b-ONE Orthopedics Secures Hundreds of Millions in RMB in New Funding Round to Advance Domestic Innovation in Joint Replacement

36Kr learned, an R&D-focused enterprise for artificial jointsb-ONE Medicalb-ONE (hereinafter referred to as “b-ONE”) has completed a new round of financing amounting to hundreds of millions of RMB, led by Wuxi Financial Investment Taihu Fund, with participation from FIL Capital and its sister fund, F-Prime Capital.Following the completion of this round of financing, b-ONE will increase its investment in Wuxi, accelerate key technological innovations, enrich and refine its product portfolio, expand into domestic and international markets, and drive product marketing.

b-ONE, founded in 2015, is a China-based, globally oriented enterprise dedicated to the research and development of artificial joints. Its independently developed hip and knee products received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance in October 2018, and in June 2019, b-ONE became the first Chinese self-developed joint brand to be implanted in the United States.

As of February 2020, b-ONE’s knee joint products had entered nearly 200 hospitals in China. In addition, b-ONE has performed surgeries in multiple U.S. states and established a sales headquarters and two logistics service centers through investment in the United States. In international markets outside China and the United States, b-ONE has completed product registration in seven countries and is scheduled to perform its first surgery outside these two regions in early May.

Regarded as technological hotspots capable of transforming the ecosystem of the artificial joint replacement industry, breakthroughs in osseointegration interfaces, bearing couple materials, and digital surgery hold significant importance. Currently, b-ONE has established a presence in these areas and has filed U.S. patent applications in several core fields.

In addition, earlier this year, b-ONE restructured its international R&D department by establishing an independent Global Innovation Center (BIC) to concentrate resources on the development of new materials and processes. Its primary mission is to collaborate closely with universities and research institutions in China and the United States to build a pipeline of disruptive frontier technologies and accelerate their commercialization.

Regarding artificial joint replacement surgery, it is a surgical solution for eliminating pain in the late stages of joint disease, which can directly improve patients' quality of life. However, due to limitations in market maturity, the current annual number of joint replacements in China is less than half that of the United States. Considering the population ratios of the two countries, the potential scale of China's joint replacement market will be 11 times its existing base.

Data Source: National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China and the National Working Committee on Aging

Taihu Fund stated that its capital partnership with b-ONE was primarily driven by the recognition of the vast market potential in the artificial joint sector. “Experts predict that the proportion of China’s population aged 60 and above will peak at 35% by the mid-21st century. The artificial joint sector, closely tied to the ‘silver economy,’ will see a massive surge in its potential customer base. It is no exaggeration to say that we stand at the threshold of a new era, filled with anticipation for the next decade.”

Wang Junwen, Founder and CEO of b-ONE, believes that backed by China’s massive market, domestic joint replacement companies have risen rapidly over the past decade, with several becoming publicly listed. However, few Chinese companies have achieved breakthrough innovations in key processes and materials, nor have they introduced product design improvements that have captured market attention. Instead, they have largely followed the lead of European and American enterprises, competing in the market by optimizing product cost structures and offering high cost-performance ratios. As a result, Chinese brands remain relatively unheard of in the international high-end market. b-ONE aims to change this landscape in the next decade.

It is reported that,b-ONE is Wang Junwen's third entrepreneurial venture.In 2006, Wang Junwen began his orthopedic career at Johnson & Johnson in the United States. Recognizing the significant potential of the domestic market, he left Johnson & Johnson in 2010 to join Kanghui Medical (later fully acquired by Medtronic) as Chief Financial Officer. Reportedly, Kanghui Medical remains the only Chinese orthopedic company to have successfully listed in the United States to date.In 2013, Wang Junwen co-founded Wentai Medical with the former head of sales at Kanghui. The company acquired and restructured Wuxi Baide Medical, which specialized in spinal and trauma orthopedics, achieving rapid growth. Subsequently, he established b-ONE to enter the artificial joint replacement sector, a field characterized by the highest technical requirements, the greatest barriers to entry, and the largest global market share within the orthopedic industry.

In the vertical sector of artificial joints, 36Kr has also reportedLidakang、Xinjian Medicaland other enterprises.