Weekly Roundup | Big Health Industry Investment and Financing Report (2024.07.22)

【Cell Therapy for Lumbar Disc Degeneration】Zhiyuan Medical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., located in Zhangjiang Science City, is a startup company focused on developing innovative cell therapies based on fibroblasts. The company's core pipeline, "FibroCell Human Fibroblast Injection," has completed IIT clinical studies across multiple dose groups, demonstrating robust safety and clear efficacy. Drawing on the long-term surgical expertise of clinical specialists, Zhiyuan Medical has developed an allogeneic fibroblast therapy to provide novel cellular solutions for patients with degenerative disc disease. Despite the overall challenges faced by the innovative pharmaceutical industry both in China and globally, Zhiyuan Medical has fully demonstrated its value and development potential through efficient execution and inspiring IIT clinical data.

【Investor】Kailite, Zhang Kehe Miao Fund, Huayi Capital

【Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapy】UniXelI BIOTECHNOLOGY, a global leader in human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurological disease cell therapies, was established in 2021. The company has built a research and development center and GMP cleanroom facility with a total area of approximately 4,000 square meters in Phase II of the Life Science Park at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. UniXelI BIOTECHNOLOGY has developed four highly innovative and integrated technology platforms, including a reprogramming technology platform, a stem cell differentiation platform, the SISBAR lineage tracing technology, and a high-precision gene editing platform. These platforms enable the company to research, develop, and produce neural cell therapeutics with higher purity and more stable efficacy, achieving efficient and safe clinical treatment outcomes. UniXelI BIOTECHNOLOGY’s lead pipeline—a midbrain dopaminergic neural progenitor cell therapy for treating Parkinson’s disease—is currently advancing rapidly through IT trials and registration clinical trials.

【Investor】Guo Ke Venture Capital

【Hepatitis B Nucleic Acid Drugs】AusperBio is an innovative biopharmaceutical company at the clinical stage with a global outlook, committed to transforming hepatitis B curative therapies and leading innovations in oligonucleotide technology. Leveraging its proprietary Med-Oligo™ ASO platform and highly efficient targeted delivery technology, AusperBio focuses on revolutionary ASO therapies applied in areas such as viral infections, metabolic diseases, genetic disorders, and immune-related conditions to improve patients' lives. Currently, AusperBio’s three major innovative pipelines—small nucleic acid drug platforms for curing hepatitis B, therapeutic vaccine platforms for hepatitis B treatment, and a nasally administered antibody platform developed in collaboration—have all entered the clinical trial application phase. Oligonucleotide therapies are expected to bring disruptive advancements to hepatitis B cures and other disease treatments, offering significant advantages including rapid identification of lead compounds, predictable pharmacokinetic properties, shorter development cycles, and higher success rates in drug development.

【Investor】InnoPinnacle Fund, YuanSheng Ventures, HanKang Capital, Qiming Ventures, YuanSheng Capital

[Organ Chip]Xellar Biosystems, founded in Boston, USA at the end of 2021, is the world's first "3D-Wet-AI" biotech startup to utilize organ-on-a-chip combined with high-content three-dimensional (3D) cell imaging, computer vision (CV), and artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery and precision medicine research. The company has branches in the Asia-Pacific region. Xellar Biosystems is committed to redefining biotechnology and accelerating the journey of drug discovery, safety assessment, and personalized medicine. Our platform integrates our unique organ-on-a-chip technology, multi-cell 3D disease model development, and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide spatiotemporal analysis and insights into drug testing and treatment at the cellular level. Our microfluidics-based organ-on-a-chip technology recapitulates the multicellular microenvironment of organs, incorporating angiogenesis, biomechanical structures and forces, as well as paracrine signaling experienced in vivo, offering an excellent in vitro model suitable for drug discovery. Using AI and machine learning analysis to perform downstream morphological, secretory, and multi-omics analyses on these complex organ models allows for the development of multiplex atlases of different cell populations, enabling the detection of subtle biologically relevant responses and phenotypes.

