Chongqing Kaimagnetic Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Files IPO Prospectus as China's Sole Provider of Fully Magnetically Levitated Motors for Both Implantable and Extracorporeal Artificial Hearts

The rapid evolution of medical technology is providing cutting-edge technical solutions for many intractable diseases. Characterized by complexity, precision, multidisciplinary integration, and high technological barriers, the artificial heart represents a crowning achievement in humanity’s ascent to the pinnacle of life sciences, earning it the reputation as the “pearl in the crown” of cardiovascular disease treatment.

The "Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China 2022" indicates that there are currently 330 million patients with cardiovascular diseases in China, among whom the prevalence of heart failure has shown an increasing trend in recent years, reaching 8.9 million patients. Against the backdrop of a continuously rising number of patients, suboptimal efficacy of pharmacological treatments, and a shortage of cardiac donors, implantation of artificial hearts or extracorporeal cardiac assist devices has become an effective therapeutic approach to prolonging the lives of heart failure patients. Artificial hearts have evidently emerged as one of the most dynamic sectors in the cardiovascular field.

In reality, however, the number of companies entering the research, development, and manufacturing of artificial hearts has not surged. High barriers—including stringent technical requirements, substantial R&D investment, and the need for deep interdisciplinary expertise—have kept commercially available artificial heart products to a mere handful. The fully magnetically levitated motor, as a core component, remains a formidable obstacle that many companies find difficult to overcome.

Recognizing this industry pain point,KAICIMED(hereinafter referred to as “KAICIMED”) personally enters the game,Paving the way for medical device enterprises as a “core component supplier.” The company focuses on innovation and breakthroughs in the foundational platform technology of fully magnetically levitated motors, dedicated to the development and application of this technology in core components for high-end medical devices in the cardiovascular field, biopharmaceuticals, and microelectronics industries.

Known as the “cancer of cardiovascular diseases,” end-stage heart failure is best treated with heart transplantation. However, with only around 500 donor hearts available annually, this falls far short of meeting the transplant needs of millions, causing many patients to die while awaiting transplantation.Artificial hearts have become the most ideal treatment option currently available, aside from heart transplantation.

On one hand, the growth of the artificial heart market is driven by the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, increased risk of organ failure, and insufficient supply of donor organs for transplantation. On the other hand, artificial hearts have undergone technological iterations from pulsatile pumps to axial-flow/mechanical pumps, then to magnetic-hydraulic pumps, and finally to fully magnetically levitated pumps, with continuous optimizations in device size, surgical invasiveness, and hemocompatibility, presenting a promising development outlook.

According to data from The Insight Partners, the global artificial heart market size is projected to grow from USD 1.98 billion in 2021 to USD 4.99 billion in 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5%.

From the perspective of subcategories, artificial hearts can be divided into implantable artificial hearts (also known as implanted artificial hearts) and extracorporeal artificial hearts (also known as extracorporeal blood pumps). Implantable artificial hearts are used for patients with end-stage chronic heart failure to provide long-term replacement of cardiac function. In contrast, extracorporeal blood pumps have a broader range of applications, commonly providing perioperative support for complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and complex coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgeries, as well as circulatory support for cardiogenic shock, thereby serving as a short- to medium-term substitute for cardiac function. Furthermore, extracorporeal blood pumps can be utilized for the perfusion of organs such as the liver, kidneys, and heart, extending the viability of ex vivo organs from a few hours to tens of hours. This provides critical additional time for patients in urgent need of organ transplantation, ultimately saving more lives.

KAICIMED's Motors for Implantable Artificial Hearts and Extracorporeal Blood Pumps

Whether implantable artificial hearts or extracorporeal blood pumps, both are iterating toward the latest generation of fully magnetically levitated technology. Compared with other traditional technologies, artificial hearts based on full magnetic levitation offer superior blood compatibility, reduce the risk of thrombosis and stroke in patients, and provide higher safety.

However, at present, the development of fully magnetically levitated intracorporeal and extracorporeal blood pumps in China remains relatively lagging, primarily due toA Major Challenge in Fully Magnetically Levitated Technology: Coupling and Decoupling.

“Full magnetic suspension relies on active electromagnetic control, generating an electromagnetic field, while permanent magnets produce a permanent magnetic field. The superposition of these two nonlinear magnetic fields creates coupling. To achieve stable levitation and rotation, it is necessary to decouple the levitation force and rotational torque within this coupled magnetic field,” explained Li Qilue, Marketing Director at KAICIMED. He likened “decoupling” to separating a well-mixed blend of cola and orange juice into two separate glasses—one containing only cola and the other only orange juice—illustrating the considerable difficulty involved. Currently, KAICIMED has successfully overcome this technical challenge and independently developed a domestically leading blood pump motor based on full magnetic suspension technology, capable of mass production and delivery.

