How a Life Science Star Product—4x Growth in 1 Year, 2 Blockbusters in 3 Years—Is Powering a Trillion-Yuan Collagen Market

Collagen Products Are Hot Again After Six Months

On the social media platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), a highly viewed post bears the title, “If Only I Had Seen This Article Before Getting Collagen Injections.” Many users have shared in the comments their understanding of collagen-based dermal fillers and the pitfalls they encountered. Such discussions on Xiaohongshu are typically standard fare after a new product becomes a blockbuster hit.

In June last year, the listing of Giant Biogene, a collagen-focused enterprise, sparked an investment frenzy for this high-end ingredient in the primary market. Within less than a year, several innovative companies dedicated to achieving large-scale collagen production and establishing downstream product brands—such as Trautec, Weiming Shiguang, and Dianjing Biotech—secured institutional funding, attracting hundreds of millions of yuan in total. Top-tier professional institutions, including Legend Capital, IDG Capital, CDH Investments, Yuexiu Industrial Fund, and Yuanhe Holdings, have all entered the fray.

Last month, Jinbo Bio listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, and the competitive landscape of the collagen industry has begun to take shape. In Jinbo Bio’s prospectus, the remarkable performance of its recombinant humanized collagen implant, which was approved for market launch in 2021, was documented. This premium-priced, minimally invasive dermal filler generated nearly RMB 150 million in sales within just one and a half years, directly driving the company’s overall revenue growth and once again thrusting this trend-driven industry into the spotlight.

Collagen has always been a unique category of products whose applications are difficult to define, yet it consistently yields blockbuster hits.

Collagen is, first and foremost, a rather traditional medical material. As early as the 2nd century BC, Roman physicians used collagen-derived materials from intestines as sutures to repair ruptured tendons. To this day, collagen sutures remain a crucial type of suture material in surgical procedures.

Following the integration of complex manufacturing processes, collagen has been utilized as a soft tissue filler. In the 1980s, overseas pharmaceutical giants such as Allergan and Johnson & Johnson attempted to develop collagen-based products with broader applications. In 1981, Zyderm, a bovine collagen dermal filler under Allergan, received FDA approval for market launch, igniting the first wave of global interest in minimally invasive aesthetic medicine.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and provides strong structural support to tissues. After injection, collagen works alongside the body’s native collagen to support the skin, while the dispersed collagen forms a soft, viscous fibrous structure that restores depressions and achieves a supportive filling effect. Statistics show that by 1995, more than one million patients worldwide had undergone treatment with bovine collagen, accounting for 90% of the soft tissue filler market.

The popularity of collagen as a soft tissue filler persisted for over two decades until it was supplanted by hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin. Around 2004, hyaluronic acid, which offered superior durability and safety and had achieved scalable manufacturing processes, rose to prominence, leading to the complete withdrawal of early collagen fillers from the market. Within a few years, Johnson & Johnson discontinued its flagship human-derived collagen product, Evolence, and Allergan also phased out its collagen product line.

Collagen-based products gained wider visibility among Chinese consumers after being associated with popular functional skincare concepts such as skin barrier repair and hydration. In 2019, the rise of live-streaming e-commerce propelled medical-grade facial masks into blockbuster status. Several well-known brands faced supply shortages, and as both unit prices and sales volumes surged, their manufacturers achieved substantial commercial success. Data show that in 2019, revenue at medical-grade facial mask producers such as FuErJia, Giant Biogene, and Create Biology soared. Among them, FuErJia emerged as the biggest winner of the medical-grade facial mask boom, with its annual revenue jumping from RMB 370 million the previous year to RMB 1.34 billion. Giant Biogene and Create Biology recorded revenues of RMB 957 million and RMB 302 million, respectively.

However, the frenzy surrounding “medical aesthetic masks” was quickly curbed. In 2020, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) explicitly stated that there are no such products as “Class II medical device masks” or “medical aesthetic masks,” bringing the industry’s rapid growth to an abrupt halt. As rationality returns, medical dressings remain a key tool for post-operative wound healing, repair of chronic eczema and allergic skin conditions, and skin maintenance following medical aesthetic energy-based procedures.

Collagen fillers began to gain attention around 2017. The severe Tyndall effect associated with hyaluronic acid injections deterred many beauty-conscious women. Collagen, being milky white and opaque, provides immediate coverage, gradually becoming the primary injectable material for periorbital augmentation. In 2021, Jinbo Bio’s recombinant humanized type III collagen lyophilized fibers were approved for market launch, becoming the first product in its category to obtain medical device certification. This recombinant humanized collagen implant became an instant bestseller upon its release. The application of collagen fillers has since expanded from the periorbital area to other regions, including the tear troughs, nasal alae, and lips.

