HeartCare Medical: Delivering Comprehensive Stroke Solutions and Capturing the Blue Ocean of Neurointervention

“The current neurointerventional market is the cardiac market of ten years ago.” This was the judgment that led Wang Guohui to establish HeartCare.

“The high-value consumables market in the cardiology sector has already seen the emergence of multiple listed companies, whereas the market share of domestically produced neurointerventional products remains relatively low. I believe that what domestic manufacturers have achieved in the field of coronary intervention can also be accomplished in neurointervention; therefore, those of us working in the vascular field should contribute to advancing domestically produced neurointerventional solutions.” Guided by this original aspiration, Wang Guohui founded HeartCare in 2016, focusing on developing products for the integrated management of cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases to address stroke.

Before founding HeartCare, Wang Guohui worked at MicroPort Medical for eight years after graduation. Subsequently, he founded Antong Medical and Baixinan Bio in succession. Antong Medical was the first enterprise in China to manufacture renal artery ablation products for the treatment of refractory hypertension, while Baixinan Bio is a developer of bioresorbable stents in China.

Venturing into a new field means starting from scratch, but it also signifies new opportunities. Overall, imported products account for more than 70% of the domestic neurointerventional market. Taking the neurointerventional stent system industry as an example, foreign companies hold a 69% market share, while most domestic enterprises are still in the research and development phase. In the market for interventional devices used in stroke thrombectomy, foreign products remain the mainstream.

Over the past three years since its founding, HeartCare has progressed from zero to one. The company has completed two rounds of financing. Not long ago, HeartCare just closed a Series B round of nearly RMB 100 million, led by Tianjin Haida Venture Capital, with participation from Shengyu Investment and Changjiang Guohong Investment.

In the blue-ocean market of neurointervention, how does HeartCare build its competitive advantage? VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) interviewed Wang Guohui, founder of HeartCare.

The scope of neurointervention encompasses the entire cerebrovascular system, addressing three major categories of diseases: arterial disorders (aneurysms and arterial lumen stenosis), venous diseases, and arteriovenous malformations.

Stroke is a critical domain within neurointervention. According to the "China Cardiovascular Disease Report 2016," there are currently 13 million stroke patients in China, with 2.5 million new cases and 1.9 million stroke-related deaths annually. Stroke ranks as the leading cause of death among the Chinese population.

In the treatment of stroke, the most effective acute management strategy currently is rapid vascular recanalization, including intravenous thrombolysis and arterial thrombectomy.

Traditional intravenous thrombolysis has a low recanalization rate for large vessel occlusion in cerebral infarction, while stent retriever thrombectomy provides a groundbreaking treatment option for stroke patients. In 2015, China and the United States updated their guidelines for the management of ischemic stroke, recommending that adding stent retriever technologies such as Solitaire™ to standard intravenous thrombolysis (IV-tPA) be the preferred treatment method for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Stent retriever thrombectomy was also listed by the Cleveland Clinic as one of the "Top 10 Medical Technology Innovations of 2016."

However, in China, the market volume for thrombectomy devices was only around 6,000 units in 2016. It rapidly increased to 14,000–15,000 units in 2017, with usage relatively concentrated in coastal regions. Although the thrombectomy market is growing rapidly, the penetration rate remains at merely 0.56%, indicating substantial room for further market expansion.

Wang Guohui stated, “Currently, thrombectomy procedures are performed relatively infrequently. This is partly due to the technical complexity of the surgery, and also because current thrombectomy stents are expensive. With the continuous advancement of the Stroke Prevention and Control Project by the National Commission for Stroke Prevention and Control, as well as the establishment of stroke centers nationwide, the stroke prevention and treatment capabilities of hospitals at all levels have been steadily improving.”

The rise of domestic R&D capabilities will break the monopoly held by imported products, lower product prices, and benefit more patients.

Thrombectomy stents, a recently launched product category undergoing continuous iteration, present domestic companies with an opportunity to overtake competitors on the curve.

HeartCare pioneered the development of multi-point radiopaque thrombectomy stents and long-length thrombectomy stents in China.

Wang Guohui stated, “Clinical trial data demonstrate that both the vascular recanalization rate and overall patient outcomes are superior to those of existing products on the market.”

Wang Guohui explained that 30% of strokes originate from arterial atherosclerosis, while another 30% stem from atrial fibrillation. Therefore, to achieve more effective stroke prevention and control, it is essential to promote integration between neurology and cardiology departments, ensuring that while treating acute stroke, the root causes are also addressed to prevent its occurrence. Consequently, HeartCare primarily focuses on a combined heart-brain treatment approach to structure its product portfolio for the prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke.

Currently, HeartCare’s core products—the Left Atrial Appendage Occluder and the Eruss Thrombectomy Device—have both completed clinical trials and are poised for market launch.

In addition to thrombectomy stents and left atrial appendage occluders, HeartCare has developed multiple products for the prevention and treatment of stroke, as well as for the treatment of stenosis.

“Our current product portfolio is divided into two major categories: interventional products for stroke prevention and products for stroke treatment. Within the treatment segment, we have three main product lines, including thrombectomy devices, access devices, and stenosis treatment devices,” said Wang Guohui.

Why Adopt a Full-Product-Line Strategy? Wang Guohui stated that a diverse product portfolio enables the provision of comprehensive solutions and enhances market competitiveness, which constitutes one of HeartCare’s core advantages.

Deploying multiple product lines can secure a first-mover advantage, but for startup teams, supporting the R&D of multiple product lines presents a significant challenge.

In response, Wang Guohui stated that the HeartCare team has experienced the complete cycle of coronary intervention products from R&D to industrialization, possessing the capability for rapid development. Furthermore, in terms of R&D direction, HeartCare has solidified the construction of a shared foundational technology platform from the outset. In its early stages, HeartCare established platforms for the precision design and processing of stents, precision catheter design, and the manufacturing of combination drug-device products.

In the promising field of the neurointerventional market, there are multiple players. HeartCare secured nearly RMB 100 million in Series A funding from Fosun Group and Tianzhu Medical in 2018, and has raised another nearly RMB 100 million this year.

Wang Guohui stated, “Our core advantage lies in our team, which boasts extensive R&D experience and strong execution capabilities. For startups, identifying a clear strategy is not difficult; the challenge lies in implementing that strategy step by step. Furthermore, our team possesses strong learning agility. In the medical device industry, characterized by rapid updates and iterations, the team must respond swiftly to clinical needs.”