CardioLink Medical Completes Hundreds of Millions RMB Series D Funding to Advance Its Leadership in Oncology Interventional Therapeutics

VCBeat learned that recently, Cardiolink Science, an innovative platform enterprise in the field of tumor intervention, announced the completion of a D-round financing worth hundreds of millions of RMB. This round of financing was led by AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Fund, with joint participation from CICC Qiyuan and others, while Heryon Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing. The proceeds will be used for the research and development of its next-generation embolic microspheres and other product lines for tumor interventional therapy, further solidifying Cardiolink Science's leading position in the field of tumor intervention.

According to the latest global cancer data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, there were approximately 19.29 million new cancer cases globally in 2020. Among them, China ranked first in the number of new cases with 4.57 million, making the tumor treatment market a huge and essential market in China. Among all cancers, China recorded 410,000 new cases of primary liver cancer, with about 390,000 deaths, ranking second among all cancer types. It is evident that addressing the demand for liver cancer treatment in China is urgent. This year, the interventional field also welcomed its first academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Gaojun Teng, who is expected to lead the rapid development of interventional academia.

For the treatment of liver cancer, the most widely accepted method in clinical practice currently is multidisciplinary team (MDT) therapy. Among these, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has become the mainstream core therapy. According to the "Standards for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer 2019," TACE has been recommended as a first-line therapy for liver cancer. The principle of TACE is to block the blood vessels supplying the tumor with embolic materials, causing ischemic necrosis of the tumor tissue.

Multiple experimental data indicate that TACE combined with other treatment methods (such as surgery, ablation, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, etc.) demonstrates significantly enhanced tumor treatment effects. Throughout the treatment process, TACE therapy exhibits two key effects: downstaging and synergistic enhancement. Downstaging refers to tumor shrinkage and reduction in tumor staging, while synergistic enhancement means TACE can amplify the therapeutic efficacy of other treatments. Currently, according to the perspectives of liver disease treatment experts in China, liver cancer treatment is gradually evolving into a localized and systemic combined treatment model centered around TACE.

TACE therapy is mainly divided into c-TACE and D-TACE. c-TACE primarily uses gelatin sponge and blank microspheres as embolic agents, combined with an emulsion of iodized oil and chemotherapy drugs for surgical treatment. In contrast to c-TACE, D-TACE mainly utilizes drug-loaded microspheres as embolic agents. These microspheres have functional groups on their core products that can bind with chemotherapy drugs, allowing the drug-loaded microspheres to combine with the chemotherapy drugs. Therefore, in addition to the physical embolization effect, D-TACE enables sustained release of chemotherapy drugs, allowing them to act more precisely on tumors over a longer period, achieving a 1+1>2 effect with fewer side effects.

According to the Meta-analysis, D-TACE significantly increased the 1-year survival rate compared to c-TACE. Correspondingly, the 2021 edition of the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma in China" has separately included the surgical procedures for drug-eluting beads, indicating that clinical experts have highly recognized D-TACE.

The mechanism of TACE therapy is applicable to most solid tumors with rich blood supply. With the promotion of the therapy and the accumulation of clinical evidence, TACE will undoubtedly benefit more types of patients in the future. In addition to liver cancer, important "battlefields" for TACE will include lung cancer, breast cancer, uterine fibroids, and prostate cancer.

TACE therapy is increasingly gaining attention in clinical practice, but embolic microspheres (especially drug-loaded microspheres) have extremely high barriers in terms of R&D, patents, and production. They are complex products supported by knowledge systems such as synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, microelectronics, pharmacology, and immunology.

Physically, the performance of microspheres needs to balance rigidity and elasticity. Microspheres are mainly implanted through microcatheters and will be compressed during injection. Therefore, the microspheres need to quickly rebound when they reach the lesion site, which depends on their elasticity. During the compression process, the microspheres must have sufficient rigidity to avoid being crushed. For drug-loaded microspheres, the drug elution rate is also crucial. The synthesis method of microspheres determines their performance, and the synthesis method is the core secret of each manufacturer, all of whom have built corresponding patent firewalls.