Admittedly, the application of collagen fillers as materials for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures is still in its early stages. Over the past two years, collagen fillers have been introduced by aesthetic clinics across various regions, yet hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin continue to dominate the market with overwhelming advantage. According to Frost & Sullivan data, in 2021, the market size of collagen-based injectable filler products in China was approximately RMB 3.7 billion, accounting for 8.7% of the market. During the same period, the market sizes of hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin injections were approximately RMB 21.7 billion and RMB 13.9 billion, representing market shares of 51.2% and 32.8%, respectively.

From medical-grade materials and soft tissue fillers to medical dressings and dermal fillers, collagen has emerged as a biomaterial particularly prone to generating blockbuster downstream products, following extensive market education.

One reason for the frequent emergence of blockbuster collagen products lies in the diversity of collagen types. In vertebrates, there are 29 different types of collagen, each with distinct structures that enable a wide range of functions.

Based on whether their structure is fibrillar, collagens can be classified into two major categories: fibrillar and non-fibrillar collagens. Fibrillar collagens primarily serve as cellular scaffolds, anchoring cells in place and providing tensile strength and stiffness to tissues. Examples include Type I, II, III, V, and XI collagens, all of which belong to the fibrillar collagen family. Non-fibrillar collagens are further subdivided into basement membrane collagens, short-chain collagens, FACITs (Fibril-Associated Collagens with Interrupted Triple Helices), and transmembrane collagens, with Type IV collagen being a common representative.

Among all 29 types of collagen, Type I collagen is the most abundant, accounting for approximately 80%–90% of the total collagen content. It is primarily distributed in tissues such as the skin and tendons, where it mainly serves a cellular scaffolding function. Type III collagen is currently the most prominent and is the preferred collagen type for dermal filler materials. It is present in high concentrations in neonatal skin and primarily exhibits reparative functions.

Unlike linear-structured materials such as hyaluronic acid, chitosan, and polylactic acid, the bioactivity of collagen is determined by its unique triple-helix structure. Collagen exhibits high tensile strength, biodegradability, low antigenicity, low irritancy, and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, it promotes cell growth and adhesion, and works synergistically with newly formed cells and tissues to facilitate wound repair.

As exploration into the structural and functional properties of collagen deepens, a clear trend toward premiumization in new collagen products has emerged. Specifically, downstream applications are focusing on developing high-end innovations primarily in two areas: biomedical materials and functional cosmetics. An investor who has had extensive contact with domestic collagen manufacturers told VCBeat that, in reality, sufficiently outstanding products have yet to appear in the vast majority of collagen application scenarios, indicating that the application potential of collagen has not been fully tapped.

In the field of biomedical materials. In recent years, the material forms and application scope of collagen have continuously expanded, with various forms such as collagen gels, sponges, fibers, and films emerging. These correspond to relatively high-end downstream products, including corneal protective materials, mucosal repair materials, artificial skin, heart valves, bone grafts, injectable collagen materials, and drug delivery carriers. According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of domestic collagen-based biomedical materials in China increased from RMB 1 billion in 2017 to RMB 3.2 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach RMB 19.9 billion by 2027.

Functional skincare products, as a high-potential scenario for collagen product development, have attracted significant attention. Over the past two years, the number of products named after collagen has increased from 1,980 to 3,023. Specifically, collagen is widely used in categories such as toners, serums, lotions, and facial masks, gradually extending into premium lines. According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of functional skincare products in China grew from RMB 13.3 billion in 2017 to RMB 30.8 billion in 2021.

Laboratory results demonstrate that recombinant collagen exhibits excellent moisturizing properties. Data indicate that toners or lotions containing 0.1% human-like collagen outperform experimental samples without human-like collagen in terms of moisturizing efficacy. Hydration is the second most significant skin concern among consumers. Studies have shown that more than half of women consider roughness, dryness, and dullness to be their most prevalent skin issues.

In the 1980s, foreign skincare brands had already applied collagen in the cosmetics sector. However, most manufacturers with raw material advantages focused more on medical materials and the food industry, with limited involvement in cosmetics. This provided an opportunity for domestic collagen skincare brands. In 2009, Giant Biogene began laying out large-scale production of recombinant collagen skincare products, developing multiple products with significant moisturizing and repairing functions. In January 2023, Trautec’s recombinant Type XVII collagen was successfully included in the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI), making it an important participant in the high-end development of domestic skincare brands.