Amid technological iterations, the advantages of full magnetic levitation technology in enhancing blood compatibility and reducing complications have made it the optimal technical pathway for artificial heart development. However, in reality, due to high technical barriers, very few enterprises have managed to master this core technology. This is precisely why KAICIMED focuses on the underlying platform technologies of full magnetic levitation motors, thereby establishing its unique market positioning.

Schematic Diagrams of Fully Magnetically Levitated (Left) and Magnetically Coupled (Right) Technologies

“Other companies generally focus more on developing complete-device products, whereasWe focus exclusively on the research, development, and application of core technologies for fully magnetically levitated motors, adopting a bottom-up approach to achieve specialization and excellence.” Mr. Zheng Shijie, General Manager of KAICIMED, stated that the company would adopt a “vertically integrated” strategy to deeply cultivate underlying magnetic levitation motor technology solutions and expand corresponding business models based on application scenarios for fully magnetically levitated technology.

Several artificial heart models are currently available on the market both domestically and internationally, employing diverse technological approaches, including magnetic-hydrodynamic levitation, permanent magnet-driven magnetic coupling, and fully magnetic levitation.Among these, full magnetic levitation technology offers the best protection for blood and is also the most challenging to master.

“Blood pumps utilizing sliding bearings inevitably involve issues such as heat generation and wear, causing significant damage to blood,” Zheng Shijie, General Manager of KAICIMED, told VCBeat. “Artificial hearts based on magnetic fluid suspension technology require the blood to provide a certain supporting force to levitate the impeller. During this process, the impeller exerts pressure on the blood, resulting in hemolysis.”

KAICIMED’s latest-generation multi-degree-of-freedom fully magnetically levitated platform technology can address issues such as wear, heat generation, and blood damage associated with other technical approaches.Achieves contactless, frictionless, heat-free operation with low shear stress, maintaining excellent blood compatibility.. In the field of fully magnetically levitated motors, KAICIMED has established unique technical barriers.

Currently, there are two core criteria widely recognized by the academic community and international standards for evaluating fully magnetically levitated motor technology: First, the ability to levitate and rotate in air without any physical support; Second, whether electromagnetic active drive is employed to achieve stable levitation and rotation of the rotor, as opposed to magnetic coupling driven by permanent magnets. KAICIMED’s platform technology for fully magnetically levitated systems fully complies with both criteria.

KAICIMED’s breakthroughs in fully magnetically levitated technology are inseparable from its world-class professional team. The company has assembled top-tier scientific researchers and industrial teams from both domestic and international fields of magnetic levitation motor technology. By integrating cutting-edge academic technologies with KAICIMED’s robust engineering capabilities and product application advantages, the company seamlessly combines basic research, applied development, and new product innovation.

“Although a fully magnetically levitated motor is indeed a ‘motor,’ it cannot be developed solely based on expertise in motor technology, nor can it succeed with only a background in magnetic levitation technology; the two must be closely integrated,” explained Zheng Shijie, General Manager of KAICIMED. In this regard, KAICIMED boasts interdisciplinary technical expertise and profound professional accumulation in “motor + full magnetic levitation” technologies, supported by a team of renowned experts.

Among them, the company's magnetic levitation technology experts areAuthored the first monograph on magnetic levitation in Chinaa Level-2 Professor at Wuhan University of Technology, Vice Chairman of the China Magnetic Levitation Technology Professional Committee, and Member of the International Academic Committee on Magnetic Bearings; the motor technology expert is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a Chang Jiang Scholar (Young Program), and a Chief Professor at Southeast University. In addition, the company’s multidisciplinary R&D team includes numerous professors and technical leaders from leading Chinese universities, such as professors from the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University,The proportion of team members with master's or doctoral degrees exceeds 50%., including those from renowned universities both at home and abroad such as Heidelberg University, Stony Brook University, Columbia University, Southeast University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Chongqing University, and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

KAICIMED’s R&D team has been developing motors for fully magnetically levitated blood pumps since 2021, with more than 60 related patents filed.As the only company in China with the capability to develop and deliver motors for fully magnetically levitated intracorporeal and extracorporeal blood pumps, both of its products have passed third-party laboratory testing.