Therefore, currently, there are only three manufacturers (Merit Medical, Boston Scientific, and Hengrui) selling products on the Chinese market, and among them, Hengrui is the only domestically produced manufacturer. It is expected that within the next three years, there may only be one potential manufacturer, Cardiolink Science, capable of entering this market with independent intellectual property rights, patent barriers, and a complete product line.

According to Data Bridge forecasts, the market size of embolic microspheres in TACE is expected to reach $3.4 billion by 2028; the estimated overall market size for TACE applications could exceed $10 billion. In China, the annual number of TACE procedures is close to 700,000 cases, with an annual growth rate of over 20%. To date, TACE remains a blue ocean market with insufficient competition. With the promotion and popularization of TACE therapy, especially the deepening clinical application of drug-loaded microspheres, future growth in the TACE market is even more anticipated.

Cardiolink Science, founded at the end of 2015, is a platform company specializing in the research, development, production, and sales of medical devices in the field of tumor intervention. Headquartered in Shenzhen, it operates GMP-certified, class-10,000 production facilities in both Shenzhen and Beijing, and is recognized as a national high-tech enterprise. Over the six years since its establishment, the company has obtained seven Class III medical device registration certificates.

Cardiolink Science focuses on the field of tumor interventional therapy, deeply deploying TACE therapy with tumor vascular interventional embolization microsphere products (various drug-loaded microspheres, blank microspheres) and precision interventional support products (microcatheters, balloon microcatheters, steerable microcatheters, etc.). Its self-developed embolization microspheres have received high clinical evaluations, with their rigidity, elasticity, drug-loading efficiency, and clinical outcomes being directly comparable to the industry's "gold standard" products.

With its excellent clinical performance, Cardiolink Science's embolic microsphere product completed all clinical enrollments in just 8 months, and it is expected to become the second company in China to obtain marketing approval. Meanwhile, the company is also accelerating the development and market launch of its next-generation microcatheters and embolic microspheres. Its pipeline products, including balloon microcatheters, visualizable microspheres, and broad-spectrum drug-loaded microspheres, are all domestic firsts, aligning deeply with the precise and standardized surgical development direction of TACE therapy, indicating a very promising future.

In addition to the tumor vascular intervention product line, Cardiolink Science has also developed an innovative tumor energy interventional treatment product line, creating a comprehensive product solution for tumor interventional therapy. Moreover, Cardiolink Science has commercialized products in the fields of hemodialysis access and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular intervention.

Cardiolink Science Builds Its Core Competitiveness Through Therapy Insight, Finding That Touch of Blue in the Red Sea, Being a Trendspotter Rather Than a Follower. Founder Dr. Haibo Che, a clinical cardiologist from Anzhen Hospital, keenly identified at the outset that tumor interventional therapy would be a rapidly growing blue ocean track. He swiftly made early strategic moves, and after six years of deep cultivation, transformed Cardiolink Science into an all-around player with a complete product pipeline, comprehensive technology patent layout, and full-solution capabilities for tumor interventional therapies.

Mr. Che Haibo has many years of clinical medical experience at Anzhen Hospital, giving him a deep understanding of the needs of surgeons. Later, he held senior management positions in well-known domestic and international medical device companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Sorin, acquiring extensive corporate management expertise. He is also a medical industry expert who combines clinical professionalism, market development capabilities, and business management skills. The core team he personally built at Cardiolink Science is a lean-thinking, results-oriented, talent-gathering, iterative learning organization — the "Fast Fish" team. These factors form Cardiolink Science's unique corporate competitiveness.

The participation of investors such as AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Industry Fund and CICC Qiyuan reflects the recognition of Cardiolink Science by both the industry and capital. As one of the most renowned pharmaceutical companies globally, AstraZeneca has been deeply involved in the oncology field for decades, with significant synergy to Cardiolink Science’s interventional oncology business. Together with existing shareholders like Hillhouse Ventures, LYFE Capital, Vivo Capital, and EF Capital, this powerful alliance will provide strong support for Cardiolink Science's future new product development, market promotion, and capital operations.

