Venusilk secures second round in 6 months, advancing silk fibroin regenerative material toward clinical use

Suzhou Venusilk Medical Technology Co., Ltd.("Venusilk"), a leading enterprise in China's silk fibroin medical aesthetic materials sector, recently announced the completion of a tens of millions of yuan Pre-A round financing. This round was led by Huaige Capital, with continued investment from existing shareholder Hanchi Fund, coming just six months after the company's previous angel round. The consecutive financing rounds not only demonstrate the capital market's strong confidence in the company's technological capabilities and industrialization prospects but also provide robust momentum for the clinical trials of its core product, "Pure Silk Fibroin Gel," and the expansion of its subsequent pipeline.

Venusilk was founded by a team with deep integration of industry, academic, and research backgrounds. Dr. Gong Zuguang, the founder, graduated from Fudan University with a major in Polymer Chemistry and Physics and has long been dedicated to research on silk fibroin medical hydrogels. He previously held a key position at 3M and later joined NewValue Medical as a founding team member, responsible for the development of innovative biological wound materials. NewValue Medical has since been acquired by a listed company, and the establishment of Venusilk marks Dr. Gong's second entrepreneurial venture. Notably, the company has already built a systematic intellectual property barrier around its pure silk fibroin gel material, completing a full-chain patent layout covering raw material processing, core formulations, and preparation processes. This solid foundation strongly supports its technology transformation and market competitiveness.

Silk fibroin, a natural polymer material extracted from silk, possesses excellent biocompatibility and low immunogenicity, effectively reducing the risk of post-operative infections. Its degradation products are amino acids that can be naturally metabolized by the human body, offering significantly superior safety compared to some traditional materials. The injectable silk fibroin gel developed by Venusilk utilizes proprietary technology to induce conformational changes in the protein, enabling self-assembly into a bionic Voronoi nano-network structure. This structure mimics the highly efficient arrangement of cells found in nature, providing immediate support to the skin while promoting long-term collagen regeneration. This dual mechanism of "instant filling + sustained regeneration" effectively avoids issues associated with traditional fillers, such as residual cross-linking agents, the Tyndall effect, and high swelling rates.

The company's core product is expected to initiate enrollment for its registration clinical trial in November this year, positioning it to become China's first pure silk fibroin gel product to enter the clinical stage. Through close collaboration with top Chinese academic institutions such as Fudan University and Southwest University, Venusilk has achieved breakthroughs across the entire technological chain—from controlling raw material molecular weight and regulating degradation cycles to optimizing mechanical properties. By implementing an intelligent silkworm farming system, the company has established a traceable supply chain for medical-grade silk raw materials, effectively addressing the long-standing industry challenge of raw material stability.

Beyond its core gel product, Venusilk is actively developing pipelines for Class III medical devices including hydroacupuncture and soft tissue repair products, while also expanding into Class II wound dressings and functional skincare. The company is committed to building a platform that applies silk fibroin technology to regenerative medicine and gene editing technologies.

Schematic of the Silk Fibroin Nanonetwork from Venusilk

Dr. Du Jiangbo, Managing Partner of Huaige Capital, stated: "Venusilk's technology platform, centered on silk fibroin, is positioned in the expansive field of medical aesthetics that combines 'filling and regeneration,' demonstrating both innovation and significant clinical application value. The team not only possesses profound academic expertise and industrial experience but also exhibits leading advantages in product development and process stability. As a new generation of medical aesthetic material, silk fibroin offers excellent biosafety, biodegradability, and plasticity, showing great potential to meet long-unaddressed anti-aging demands in consumer healthcare. Huaige Capital has long focused on innovative medical aesthetics and consumer healthcare sectors. We believe Venusilk will play a crucial role in driving industry advancement and leading independent innovation in China's medical aesthetic materials. This investment represents a key step in Huaige Capital's strategic deployment in the medical aesthetics and regenerative materials field, and we look forward to collaborating with the company to accelerate the translation of technological achievements into clinical and market value."

Dr. Yan Di, Managing Partner of Hanchi Capital, commented: "As a high-performance natural biomaterial, silk fibroin exhibits favorable immunogenicity, mechanical properties, and controllable degradation, demonstrating broad application prospects in the medical aesthetics field. The Venusilk team possesses profound technical expertise and extensive industry chain resources, giving its product pipeline a distinct competitive edge. The company's first product is a pure silk fibroin gel, which differs from other composite silk fibroin gel products on the market and has shown superior filling and regenerative effects in current animal studies. With multiple new biomaterial-based medical aesthetic products currently under design and development, the company is well-positioned to lead future trends in the medical aesthetics materials sector."