Blood compatibility is the most critical clinical indicator for blood pumps, and the internationally recognized core technological approach to enhancing blood compatibility is fully magnetic levitation technology. Both the in vitro and in vivo blood pump motors developed by KAICIMED adopt this technology, ensuring no physical contact. Consequently, the rotor generates no wear, particles, or heat during rotation, nor does it exert compressive forces on the blood, thereby significantly reducing blood damage. Meanwhile, fully magnetic levitation technology enables the blood pump to feature a wider blood flow channel.The ultra-large blood flow clearance provides ample space for blood circulation, thereby further reducing hemolysis.。

Ultra-large Blood Flow Clearance of the Fully Magnetically Levitated Blood Pump

KAICIMED’s motor for the fully magnetically levitated intracorporeal blood pump is used in fully magnetically levitated ventricular assist devices. It adopts hybrid magnetic drive technology to further reduce power consumption and offers strong adaptability, making it suitable for bridge-to-transplant (BTT), bridge-to-recovery (BTR), or destination therapy (DT).

The motor for the fully magnetically levitated extracorporeal blood pump offers strong scalability, providing extracorporeal circulation support for patients with heart failure, fulminant myocarditis, those undergoing organ transplantation, and those requiring emergency transport. The device features a compact size and high operational stability, and can be integrated with cardiopulmonary bypass machines, ECMO systems, organ perfusion systems, and organ transport platforms to meet the needs of patient treatment and transportation in various scenarios. In terms of safety, the device demonstrates strong resistance to vibration and torsional oscillation, and its normal operation is not affected even when rotated 360 degrees.

“With our fully magnetically levitated motor for blood pumps used both in vivo and ex vivo, KAICIMED can help medical device companies and hospitals reduce costs by more than 30%,” Zheng Shijie, General Manager of KAICIMED, told VCBeat. This is mainly due toThe company's products have achieved fully independent design across the entire process., including motor stators, rotors, sensors, and control systems, thereby making costs more independently controllable.

KAICIMED’s business model places significant emphasis on openness. The motor for its external blood pump can be sold directly as a standalone product, or the company may engage in deep collaboration through a “cooperative licensing” model, working jointly with clients to advance the development of artificial hearts in China and improve patients’ quality of life.

In addition to its deep cultivation of the medical device sector, KAICIMED has responded to market demands by applying fully magnetically levitated technology to the microelectronics and biopharmaceutical industries, developing fully magnetically levitated stirring motors and fully magnetically levitated clean pumps that compete with those of leading international enterprises.

KAICIMED Fully Magnetically Levitated Internal-External Rotor Stirring Motor

KAICIMED’s fully magnetically levitated stirring motors include inner-rotor models designed for single-use liquid preparation systems, as well as outer-rotor models capable of online CIP/SIP. Thanks to the absence of mechanical seals and magnetic bearings, these motors ensure leak-free, contamination-free, and maintenance-free operation during mixing, thereby enhancing the yield of biological products. The product line meets a wide range of mixing requirements across both upstream and downstream biopharmaceutical processes, and is particularly suitable for applications in synthetic biology, such as the mixing of high-value products including vaccines, reagents, and proteins. Compared with traditional mechanical and magnetic stirrers, KAICIMED’s technology significantly improves cleanliness, cell viability, and productivity.

Fully magnetic levitation clean pumps offer advantages such as low shear, pulse-free operation, no metal leaching, and wear-free performance. They prevent wafer damage caused by uneven cleaning, metal leachates, or particulate contamination during the cleaning process, thereby improving wafer yield. These pumps provide stable and reliable solutions for transporting ultra-pure media in the microelectronics industry and for filtration applications in the biopharmaceutical sector.

KAICIMED Fully Magnetically Levitated Clean Pump

“From the perspective of technological innovation, fully magnetically levitated technology is clearly superior to previous similar technologies. Internationally leading products such as fully magnetically levitated artificial hearts and fully magnetically levitated stirring systems have already gained market recognition. We hope to leverage this latest and most optimal technical solution to help domestic companies narrow the gap with international leaders and ultimately surpass them,” said General Manager Zheng Shijie. KAICIMED’s motors for fully magnetically levitated blood pumps, used both in vivo and ex vivo, not only assist startups in overcoming technical hurdles and rapidly entering the market, but also help mature enterprises reduce costs and accelerate commercialization. AndAs the only company in China currently capable of delivering fully magnetically levitated internal-external rotor stirring motors, KAICIMED is also helping pharmaceutical companies optimize their existing stirring and filtration technology solutions to promote cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

As a pioneer in fully magnetically levitated motor technology, KAICIMED will continue to center on new-quality productive forces, dedicating itself to the refinement and advancement of fully magnetically levitated technology, thereby contributing technical expertise to domestic substitution and indigenous innovation in China’s medical device and pharmaceutical equipment sectors.