Lumens Medical Completes Hundreds of Millions RMB Series C Funding to Advance Full-Range Ophthalmic Product Pipeline

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) recently learned that Wuxi Vision Pro Ltd. (“Vision Pro”), a leading domestic manufacturer of intraocular lenses, has announced the completion of its Series C financing round, amounting to hundreds of millions of RMB.This round of financing was led by GL Ventures, with participation from Longwater Investment and Xiamen C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment.。

Previously, Vision Pro secured lead and co-investment from Qiming Venture Partners in its Series A and B funding rounds (with Shanghai Ruijian Capital as the other co-lead investor).

Regarding the successive investments received from renowned investment firms,Dr. Liao Xiugao, Founder of Vision Pro and Expert in Intraocular Lens MaterialsVision Pro stated, “In this round of financing, Vision Pro is honored to partner with GL Ventures, Longwater Investment Management Co., Ltd, and Xiamen C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment Co., Ltd. We also extend our gratitude to our existing lead investor, Qiming Venture Partners, for its comprehensive support in financing, operations, and recruitment, as well as to our existing shareholder, Shanghai Ruijian Capital, for its continued confidence in us. With the backing of this capital, Vision Pro will further expand its domestic and international sales channels, accelerate the research and development of new products, and build a comprehensive portfolio of ophthalmic products starting with intraocular lenses, aiming to become a leader in China’s ophthalmology sector.”

Vision Pro, established in 2010, is a technology-driven enterprise specializing in the research and development, manufacturing, and sales of high-end ophthalmic consumables, such as intraocular lenses (IOLs). The company is dedicated to overcoming technical bottlenecks in the R&D and key industrialization technologies for foldable intraocular lenses used in cataract treatment.

Vision Pro boasts robust R&D capabilities, with its research team led by seasoned experts in materials science, optics, and engineering. The company has independently developed a new generation of hydrophobic acrylic materials and a diverse portfolio of intraocular lens (IOL) products, achieving technical performance on par with international advanced standards. Its core product, the foldable intraocular lens, was approved for market launch in 2017 and has been clinically used in hundreds of hospitals across China, earning consistent acclaim from surgical experts. The company has filed multiple invention patents for intraocular lenses, including international PCT patents.

According to the World Health Organization's report,Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwideSurgical implantation of intraocular lenses (IOLs) to replace the clouded natural lens is the only effective treatment for cataracts. IOLs have become the most widely used implanted medical devices globally. In China, over 80% of the market for foldable IOLs required for cataract surgery is monopolized by foreign brands. However, with advancements in advanced materials technology, the innovation capabilities and production standards of domestically produced IOLs now rival those of high-priced imported brands.

In China, the cataract surgery market has enormous growth potential. It is estimated that China has the world's largest population of cataract patients, with up to 130 million potential cataract patients aged over 60, and more than 7 million patients requiring surgical intervention. By 2025, the national Cataract Surgical Rate (CSR) in China is projected to exceed 3,300 per million population.

Vision Pro is breaking the import monopoly and taking Chinese brands global with its mid-to-high-end intraocular lens (IOL) product series, which features internationally advanced technology. Currently, Vision Pro operates a raw material factory in Irvine, USA, and its products are sold across Asia, Europe, and the United States.

In the future, the company will deepen its existing portfolio of cataract intraocular lens products and further develop series of products in optometry and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, covering areas such as cataracts, refractive errors, and glaucoma, to build a leading brand in ophthalmic medical devices based in China with global reach.

Yi Nuoqing, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Hillhouse Capital and Head of Biopharmaceuticals and Medical Devices at Hillhouse VenturesIt stated: “With the aging population and rising myopia rates in China, ophthalmic diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and refractive errors have become among the most prevalent conditions in the country. For a long time, the domestic mid-to-high-end intraocular lens (IOL) market has been monopolized by imported brands. Leveraging its robust R&D capabilities, Vision Pro has launched a new generation of hydrophobic acrylic IOLs with internationally advanced standards through continuous research and innovation. Meanwhile, it boasts a rich product pipeline in the fields of cataracts, glaucoma, and refractive errors. GL Ventures will support Vision Pro in sustaining increased R&D investment, helping it become an innovative leader in China’s ophthalmic medical device sector and benefiting more patients with eye conditions.”

Lü Gang, Partner at Longwater Investment Management“Material innovation is the cornerstone of continuous advancement and renewal in medical devices and consumables. Vision Pro’s ability to drive innovative upgrades across various high-value ophthalmic consumables, with key materials at its core, is impressive. We are delighted to see that, after more than a decade of accumulation and diligent effort, Vision Pro’s founders and management team have developed a rich portfolio of intraocular lens (IOL) products, as well as a diversified product matrix including orthokeratology lenses and Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICLs), thereby providing cataract and refractive error patients, along with ophthalmologists, with a broader range of high-quality product options. Investing in Vision Pro holds profound significance for Longwater Investment’s strategic layout, reflecting both the critical importance of materials science to the healthcare industry and our deep understanding of this dynamic. Longwater Investment looks forward to working closely with the management team and other shareholders to jointly support the company in achieving new breakthroughs and development.”

Shen Yaping, Deputy General Manager of C&D Emerging Industry Investment Co. and Head of Healthcare InvestmentHe stated, “China’s ophthalmic medical device market holds immense potential for growth. Through continuous technological innovation, Vision Pro has emerged as a leading domestic enterprise in the mid-to-high-end intraocular lens (IOL) sector. The launch of an ophthalmic product requires years of meticulous refinement. Dr. Liao and his team have centered their efforts on independently developed hydrophobic acrylic materials, striving for excellence to continuously develop IOLs with diverse functionalities—including monofocal, toric, and multifocal lenses—and plan to extend their reach into other areas of ophthalmic diseases. C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment focuses on innovative technologies and social value. We are delighted to invest in Vision Pro, supporting its rapid development and enabling more patients to access high-quality, domestically produced intraocular lenses.”

GL Ventures is the venture capital fund under Hillhouse Capital, focusing on early-stage innovative companies. It primarily specializes in venture investments across four key sectors: biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, software and hard technology, consumer internet and technology, and emerging consumer brands and services. Biopharmaceuticals and medical devices have always been a core investment focus for Hillhouse. Over the past decade, Hillhouse has invested in more than 200 outstanding enterprises in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. We aim to partner with companies as “friends of time,” jointly driving innovation and development in the broader healthcare sector to benefit more patients.

Longwater Investment is a specialized investment firm focused on the fields of new materials and chemical technology. Its fund investors include leading international and domestic material chemistry enterprises as well as renowned professional institutional investors. Longwater Investment concentrates on key materials and chemical technologies that drive industrial development. The products and technologies of its portfolio companies are widely applied in new energy, electronics, semiconductors, sustainable development, life sciences, and other broad industrial and consumer upgrade sectors. Leveraging the combination of professional investment capabilities and industrial resources, Longwater Investment aims to identify and support high-growth potential technology enterprises. It drives fundamental growth through technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and enhanced social value, while striving to create long-term value for its investors, portfolio companies, and society.

Xiamen C&D Emerging Investment is a corporate venture capital institution backed by Xiamen C&D Group, a Fortune Global 500 company (ranked 234th in the 2020 Fortune Global 500), with assets under management exceeding RMB 8 billion. Guided by its mission to “pioneer new value and help more high-growth new-economy enterprises achieve better development,” the firm focuses primarily on healthcare, advanced manufacturing, TMT/consumption, and other new-economy sectors. It was consecutively ranked among the “Top 30 Limited Partners in China’s Private Equity Investment Market” for three years from 2018 to 2020.