Cardiolink Science Founder Mr. Haibo Che"We are committed to 'therapy reading and providing intelligent solutions for clinical challenges'; our mission is to gradually tackle and resolve the 'bottleneck technologies' in the focused direction of medical device development. With the support of VCBeat, this round of financing was successfully completed. We are honored to have well-known professional institutions such as AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Industry Fund and CICC Qiyuan become our new shareholders and partners. The addition of professional partners will surely empower us, enabling the 'platform-based organization in the field of tumor intervention' to be implemented more efficiently and accelerating the realization of commercialization goals. Another significant milestone achieved alongside this financing: the successful completion of patient enrollment for the clinical trial of 'tumor interventional embolic microspheres.' This stage victory reflects major breakthroughs in our core product family, fundamental underlying technology, and advanced energy platforms. Based in Pingshan, Shenzhen, we continue to attract talent and iterate with the development of 'tumor interventional embolic microspheres' as our leading focus. Collaboratively tackling challenges in the application of biomaterial synthesis and energy intervention, we strive to overcome 'bottleneck technologies' as soon as possible and contribute our modest efforts to the development of China's medical device industry."

Mr. Shan Junbao, President and Managing Director of CICC CapitalIt is reported that, with the development of technology and product iteration, Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) has gained widespread clinical recognition. Cardiolink Science is one of the few companies globally to comprehensively layout a product line in the TACE field. In the six years since its establishment, the company has obtained seven Class III medical device registration certificates, fully demonstrating its strategic planning and R&D capabilities. We will fully support the development of Cardiolink Science and look forward to the early market launch of more vascular interventional medical device products from the company.

Mr. Chen Bing, Managing Director of AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare FundCardiolink Science stated that there remains a significant unmet patient demand in the field of minimally invasive vascular intervention. Cardiolink Science has comprehensively laid out its strategies in three major areas: oncology intervention, renal intervention, and cardiovascular intervention. The fund is highly optimistic about the development prospects of these fields, especially in oncology intervention, and will fully leverage AstraZeneca's extensive industry resources to promote high-quality development within the sector. This support aims to help Cardiolink Science’s products alleviate pain and extend the lives of more patients.

Mr. Yang Zhenjun, Partner of Haoyue CapitalIt is indicated that tumors are currently one of the major diseases urgently needing resolution in the medical field. In recent years, the field of medical devices for tumor treatment has seen vigorous development. As a leading enterprise in tumor intervention, Cardiolink Science's team has demonstrated significant technological innovation driven by therapy insights and remarkable execution efficiency fostered by a fast-paced culture. VCBeat Capital is honored to have continuously accompanied Cardiolink Science through two rounds of financing, witnessing the historic moments of the company’s growth. We believe that under the leadership of CEO Che and with the support of capital, Cardiolink Science will become a comprehensively leading platform enterprise in China’s tumor intervention field.

AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Industry Fund, initiated jointly by AstraZeneca and CICC Capital, is a private equity fund focused on investment in the healthcare industry. Integrating AstraZeneca's global industry advantages and CICC Capital's extensive capital operation experience, the fund concentrates on investment areas such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostic services, and digital healthcare. It is committed to gathering industrial and financial resources to provide full-cycle empowerment for enterprises from research and development to commercialization, jointly promoting the innovative development of China's healthcare industry.

CICC Qiyuan, jointly established by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and social investors, is the first national-level fund in China that focuses on venture capital fund investments and direct investments in emerging industries. It represents a successful expansion of CICC's direct investment business into fund-of-funds operations and strategic emerging industry sectors. By participating in venture capital funds and making direct equity investments, it aims to address financing challenges faced by innovative enterprises in the early to mid-stage of development within emerging industries. The fund supports entrepreneurship, innovation, industrial upgrading, and promotes the integration of capital and technology, thereby enhancing the overall development level and core competitiveness of China’s emerging industries.

HaoYue Capital was founded in January 2014 and is committed to becoming the bridge connecting China's healthcare industry with capital. The research areas and transaction scope of HaoYue Capital cover multiple sub-sectors, including biopharmaceuticals, innovative medical devices, IVD and precision medicine, medical services, and smart healthcare. The HaoYue Capital team consists of senior investment bankers with years of deep engagement in China’s healthcare sector. They closely track market dynamics and investment trends in healthcare investments over the long term, issuing weekly healthcare investment reports and special research studies, interpreting new policies and frontiers through HaoYue perspectives.