Wanhai Medical Secures RMB 100 Million Investment from IDG Capital to Expand Injection Pen Capacity by 310 Million Units with Unmatched Cost-Performance

Wanhai Medical, established in 2016 and headquartered in the West Taihu Lake area of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, with a branch office in Shanghai, is recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise and a Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative (SRDI) Enterprise. The company specializes in the research and development, manufacturing, and sales of various injection pen products. It currently operates a production facility spanning 12,000 square meters, generates annual sales revenue in the hundreds of millions, serves over 180 clients worldwide, and conducts business in more than 60 countries and regions. Wanhai Medical employs over 300 staff members, including an R&D team of more than 50 professionals and a regulatory registration team of 12. The company holds over 50 product patents and has obtained product quality test reports from more than 30 third-party testing institutions. Patents for its core products have undergone Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) searches conducted by renowned patent agencies to ensure global commercialization without infringement risks. Wanhai Medical has obtained CE certification and ISO 13485 certification issued by TÜV SÜD, as well as domestic qualifications including the Class II Medical Device Registration Certificate, Production License, and Operation Record Filing Certificate, and has completed the national registration filing for pharmaceutical packaging materials. The company is currently applying for US FDA certification, which is expected to be completed in early 2026.

Chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity have long posed significant threats to public health. At the recently concluded press conference on livelihood issues held during the Third Session of the 14th National People’s Congress, Lei Haichao, Director of the National Health Commission, emphasized the continued advancement of the “Weight Management Year” initiative. He called for the effective implementation of responsibilities by the government, industry, employers, and individuals, sustained public education on chronic disease prevention and control as well as weight management, and a stronger integration of prevention with treatment. GLP-1 receptor agonists have gained widespread global application due to their remarkable efficacy in treating diabetes, obesity, and other chronic conditions. In 2024 alone, Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide generated nearly $30 billion in global sales and is poised to become the world’s top-selling drug in 2025.

The injection pen market has historically been dominated by foreign companies, such as Switzerland’s Ypsomed, Germany’s Haselmeier, and Taiwan’s SHL. In addition, insulin giants like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have their own supporting production capacities for injection pens. However, imported injection pens often come with higher prices: reusable injection pens are priced from tens to over a hundred yuan per unit, while disposable injection pens cost between 12 and 20 yuan each. The high cost of imported injection pens has become a major factor limiting the accessibility of chronic disease medications. To effectively reduce the burden of medical expenses, China began including insulin in centralized procurement starting in 2021, providing domestic injection pen manufacturers with new development opportunities. Furthermore, the continuous deepening of economic and trade cooperation under the “Belt and Road” initiative in the pharmaceutical sector—such as the China-ASEAN Pharmaceutical Regional Centralized Procurement Platform officially launched this January—has created new opportunities for China’s pharmaceutical centralized procurement to “go global.” An increasing number of overseas countries are beginning to emphasize the cost-effectiveness of drugs and improve drug accessibility, offering high-quality and affordable Chinese enterprises new opportunities to enter the global stage.

Just a few years ago, China had very few domestic brands of injection pens, with the vast majority reliant on imports. With the global rise of GLP-1 drugs, the sector has attracted significant attention from entrepreneurs and investors in just a few short years; however, most companies still depend on external capital infusions. Established in 2016, Wanhai Medical has become an “invisible champion” in the industry by continuously refining product quality and manufacturing processes over the past decade, achieving financial self-sufficiency through its own product sales.

Currently, Wanhai Medical has established the capability for stable mass production of 90 million disposable and reusable injection pens annually, achieving a vertically integrated industrial chain that spans mold manufacturing, processing and injection molding, automated assembly, as well as testing and inspection. The company operates nearly 30 units of mold production and processing equipment, primarily from Japanese manufacturers Makino and Sodick. In terms of injection molding, Wanhai Medical possesses nearly 70 high-end imported electric injection molding machines from Sumitomo Demag and Sodick (Japan), with raw materials sourced exclusively from top-tier global brands. For assembly, the company has established multiple automated production lines and semi-automatic equipment within Class 100,000 cleanrooms, currently achieving a daily output of 300,000 units. Furthermore, the company is equipped with Hexagon coordinate measuring machines, Mitutoyo and Nikon vision measuring systems, as well as high-precision analytical balances for Class 10,000 and Class 100,000 environments, ensuring that the precision of its injection pens meets ISO 11608 standards.

After nearly a decade of rapid growth, Wanhai Medical has achieved annual sales revenue of several hundred million RMB, with clients spanning over 60 countries and regions worldwide, including more than 180 customers. Its client base includes numerous top-tier domestic and international biopharmaceutical companies, such as Tonghua Dongbao and Biocon, India’s largest biopharmaceutical company, among many other outstanding global partners. To better support domestic and international clients in scaling up production of major product categories such as insulin and GLP-1, Wanhai Medical continuously reduces product costs through scaled-up manufacturing and process optimization.

For high-volume insulin and GLP-1 clients, dedicated production lines are available, offering more competitive pricing and extended payment terms.and price reductions for five consecutive years。

Meanwhile, Wanhai Medical also actively undertakes OEM services for other injection pen brands.

Luo Lairong, Founder of Wanhai MedicalWanhai Medical expressed its gratitude to IDG Capital for its trust and support, stating that this financing round has injected strong momentum into the company’s future growth and capitalization. Following this round of financing, Wanhai Medical will focus on advancing three major strategies: first, expanding its Changzhou production base to establish an intelligent and automated production line with an annual capacity of 310 million units; second, deepening cooperation with global pharmaceutical companies by providing end-to-end support from early-stage R&D to regulatory submission, thereby helping clients efficiently advance the associated review process for drug packaging materials; and third, accelerating the FDA certification process to position itself in the high-end European and American markets, while proactively completing quality system upgrades in response to the National Medical Products Administration’s new GMP regulations for pharmaceutical packaging materials taking effect in 2025. Wanhai Medical remains committed to prioritizing customer needs and strives to produce affordable, high-quality injection pens for the general public.

IDG CapitalStatement: We are honored to serve as the sole investor in Wanhai Medical’s first external financing round since its establishment ten years ago. With years of deep expertise in the field of injection pens, Wanhai Medical has served over a hundred biopharmaceutical companies worldwide and holds a prominent position in its niche sector. IDG Capital will firmly support the Wanhai Medical team in continuing to deploy innovative products, enhance production capacity, and expand into domestic and international markets, with the aim of building an internationally leading platform enterprise for self-administration devices. This will enable the provision of high-quality, cost-effective injection pen products to biopharmaceutical companies and patients with chronic diseases globally.