Lisheng Bio, a Pet Pharma Startup with Commercial Product Within Two Years, Files for IPO
"The Pet Economy" is rapidly emerging.
According to data from the 2023–2024 White Paper on China’s Pet Industry (Consumer Report), the number of pet dogs in 2023 reached 51.75 million, a 1.1% increase from 2022, while the number of pet cats reached 69.8 million, a 6.8% increase from 2022. The number of Chinese households owning cats or dogs is poised to surpass 87 million. This means that approximately one in every ten people is a cat or dog owner.
With the steady year-on-year increase in pet ownership, the pet market has continued to expand. According to the “Report on the Operational Status and Consumer Market Monitoring of China’s Pet Industry (2023–2024)” released by iiMedia Research, the scale of China’s pet economy reached RMB 493.6 billion in 2022. Driven by the rising penetration rate of pet-owning households nationwide, the market size is projected to reach RMB 811.4 billion by 2025.
Currently, the pet market primarily encompasses sectors such as food, healthcare, and services. Among these, pet healthcare has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments. Since 2014, when capital began heavily investing in this area, the pet healthcare sector has entered a period of rapid development. However, as a crucial upstream component of the pet healthcare industry chain, the pet pharmaceuticals segment faces challenges including a late start, small scale, and low output value, leaving it still somewhat behind compared to mature international market systems.
Behind the sluggish growth lies unmet demand for veterinary pharmaceuticals, with shortages once plaguing the market. “Therefore, we aimed to establish a company to help address the ‘scarcity of veterinary drugs and limited treatment options’ in the pet healthcare industry,” said Huang Yibo, founder of Hangzhou Lisheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “LSSW”). In response to this need, LSSW was founded in 2022 in the Linping National Economic and Technological Development Zone in Hangzhou.
LSSW is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing synthetic, innovative nucleoside and peptide-based veterinary pharmaceuticals. Since its establishment,The company has established three major business segments: “R&D and manufacturing of innovative pharmaceutical products, process improvement and optimization for veterinary drugs, and technical services with promotional innovation.” Currently, the company has successfully launched its first commercialized product—LSSW-2 Litter Box Companion—and has built a robust pipeline of innovative candidates targeting indications such as oncology, specific egg yolk antibodies, feline and canine stomatitis, and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).。
Huang Yibo is a seasoned practitioner and entrepreneur in the pet pharmaceutical industry, currently serving as Co-Founder and CEO of LSSW. After graduating from Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College, he pursued further studies in Veterinary Medicine at Zhejiang University. Upon completing his education, he joined a veterinary pharmaceutical group company, where he held a key position managing sales operations.
During this period, Huang Yibo established multiple business units from the ground up (0–1) for the group company, served major domestic agricultural and livestock enterprises, participated in the planning of new GMP-compliant facilities and pet nutritional supplement production bases, and additionally assisted numerous publicly listed companies with product planning and strategic positioning.
Over the course of more than a decade in the industry, Huang Yibo has observed that there are currently few enterprises in China dedicated to the research and development of veterinary pharmaceuticals for pets, failing to meet the growing demand for pet medications.
Meanwhile, the state has been continuously improving the legal and regulatory framework for the pet healthcare industry and introducing policies to facilitate the market launch of domestically produced pet pharmaceuticals. Examples include the Requirements for Registration Documentation of Human Chemical Drugs Repurposed for Veterinary Use in Pets, Model Package Inserts for Veterinary Drugs for Pets, and Requirements for Clinical Data in the Registration of Chemical Drugs for Pets. These measures aim to relax certain registration requirements for pet pharmaceuticals and accelerate the implementation of guidelines for repurposing human chemical drugs for veterinary use in pets.
Drawing on years of professional experience and market opportunities, Huang Yibo decided to establish an innovative company dedicated to the research and development of veterinary pharmaceuticals for pets. With this vision in mind, he partnered with Professor Yang Shengli, who also has deep expertise in the biopharmaceutical sector, to co-found LSSW.
Professor Yang Shengli currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer at LSSW. Previously, he completed his postdoctoral research at Iowa State University (USA). He is currently a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology. Professor Yang has presided over numerous national- and provincial/ministerial-level scientific research projects, holds more than 20 authorized invention patents, and has published nearly 100 academic papers.
Furthermore, the company’s core team includes Dr. Zhang Hui, who is engaged in scientific research on drug and food safety. Dr. Zhang has extensive expertise in compound analysis and structural identification, has led the completion of six research projects at the provincial or ministerial level or above, and holds five authorized national invention patents.
In addition to its core team, LSSW boasts extensive supply chain collaboration resources and industrialization experience. The company has established partnerships with numerous pet industry brands and built a direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales channel. Notably, LSSW maintains deep collaborative relationships with the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Innovation at Zhejiang University, the Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of High-Tech Research for Veterinary Biopharmaceuticals, the Clinical Center for New Veterinary Drug R&D, the R&D Center for Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and Natural Drugs, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Key Laboratory for Major Infectious Diseases, the Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratory, and the Zhejiang Health Science and Technology R&D and Translation Platform, thereby possessing abundant R&D technological capabilities and translation platform resources.
Currently, leveraging its team strengths and technical platform resources, LSSW has established two pipelines under development in the therapeutic areas of canine and feline stomatitis and feline infectious peritonitis.
Among these, stomatitis is one of the common chronic inflammatory diseases in clinical practice for dogs and cats. It is an inflammation of the oral mucosa, clinically characterized by salivation, anorexia, and redness and swelling of the oral mucous membranes. If left untreated, the oral mucosal inflammation in dogs and cats will gradually worsen, leading to increased discomfort and pain, and even death.
