that on-site visits and close attention to user feedback are essential. Even today, as CEO, he continues to personally visit treatment rooms to interact with frontline medical staff using the equipment, observing how they work and gathering feedback to identify opportunities for product improvement.

„For example, while observing healthcare professionals using the equipment, we noticed that managing the cables in a certain way would be more convenient. We therefore improved the product’s packaging design to make the equipment easier for them to operate.”

In his view, product design is essentially a process of „turning users‘ ideas into reality.“ Designers must put themselves in the users‘ shoes and understand their real needs to continue improving.

UroGPT, an AI-powered chat platform launched by Advanced Medtech, provides a reliable communication tool for doctors and patients based on physician-verified medical data. (SPH Media)

Seeing that healthcare professionals oƞen have to take time out of their busy schedules to respond to patient inquiries about kidney stones, the Group launched an AI-powered chat platform, UroGPT, three years ago to alleviate the burden on medical staff. Through the platform, patients can interact with a chatbot to learn more about kidney stones and check pre- and post-operative care guidelines, without having to consult doctors for every single detail.

Wong Yau Chung pointed out that the Group operates a highly active online community on Facebook, with 440,000 followers. This community allows the team to track, over time, the issues that patients are most concerned about. From there, the team collates a list of common questions and works with a trusted group of doctors to review and refine the medical explanations, before systematically adding them to the chatbot’s knowledge base. Patients can then access information at any time and quickly receive reliable responses.

He further explained, „UroGPT differs from typical open-ended AI chatbots. Our database is controlled, and all medical content is verified by doctors. If the system does not have the relevant medical information, it will not fabricate answers.”

For this reason, UroGPT is better aligned with the requirements of medical settings in terms of reliability and safety, serving as a supportive tool between doctors and patients, rather than a substitute for professional judgment.

„This can, to some extent, ease the workload of healthcare professionals, allowing them to focus on other important matters. We all know that medical resources today are under strain, and patient numbers are not decreasing. Developing a chat platform is therefore not just for our product users, but for the advancement of the industry as a whole.“

Local team with global vision

CEO , Wong Yau Chung stated that with Singapore as its global headquarters, the group benefits from Singapore’s open and pragmatic talent and business environment, which helps the company coordinate global markets. (SPH Media )

Wong Yau Chung began his tenure at Advanced MedTech in 2013, first serving as Vice President of Corporate and Business. He subsequently advanced to Chief Operating Officer before being promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2024.

He has witnessed the Group’s transformation over the past decade and has led the team to complete several mergers and acquisitions. These include the 2022 acquisition of Wikkon, a leading Chinese manufacturer of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripters. Through the acquisition, the Group established an additional research, development, and manufacturing base outside Munich, Germany (where Dornier MedTech is located). It also enabled the Group to combine its technological expertise with Wikkon’s market strengths in China, creating further growth opportunities.

„Wikkon’s facility in Shenzhen is highly competitive, and the acquisition brings together the complementary strengths of both companies. Through this, we are expanding our presence in the urology medical device sector, allowing us to help patients not only with kidney stones but also with other urological conditions such as erectile dysfunction and pelvic floor pain.“

In the United States, the Group has also expanded its market presence through mergers and acquisitions, with subsidiaries including NextMed and Northern Litho. To date, the U.S. has become the Group’s largest market, accounting for 55% of its total revenue, with half of its 1,300 employees worldwide based there.

The Group is headquartered in Singapore and has R&D, manufacturing, and sales facilities overseas, including an R&D and manufacturing base in Germany (see image). (Photo provided by Advanced Medtech)

Although most of its key markets are overseas, Advanced MedTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, has always been headquartered in Singapore, where it formulates its overall global development strategy and executes it through a team with a global outlook.

Wong Yau Chung believes that Singapore’s free and open business environment, coupled with its deep talent pool, makes it highly attractive for multinational corporations.

„People here have a global perspective, are pragmatic in their thinking, know how to adapt when needed, and are open to different viewpoints. This allows companies to manage global markets effectively even when they are based in Singapore.“

Looking ahead, Wong said that the Group plans to continue expanding its influence in the urological medical device field, with the goal of becoming one of the world’s top three urological medical technology companies within the next three to five years.

While consolidating its position in established markets, the Group will also expand its presence in emerging markets with long-term growth potential, such as the Middle East and Latin America, creating new avenues for growth.