【Investor】Ding Tai Pharmaceutical Research, Ya Yi Investment Development, Legend Capital, Tian Tu Capital, Zheng Xuan Investment

【Intracardiac Ultrasound】Jiangsu Tingsheng Technology Co., Ltd., primarily operates in the health and medical field. On January 23, 2019, it officially launched the development of innovative interventional treatment products for cardiac arrhythmias and a cardiac three-dimensional mapping system. The company relies on the national key laboratory of Nanjing University and Purdue University in the United States, hiring several professors from various fields as R&D consultants. Led by a postdoctoral fellow from Purdue University, the R&D team has achieved independent innovation in catheter positioning within the heart and software algorithms. The three-dimensional mapping system under development aims to reduce the cost of surgical instruments, lower the cost of such surgeries, and alleviate the financial burden on patients' families and medical insurance, allowing more than 7,000 county-level hospitals in China to truly provide localized cardiac interventional surgery services. By increasing the application rate of surgeries, numerous patients will benefit, striving to break the current technological and product monopoly held by foreign companies in the Chinese market, and enhancing the technical value and autonomy of domestically produced medical devices. The company currently holds 9 patents, including 8 invention patents and 1 utility model patent. Additionally, it has developed the first learning tool app in China specifically for "cardiac electrophysiology" and is simultaneously developing the first PC-based surgical simulator app and simulator in China based on a digital heart model and VR virtual simulation operations. These tools are mainly used for online realistic experiences and practice of actual cardiac surgery scenarios by doctors and students, accelerating the mastery of professional skills, aiming to fill the gap in learning and practicing cardiac interventional surgeries for medical students and doctors.

【Investor】Jingming Capital

【Parkinson's Wearable Devices】DaiLai Technology, established in 2020 by several globally leading neurology clinical experts, is committed to developing a series of non-invasive neuromodulation and monitoring products aimed at creating a new model for the full lifecycle intervention and management of Parkinson’s patients outside the hospital setting, enabling more effective coordination between in-hospital and out-of-hospital care. The company's first major product is a sensory intelligent stimulation shoe designed to improve motor function in Parkinson’s patients with freezing of gait. Preliminary patient data has already been accumulated, demonstrating excellent clinical outcomes in motor function improvement. Leveraging years of clinical experience, DaiLai Technology’s team proposed an innovative hypothesis called "Peripheral Vibrational Sensory Stimulation-Coordinated Reset," leading to the development of an exclusive wearable peripheral neuromodulation product. Relevant clinical research findings are set to be published in a top journal in the field. Unlike more common wearable Parkinson’s devices on the market that focus on tremor improvement or symptom monitoring, this product directly addresses the challenge of freezing of gait—a condition that drugs and conventional wearables struggle to manage—offering significant market potential. Additionally, the company is developing a series of wearable neuromodulation products targeting various motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, aiming to achieve full lifecycle intervention and management while improving patients' quality of life in multiple ways.

【Investor】Fengyu Capital

【Mass Spectrometry Detection】Westlake Vitech (Hangzhou) Diagnostic Technology Co., Ltd. was founded on May 17, 2021, by Dr. Hongjun Shi from the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University, with investment participation from Westlake University (Hangzhou) Development Co., Ltd. It is a professional diagnostic institution specializing in clinical mass spectrometry testing of metabolic small molecules, emerging from the series of technology transfer achievements of Westlake University. On the international stage, it has taken the lead in achieving precise mass spectrometry testing for the comprehensive metabolic capacity of B-vitamins in red blood cells, providing an innovative and accurate testing technology for fields such as maternal and child health, reproductive health, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, geriatric diseases, and preventive medicine. Its business covers medical diagnostic testing services, precision laboratory construction, and the research, development, and production of diagnostic reagents. With a focus on reproductive health, birth defects, tumors, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, genetic metabolic disorders, and infectious diseases, it provides clinical services including personalized diagnosis and medication guidance, and has developed into a high-end, specialized, and chain-operated personalized molecular diagnostics center. Westlake Vitech adheres to high-tech R&D as its driving force and has established itself as an innovative and specialized medical testing service provider with a modern management system, international laboratory standards, and cutting-edge scientific research achievement transformation applications.