Extraction of selected teeth or full-mouth exodontia, combined with debridement of associated soft and hard tissues, is currently the primary approach for improving and achieving long-term control of stomatitis. However, this treatment is time-consuming, and dental radiography is required to assess for retained roots in edentulous areas; any remaining root fragments must be removed, as they can impair wound healing. Pharmacological treatments commonly include antibiotics, glucocorticoids, cyclosporine A, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but these are associated with significant side effects and a high rate of recurrence. Currently, there is no curative pharmacological agent for stomatitis, making tooth extraction the optimal treatment modality.
LSSW has independently designed multiple novel peptidomimetic compounds targeting feline stomatitis and developed a peptidomimetic inhibitor. This inhibitor is formulated as an aqueous oral spray for direct administration via the oral mucosa, thereby avoiding gastrointestinal irritation while enhancing drug activity and bioavailability.
To date, the company has validated its clinical efficacy through six clinical trials in target animal species. The study results demonstrated that cats with stomatitis exhibited significant clinical improvement within 5–9 days following twice-daily monotherapy, with no symptom recurrence observed over a six-month period.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is a disease caused by Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) infection, with a mortality rate exceeding 90%, earning it the reputation of being an "incurable disease in cats." According to incomplete statistics, currently 25%–40% of domestic cats are coronavirus-positive, while the positivity rate in large catteries or breeding catteries reaches 80%–100%. Although studies have demonstrated that the 3C-like protease inhibitor (GC376) and the nucleoside analog inhibitor (GS-441524) are effective in treating cats infected with FIP, their efficacy and safety remain unclear, and neither has been officially approved for market launch.
In response to this situation, LSSW has strategically positioned itself by developing an original nucleoside antiviral drug for the treatment of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). The team has basically confirmed its chemical structure and completed the design of the synthesis route, and is about to carry out further research.
Currently, the average annual expenditure per dog or cat is gradually increasing. According to the "2023 White Paper on Pet Health Consumption in China" released by iResearch, pet owners spend an average of approximately RMB 5,200 per pet annually, with expenditures primarily allocated to pet food and veterinary healthcare services.
Due to the late start of the domestic pet pharmaceutical industry, the majority of pet medications currently available in China are imported products. At present, the top 10 best-selling imported pet drugs in China are primarily supplied by foreign companies such as Zoetis, Bayer, and Boehringer Ingelheim Merial. According to the "2019 China Pet Medical Industry Research Report," imported manufacturers account for nearly 70% of the domestic pet drug market. Heavy reliance on imports, coupled with persistently high research and development costs, has led to excessively high prices for pet medications in China, making the substantial treatment costs unaffordable for some pet owners.
Balancing the cost-effectiveness of drugs has become one of the key pain points that companies must address in the research and development (R&D) of veterinary pharmaceuticals for pets. “If an expensive pet medication is developed without considering demand-side needs, its future market potential may be difficult to sustain,” stated Huang Yibo. To this end, LSSW conducts comprehensive evaluations across the entire lifecycle of candidate new drugs—including market analysis, R&D, and sales—prior to project initiation. This approach verifies the feasibility of commercialization and balances cost-effectiveness, ensuring that most pet owners can afford these medications.
Therefore, leveraging the drug development platform resources invested by the Linping Economic Development Zone, along with the technical expertise and sales channels of its collaborative research institutes and enterprises, LSSW possesses integrated resources spanning from R&D to commercialization, significantly reducing drug costs. According to the company, the cost of compound synthesis required for its pipeline under development is approximately one-tenth of the market price.
To fully leverage the company’s diverse technological and channel resources, LSSW has developed LSSW-2 Cat Litter Companion, a cat litter deodorizing granule that inhibits or kills various bacteria without toxic side effects, while simultaneously advancing new drug R&D. Third-party testing data shows that the product achieves a decomposition rate of over 90% for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The company has currently established collaborations with domestic cat litter brands such as Hengjie Group and Beiqu Technology. Their products have been successfully commercialized, and bulk production orders have already been secured.
In addition to focusing on its own product R&D, LSSW also provides value-added services to other enterprises, such as veterinary drug process improvement and recommendations for sales channels of innovative specialty products. Currently, LSSW has provided ODM and OEM services to multiple domestic brands, including Huayuan Pet, Beiqu Technology, Hengjie Group, and Jijia Group.
In October 2023, LSSW completed an angel round of financing amounting to nearly RMB 10 million. The round was led by Zhejiang Leiyu Capital, with Huayuan Pet participating as a co-investor. The proceeds will be used for team building, construction of production facilities, and research and development of its pipeline candidates.
Currently, LSSW has completed the construction of its 1,000-square-meter independent laboratory and workplace, which are now fully operational. Furthermore, within less than two years, the company has received numerous honors and awards, including the Second Prize in the Biomedical Asia Division of the “2nd Shijiazhuang ‘Haishi Cup’ High-Level Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition,” the Second Prize in the Biomedical Industry Track of the “7th Zu Chongzhi Cup Kunshan High-Level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition,” and recognition as a “Major Signed Project in Linping District for the Third Quarter.”
As regulatory oversight of veterinary medical policies intensifies, the pet pharmaceutical industry will become more standardized. Furthermore, as the pet market continues to expand year by year, it will attract more new capital and enterprises into the sector. The vast growth potential will create more opportunities for developers in the pet pharmaceutical field.
Looking ahead, Huang Yibo stated that LSSW will seize opportunities to tap into the pet pharmaceutical market, accelerating the commercial scale-up of its products in the short term while advancing the development and launch of candidate drugs. The company aims to accelerate innovation in pet pharmaceutical R&D, promote the substitution of imported products with domestically produced alternatives, and ultimately provide more cost-effective treatment options for pets.