Ligate Secures Hundreds of Millions in Series D Funding, Completes Full-line Portfolio in Digital Sports Medicine

36Kr learned that the digital sports medicine companyLigatechHas completed a D-round financing of several hundred million yuan, led by Xinda Kunpeng, with Hangzhou Hanshi, Jianxin Guomao, and existing shareholder Legend Capital following up. HAOYUE CAPITAL served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing.

Ligatech was founded in 2014.The company has completed the full-process layout of diagnosis + treatment + exercise management, covering imaging systems + artificial intelligence, active devices, implants, and other supporting consumables, with currently over 30 product pipelines laid out.。

Currently, Ligatech owns the exclusive product, dual-plane imaging equipment. After obtaining the first domestically produced artificial ligament registration certificate in the first quarter, Ligatech has also completed the overall layout of all sports medicine consumables and devices. Among them, the consumables have been introduced to more than 2,000 hospitals, and the small devices have been installed in over 200 hospitals.

According to reports, among themThe dual-plane imaging system is an innovative orthopedic imaging device independently developed by the company.The technology was initially incubated at Harvard University and MIT. With over 300 SCI publications based on this technology, the team has accumulated more than ten years of orthopedic research experience. This product primarily addresses issues such as the lack of functional weight-bearing images and dynamic information in traditional orthopedic imaging. Through a fast, low-radiation technical approach, it provides doctors with "3D + full-length + weight-bearing + dynamic" imaging information, offering convenience for orthopedic diagnosis.

As for artificial ligaments, itCan be used for surgical treatment of ligament and tendon injuries in various parts of the human body. In the case of the most common anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in the knee, surgical reconstruction of the ligament is necessary to return to sports. Traditional autograft tendon surgery is highly invasive, with slow recovery, requiring at least 10 months of postoperative rehabilitation before returning to sports. If an artificial ligament is used for ligament reconstruction, patients can return to competitive sports as quickly as within 3 months. The postoperative recovery speed with an artificial ligament is four times that of an autograft tendon, which is of great significance for professional athletes and sports enthusiasts.However, the artificial ligament market has always been monopolized by imported products, which are expensive, and there has been no domestically produced alternative.。

In addition,As a non-biological enhanced artificial ligament,Artificial LigamentUnlike tissue-engineered grafts, although it lacks the viscoelasticity of a normal ligament, it does not require reshaping or re-ligamentization by the host after implantation, providing stability to the joint. In other words, using an artificial ligament for ligament reconstruction surgery not only establishes a restraining structure but, more importantly, this structure can resist knee joint tension, functioning similarly to railway sleepers, ensuring that the knee joint motion stays on track.

Research reports from Southwest Securities show that China's sports medicine market is in a stage of rapid development. In 2019, the size of China's sports medicine market was expected to be close to 3 billion yuan, with a growth rate of over 25%, making it the fastest-growing segment in the orthopedic market. It is projected that by 2023, the market size will exceed 5 billion yuan. Additionally, the total number of sports medicine surgeries in China has surpassed one million per year, with an annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 20%, making it the fastest-growing niche in orthopedics. However, sports medicine surgeries as a whole are still in the early stages of development. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the penetration rate of arthroscopic surgeries in China was less than 0.1% in 2020, indicating significant room for growth in both market penetration and absolute numbers in China’s sports medicine sector.

In addition, the current sports medicine market is dominated by imported products. Smith & Nephew, Arthrex, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, and ConMed together account for 86% of China's market share. It is estimated that foreign companies occupy approximately 95% of the domestic market, with most Chinese-produced brands still in the early stages.

Notably, in May this year, the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau released the "Notice on Soliciting Opinions for the First Batch of DRG Payment and Volume-based Procurement Policy Linkage Procurement Plan in Our City". This initiative established a medical institution DRG linkage procurement group composed of six hospitals in Beijing, which included suture anchors in the field of sports medicine. By September this year, the Tianjin Medical Procurement Center also announced that it would organize the centralized procurement of medical consumables in the categories of artificial crystals and sports medicine.Sports medicine consumables have been included in the national medical device procurement, which has become a trend.

As of now, sports medicine is the only细分赛道in orthopedics with a localization rate still below 10%. The centralized procurement of sports medicine products will accelerate industry development and expedite the localization process, benefiting leading domestic companies with core technical capabilities, comprehensive product portfolios, strong cost control, and prominent channel advantages.Driven by the centralized procurement, Ligatech is expected to achieve a breakthrough in the sports medicine sector by leveraging the cost-performance advantage of domestically produced brands.

Investor Perspective

Zhao Yanchen, Executive Vice President of Xinda Kunpeng, stated,

With the continuous promotion and popularization of sports, the gradual improvement of people's awareness, and the rapid development of treatment methods, sports medicine is in a golden period of comprehensive and rapid growth. Coupled with the trend of domestic substitution in the industry driven by centralized procurement, we believe there are tremendous market opportunities in this field. The founder of Ligatech has extensive experience and resources, and the team excels in R&D and platform capabilities. They have innovatively developed products such as dual-plane dynamic imaging systems and artificial ligaments, forming a complete product portfolio. Additionally,The company has already gained high recognition and a solid clinical foundation in the Chinese market, and it has also started to expand into overseas markets. It is expected to grow into a sports medicine supplier with global influence.