【Investor】Hongjia Fund

【Medical Health Management Services】Huamei Haolian provides comprehensive healthcare management solutions for insurance banks and enterprises. By integrating and technologically empowering high-quality medical resources both in China and abroad, it offers four major solutions to insurance financial institutions through a B2B2C model: "customer acquisition, value-added services, risk control, and health insurance product innovation," as well as employee health benefits services for enterprises. So far, Huamei Haolian has provided AI-driven digital healthcare services to more than 30 million users. Established in 2017 with a registered capital of 30 million yuan, Huamei Haolian is headquartered in Beijing, with branch offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Hainan, Yinchuan, and the United States. To date, it has received investments from well-known investment institutions such as Fupu, Oriental State-owned Capital, Ventech China, GSR Ventures, Amiba Capital, Fengqiao Capital, and Tongji Alumni Fund. As of the end of June 2024, Huamei Haolian has established business partnerships with nearly 100 insurance companies, nearly 80 banks, and enterprises; officially contracted with over 230 well-known tertiary hospitals in China, covering a medical service network of 1,312 tertiary hospitals across the country, and maintains long-term cooperation with seven renowned international medical systems, 41 specialties, and more than 2,000 international experts, enhancing and empowering medical services.

【Investor】Silver Titanium Capital, Amoeba Capital, Fengqiao Capital

【Medical SaaS】Shanghai Senyi Medical Technology Co., Ltd., established in 2016, is an artificial intelligence enterprise in China that focuses on integrating AI technology and big data technology with application scenarios in the healthcare field to provide intelligent healthcare solutions. As a national high-tech enterprise, Senyi Intelligence drives innovation through technology. It has released more than 20 innovative digital and intelligent solutions, earning over 200 world-class and national awards and honors, more than 200 patents and software copyrights, and publishing over 100 academic papers. Based on its "Digital Medical Brain," which integrates an AI platform, a data platform, and a medical knowledge platform, the company leverages industry-leading R&D capabilities and implementation experience from over 400 medical institutions, multiple regional platforms, and medical communities. It provides applications such as healthcare big data management, intelligent healthcare solutions, innovative applications, and next-generation healthcare informatization, driving the development and enhancement of health big data resource systems in healthcare, medical research, and related institutions, while facilitating their transformation from informatization to digital intelligence.

【Investor】Beijing Xinhangcheng Fund, Changchun Equity Investment Fund

【Flow Cytometer】Henan Caprico Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was established in April 2019, with modern factory buildings covering an area of approximately 3,000 square meters, including 1,700 square meters of GMP clean workshops classified as Grade 100,000 and Grade 10,000. The company is a comprehensive national high-tech enterprise integrating the research, production, sales, and technical services of monoclonal hybridoma cell lines for clinical and scientific research, flow cytometry antibody reagents, matching flow cytometers, and specialized fluorescent dye systems. It possesses a complete production and quality control system for Class I, II, and III in vitro diagnostic reagents. The company owns Caprico Biotechnologies, Inc., an overseas R&D center established in Atlanta, USA, in 2013, which has a 1,000-square-meter GMP workshop. The company has obtained ISO:13485 quality standard certification, and its products have passed FDA registration and have been verified and recognized by the international standard certification body HLDA. The company also owns Hunan Caprico Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary with a 500-square-meter production workshop dedicated to the R&D and manufacturing of high-throughput, multi-parameter flow cytometry instruments. Caprico Biotechnology boasts a strong team of scientists composed of more than twenty industry experts, including six professors and over ten doctors. The company allocates more than 50% of its annual costs to R&D. The raw materials of hybridoma cell lines and flow cytometry antibody reagents developed by the company are internationally recognized for their quantity and quality, with the capability to standardize conjugation with over 20 types of different fluorescent markers. Additionally, it maintains a high growth rate of at least 15 monoclonal hybridoma cell lines and at least 150 high-standard flow cytometry reagents annually.

【Investor】Panlin Capital