IVD Veteran Liu Wenting Joins Pins Medical as Senior VP to Spearhead Clinical Mass Spectrometry Expansion
Another veteran of the traditional in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry has chosen to enter the emerging clinical mass spectrometry sector.
Recently, VCBeat learned thatLiu Wenting, a seasoned IVD industry veteran, has officially joined Shenzhen Institute of Life and Health Medicine Co., Ltd. as Senior Vice President, with full responsibility for the Group’s key account and channel management.
Liu Wenting, Senior Vice President of Pinsheng Medical
Liu Wenting, former General Manager of Shandong Zhixin Medical, has over 20 years of extensive experience in key account and channel management within the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry. He has maintained long-term close collaborations with renowned diagnostic medicine enterprises both domestically and internationally. Leveraging his exceptional operational and managerial capabilities, he has sustained annual business turnover at approximately RMB 2 billion, successfully positioning the company as an industry leader and becoming a significant driver for manufacturers to enhance their market competitiveness.
Why Has Mass Spectrometry Become a New Choice for IVD Veterans? What New Vitality Will Clinical Mass Spectrometry Bring to the IVD Industry? At this industry inflection point, Liu Wenting, an IVD veteran who has recently joined the clinical mass spectrometry company Pinsheng Medical, may offer an answer.
In recent years, with the implementation of national and regional centralized procurement programs, the landscape of the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry is being reshaped. The hospital entry prices for traditional IVD products have dropped significantly, ushering in an era of slim margins. On one hand, policy, technological, and market dynamics are forcing the IVD sector into intense “involution,” disrupting traditional distribution models...
On the other hand, leveraging advantages such as high specificity, high sensitivity, and multi-analyte detection, the clinical mass spectrometry sector has demonstrated strong growth potential, emerging as a highly vibrant new technology in in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and a new direction for precision diagnosis and treatment. According to statistics from VCBeat Research Institute, the overall market for clinical mass spectrometry exceeded RMB 10 billion in 2021. From the perspective of the financing market, domestic clinical mass spectrometry financing events have grown steadily since 2016, peaking in 2021 with total annual financing exceeding RMB 1.15 billion. A blue-ocean market worth tens of billions is quietly rising.
Having navigated the market for many years, Liu Wenting keenly perceived that “the industry’s winds have shifted.”
“In recent years, the government has frequently issued policies to support the development of domestically produced medical products, putting increasing pressure on imported products,” Liu Wenting admitted. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly released the “Guidance Standards for Reviewing Government Procurement of Imported Products” (2021 Edition), which clearly stipulates the required proportions for government agencies (public institutions) to procure domestically manufactured medical devices and instruments. Specifically, it mandates that all fully automated mass spectrometry analysis systems must be domestically produced, and the procurement rate for domestic brands of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometers must be at least 25%. Furthermore, the official implementation of Article 53 of the “Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices” has driven enterprises to accelerate their layout of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products based on the Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT) model, thereby speeding up the regulatory compliance of clinical mass spectrometry.
Liu Wenting believes that, as a high-precision and cutting-edge technology, the localization of mass spectrometry equipment is an inevitable trend. Currently, China’s clinical mass spectrometry industry is still in its nascent stage. According to the China Business Industry Research Institute, the mid-term potential market for clinical mass spectrometry in China is RMB 30 billion, accounting for less than 1% of the medical testing market, which is significantly lower than the 15% share in the United States. Data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that the import value of mass spectrometers in China reached USD 1.527 billion in 2020, representing approximately 80% of the total domestic market size, indicating substantial potential for import substitution with domestically produced alternatives.
At the level of industry standards, consensus on mass spectrometry technology is continuously being refined, primarily focusing on its replacement of or complementarity to traditional methodologies. The key niche applications under scrutiny include early-established routine areas such as newborn screening for inherited metabolic disorders, therapeutic drug monitoring, and microbial identification.
Furthermore, mass spectrometry-based multi-omics research plays a pivotal role in the discovery and translation of biomarkers, achieving comprehensive coverage across the entire life cycle—including disease prevention, health monitoring, companion diagnostics, disease assessment, and personalized therapy—thereby unveiling greater potential for industrial innovation.
Liu Wenting observed that most IVD companies have begun to enter the clinical mass spectrometry sector, gradually reducing their traditional IVD businesses. However, constrained by the technical barriers of clinical mass spectrometry, domestic companies initially entered the market as distributors and service providers, and progressively laid out R&D and production capabilities related to clinical mass spectrometry. On the clinical side, acceptance of clinical mass spectrometry among doctors and patients is increasing. At various marketing events, clinical mass spectrometry has become the most sought-after highlight.
“From the perspectives of policy, industry standards, and market conditions, clinical mass spectrometry has become the next golden track in the field of precision diagnosis and treatment.”Liu Wenting stated. Liu Wenting realized that it was time to make strategic preparations in advance.
Liu Wenting’s extensive background in the IVD industry has honed his clinical insight and market acumen to a level that is difficult to replicate, enabling him to identify urgent clinical needs and potential business opportunities.
In the new blue ocean of clinical mass spectrometry, what kind of enterprises can lead the future development direction of the industry? Liu Wenting believes that, unlike the traditional IVD industry, the current volume of clinical mass spectrometry testing is still relatively small, and the clinical implementation of technical platforms and products is the core of industry competition. During the rapid growth phase of the industry, only one-stop solutions covering mass spectrometry equipment, reagents, omics research, and technical services can promote the faster clinical adoption of mass spectrometry technology.