Unlike hyaluronic acid, which achieved efficient mass production at the very onset of its market boom, collagen has long been plagued by significant capacity bottlenecks. The underlying challenge lies in preserving collagen’s critical triple-helix structure during large-scale manufacturing, for which no sufficiently effective solution currently exists.

As an upstream raw material with broad application scenarios, global collagen production capacity is severely constrained. According to Frost & Sullivan data, global hyaluronic acid sales volume reached 600 tons in 2020. In contrast, few companies possess large-scale collagen production capabilities. As a leader in animal-derived collagen, Shuangmei Collagen has a production capacity of 1.8 tons, while Changchun Botai’s annual output of hydrolyzed collagen stands at only 12 tons even after completing its capacity expansion.

From a technical perspective, there are currently two mainstream methods for collagen preparation: extraction and recombinant synthesis. The extraction method involves top-down disassembly and purification of the final intact form to obtain collagen molecules. In contrast, the recombinant approach follows a bottom-up strategy, assembling and inducing the synthesis of collagen molecules from lower-level amino acid sequences. Once the collagen molecules are obtained, further processing is carried out according to the desired final product form.

Due to complex issues associated with the extraction-based preparation of collagen, such as limitations in animal husbandry management, recombinant technology is regarded as a promising direction for achieving mass production of collagen. Compared with animal-derived extraction methods, recombinant collagen is produced through three controlled steps: construction, fermentation, and purification. This process offers greater controllability, shorter production cycles, and higher purity. Furthermore, recombinant collagen is generated by inserting specially designed target genes, engineered based on human collagen gene sequences, into vectors for expression. As a result, it exhibits high biocompatibility with the human body and an enhanced safety profile.

From the perspective of capital preferences in the primary market, recombinant collagen projects have become a key focus for substantial investment by professional institutions. In August 2022, Trautec Medical, which specializes in producing innovative biomaterials such as collagen through synthetic biology, raised RMB 200 million in its early Series A financing round, emerging as a star project in this vertical sector. Furthermore, over the past two years, companies such as Taichuang Biotechnology, Chongshan Biotechnology, and Dianjing Biotechnology, which have completed new rounds of financing, have all adopted technology platforms centered on synthetic biology. The significant influx of venture capital has undoubtedly accelerated the growth of the recombinant collagen industry. Data shows that from 2017 to 2021, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of China’s recombinant collagen market reached as high as 63.0%, while the growth rate for animal-derived collagen during the same period was only 21.8%.

However, the current production of recombinant humanized collagen has significant drawbacks. On one hand, the yield of recombinant collagen is relatively low, and achieving true large-scale manufacturing requires continued technological breakthroughs and capacity expansion. On the other hand, the triple-helix structure of currently available recombinant collagen is often incomplete, which may result in final products with functionality that falls short of expectations.

An industry practitioner told VCBeat that, based on current domestic technologies, it is not yet possible to reconstruct full-length collagen with an intact quaternary structure. “From a biological perspective, the recombinant collagen products currently on the market are essentially collagen peptides.” In this sense, at least at the present stage, recombinant collagen cannot serve as a substitute for collagen extracted from animal sources. “Most researchers focus more on collagen peptide fragments of recombinant collagen, while overlooking the significant impact of higher-order structures on their performance,” another practitioner stated.

Typically, collagen peptides have a molecular weight of approximately 8,000 Daltons, whereas intact native collagen has a molecular weight ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 Daltons. Although collagen peptides may retain some triple-helix structure and exhibit cell adhesion properties, they cannot replicate the high tensile strength, flexibility, and biodegradability characteristic of full-length collagen. In other words, as dermal fillers, collagen peptides offer limited structural support and reparative efficacy.

This functional disparity in recombinant collagen has given some investors pause. One investor told VCBeat that they favor animal-derived collagen, citing its lower cost and more stable performance. However, a greater number of investors believe that with the integration of various synthetic biology technologies, recombinant collagen may overcome its functional challenges in the near term.

From surgical sutures to dermal fillers, new applications of collagen have arguably long surpassed initial expectations. As an upstream raw material in the life sciences industry, collagen possesses rare explosive potential. We hope to see this old tree continuously sprout new buds, driven by technological innovation.