After conducting in-depth research into the industry, Liu Wenting learned that Pingsheng Medical was the first in the field to launch a “comprehensive end-to-end clinical mass spectrometry solution,” covering omics research, mass spectrometry instruments, supporting reagents, outsourced testing services, platform development, and operation and maintenance support, which has gained widespread recognition.
Thus, this seasoned IVD expert began to venture into the clinical mass spectrometry market together with Pinsheng Medical.
Underlying Technical Tools for Clinical Mass Spectrometry—Independent Innovation in Mass Spectrometry EquipmentPreviously, Liu Wenting witnessed the impressive strength of Pinsheng Medical. Pinsheng Medical participated in the “Frontier Biotechnology” Key Special Project under the National Key R&D Program of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, specifically the project titled “Research and Development of Key Technologies for High-Precision, High-Throughput Biomolecular Analysis and Tandem Mass Spectrometry Instruments.” As the sole industrial participant in this special project, Pinsheng Medical collaborated with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions to jointly develop high-resolution, high-throughput tandem mass spectrometry instruments and associated methods with independent intellectual property rights.
Liu Wenting believes that, in specific clinical application scenarios, an outstanding clinical mass spectrometry company must be able to rapidly identify unmet needs and continuously develop new diagnostic markers and innovative projects to sustain its vitality. In terms of product portfolio strategy,In addition to routine mass spectrometry testing services, Pinsheng Medical has deployed innovative applications for the early screening and diagnosis of major diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, maternal and child health conditions, neurological disorders, and metabolic diseases, and has successfully advanced their clinical translation.These innovative applications are developed based on the qULTRA precision omics platform, independently researched and created by Pinsheng Medical, providing comprehensive precision diagnosis and treatment services ranging from early risk identification and warning to companion diagnostics and prognostic therapeutic efficacy.
The platform advantages of Pinsheng Medical’s qULTRA precision omics platform are becoming increasingly evident. Internally, it provides robust technical support and incubates innovative diagnostic and therapeutic projects. Externally, it is collaborating with multiple large pharmaceutical companies both in China and abroad to facilitate drug development and clinical diagnosis and treatment, thereby achieving the reverse global expansion of Chinese technology.
A clear commercialization strategy requires a strong team for execution. Dr. Cheng Xiaoliang, founder of Pinsheng Medical, was among the first researchers in China to engage with mass spectrometry technology, proteomics, and metabolomics. Since returning to China in 2016 to establish the Pinsheng Medical team, Dr. Cheng has led the company to achieve a research and development workforce in which over 40% hold master’s or doctoral degrees, and to secure nearly 200 patents that are leading at both national and global levels. The heads of each business line at Pinsheng Medical are seasoned industry veterans, and many members of the core team have overseas study and work experience.
Overall,Pinsheng Medical’s R&D capabilities and market reputation place it in the top tier among domestic clinical mass spectrometry companies, offering unique competitive advantages and significant growth potential.
In his quest to expand his professional horizons, Liu Wenting received numerous job offers from well-known enterprises. “However, only a handful of companies align with my industry insights and philosophy while also demonstrating leading comprehensive strength.”
“Do things conscientiously and do them well” is the creed that Liu Wenting has long adhered to in his work. In an era of intensifying competition, having witnessed the rise and fall of countless enterprises, Liu firmly believes that only those companies in the medical field that uphold long-termism, genuinely serve patients and clinicians, and remain true to their original aspirations can go further.
During the collaboration, Liu Wenting found that Pinsheng Medical’s corporate ethos of “being conscientious, responsible, and down-to-earth” resonated strongly with his own principles. With a high degree of alignment in their assessments of industry trends, business development strategies, and organizational culture, both parties chose to engage directly and join forces.
How to Replicate Past Experience in the Clinical Mass Spectrometry Industry? Liu Wenting stated that Pisheng Medical will further enrich its clinical mass spectrometry solutions and innovate customer collaboration models, enabling the company’s long-standing, dedicated efforts in innovative diagnostic and therapeutic applications of clinical mass spectrometry to yield greater market rewards.
Regarding this new career transition, Liu Wenting“I am delighted to join Pinsheng Medical, a vibrant and youthful organization. My transition from being a partner of Pinsheng Medical to becoming a member of its family can be described as a mutually rewarding journey. With many years of deep-rooted experience in the IVD field, I have witnessed the entire lifecycle of the industry, from its inception to its booming development, and have seen the immense potential of clinical mass spectrometry. I believe that Pinsheng Medical, as one of the game-changers, will bring more possibilities to this industry. I hope to leverage my extensive experience in the IVD sector to further advance the cause of precision diagnosis and treatment, thereby enhancing the quality of life.”
Dr. Cheng Xiaoliang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Pinsheng Medical“He stated: ‘We have always been committed to attracting top talent from the industry to join our team. We are deeply grateful to Mr. Liu Wenting for choosing the clinical mass spectrometry sector and Pinsheng Medical, which fully demonstrates his belief in and determination toward the mission undertaken by Pinsheng Medical as a seasoned industry veteran. Mr. Liu’s appointment will serve as a powerful catalyst for Pinsheng Medical’s next phase of leapfrog growth. I am confident that the synergy between his extensive management experience and Pinsheng’s positioning as an emerging leader in clinical mass spectrometry will generate significant momentum, helping Pinsheng unlock new market growth opportunities, accelerate its internationalization strategy, and enable more people to benefit from clinical mass spectrometry.’”
As IVD veterans pivot to the emerging clinical mass spectrometry sector, this personnel change at Pinsheng Medical also reflects the industry’s development. We look forward to domestic clinical enterprises with international DNA delivering more innovative products for precision diagnosis and treatment.