Yilexin Biotech Files for IPO: Pioneering Single-Test Chemiluminescence and Flow Fluorescence Platforms

In Dubai’s subtropical climate, the cool breeze of February carries a hint of chill. In stark contrast to the chilly weather, the MEDLAB exhibition is in full swing.

The conference was bustling with attendees, as clinical laboratory product manufacturers from around the world enthusiastically showcased their latest instruments, innovative products, and solutions to global peers and customers.

Among the exhibitors, Booth Z2.D50 attracted a steady stream of visitors, with many industry peers and clients gathering around, as murmurs of admiration could be heard from the crowd.

Booth No. Z2.D50

“This is the world’s smallest single-sample chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer, with a footprint no larger than an A4 sheet of paper and a height comparable to a bottle of cola.” Looking over the crowd, a round-faced Chinese man in a black suit and blue tie, with a touch of gray hair atop his head yet a youthful appearance, proudly demonstrated the compact, square-shaped immunoassay analyzer on the table while fluently introducing it to curious foreign manufacturers.

This man is Zhang Xingpeng, the founder of Chengdu illumax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“illumax”), a Chinese company specializing in single-test chemiluminescent flow cytometry platforms. The Lumilite8 he demonstrated is an ultra-compact, fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) analyzer that combines the high sensitivity of CLIA with the rapid turnaround time characteristic of point-of-care testing (POCT) products. It enables rapid detection of over 100 immunoassay parameters, including cardiac markers, inflammation indicators, and bone metabolism markers. With eight parallel testing channels, it can deliver results in as little as 15 minutes.

After in-depth discussions, the two parties reached a collaboration agreement. In a few months, Chinese-chip-powered instruments will provide accessible and precise diagnostics to people on the other side of the globe.

Compact and Portable LumiLite8

Upon his return from Dubai, Zhang Xingpeng also accelerated his efforts. Three months later, illumax announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-yuan Series A financing round, led by Sichuan Medical Industry Group, with participation from Guanghua Wutong Fund, Sichuan Venture Capital, existing shareholder Chende Capital, and individual investors.

Recently, illumax made its debut at the 2023 CACLP exhibition. VCBeat took this opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Mr. Zhang Xingpeng, founder of illumax.

illumax Makes Debut at 2023 CACLP

Founded in 2018, illumax specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of single-test chemiluminescence and single-test flow fluorescence products, providing the industry with open ecosystem platforms for chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence. With an industrialization base of nearly 4,000 square meters in Chengdu International Medical City, the company offers one-stop products and services, including instrument customization, reagent customization, reagent matching, CDMO contract manufacturing, and product registration.

“Even today, I still identify myself as an entrepreneurial engineer. In my heart, I have always held a simple technological ideal: to develop powerful and inclusive products that transform this industry. This unpretentious technological vision is my most fundamental motivation for entrepreneurship.” The founder, with his technical background, embodies the perseverance of a technological idealist, which is evident in his original entrepreneurial intent and his continuously innovative products that break new ground.

Zhang Xingpeng told VCBeat that after his first encounter with semi-automatic biochemical analyzers, he became fascinated by this type of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) equipment, which integrates optics, mechanics, electronics, fluidics, algorithms, and even biochemical reagents. He subsequently immersed himself in the IVD field, where he has remained for over a decade. From early semi-automatic and fully automatic biochemical analyzers, microplate readers, and urine analyzers to later fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay systems and flow cytometers, he has persisted in the industry to this day.

Zhang Xingpeng, Founder of illumax

Zhang Xingpeng graduated from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University and holds an MBA degree from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. With 20 years of experience in the research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory registration, and operations of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) instruments, he has accumulated valuable expertise in product development and industrial commercialization. His background includes over 10 years of R&D experience in chemiluminescence and more than seven years in flow cytometry R&D.

illumax Team Makes Debut at 2023 CACLP

Regarding the choice of strategic focus, Zhang Xingpeng stated that the core R&D team at illumax possesses extensive experience and profound expertise in the development of chemiluminescence and flow cytometry technologies. Chemiluminescence is currently the absolute mainstream and most advanced technology in immunodiagnostics, while the flow fluorescence platform represents a multiplex testing solution that seamlessly integrates both chemiluminescence and flow cytometry techniques. This strategic direction allows the team to fully leverage its capabilities and strengths. Moreover, this advantage extends beyond mere technical proficiency; it is a unique competency cultivated through long-term dedication, creating significant barriers to entry and making it difficult for competitors to replicate.

The decision to enter the market with single-unit chemiluminescence assays is driven by two main factors. First, large-scale chemiluminescence analyzers and flow fluorescence systems require long investment cycles and operate in a highly competitive landscape dominated by industry giants, making them less favorable for startups. Second, within the IVD sector, accuracy, convenience, and cost-effectiveness are inevitable trends for industry development, akin to the transition from the PC era to the mobile internet era. Single-unit chemiluminescence balances the trade-off between speed and accuracy in POCT while significantly reducing instrument procurement and operational costs. Meanwhile, single-unit liquid chip technology innovatively meets the clinical demand for low-cost, precise, multiplex testing. This single-unit product format addresses numerous application scenarios inaccessible to large-scale equipment, such as clinical departments, outpatient and emergency services, primary healthcare settings, and outdoor emergency rescue.

What the market demands is precisely what the illumax team excels at.

Key technologies and core components are the two major bottlenecks constraining many medical devices, and this holds true for chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence platforms as well.

For luminescence and flow fluorescence platforms, single-photon counters and laser light sources are the most core components. In particular, single-photon counters have long been monopolized by foreign brands, resulting in high prices and long delivery cycles. To address this critical bottleneck, illumax has independently developed an intelligent single-photon counting module that integrates core functions such as a high-voltage module, counting unit, mechanical shutter, and calibration algorithms. Specially customized for single-sample chemiluminescence, it offers superior performance and a significant price advantage.

Furthermore, illumax’s proprietary multifunctional magnetic separation module integrates all functions—including sample loading, reagent addition, magnetic separation, mixing, incubation, and unloading—into a single unit. This innovation overturns the highly complex system architecture required by traditional large-scale instruments, delivering an ultimate operational experience for magnetic particle-based immunoassay diagnostic systems.

Single-unit reagents have become a major highlight of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products due to their advantages, including contamination-free portability, extremely low failure rates, ready-to-use convenience, consistent quality, minimal waste, and absence of hidden costs. For a long time, this technology has faced numerous challenges and pain points related to process details. The encapsulation stage alone requires addressing multiple comprehensive issues, such as seal integrity, encapsulation temperature, reagent tolerance, stability of individual components, magnetic bead immobilization, and compatibility of sealing films. Through years of repeated experimentation and summarization, illumax has overcome all technical barriers in the single-unit reagent manufacturing process. Its independently developed fully automated production line for filling single-unit reagents has enabled large-scale mass production of single-unit reagents with stable quality and reliable performance.

Performance Comparison Between illumax Reagents (Red) and Reagents from a Foreign Manufacturer (Blue). Image sourced from the official illumax website.

illumax's self-developed single-use reagents. Image sourced from the official illumax website.

Coded microspheres represent another major technological breakthrough by illumax in the field of flow fluorescence. In the early stages, coded microspheres were monopolized by foreign manufacturers. In recent years, multiple domestic enterprises, represented by Chengdu illumax, have independently innovated and developed coded microsphere products with independent intellectual property rights through diverse technical approaches. By combining these microspheres with flow cytometry technology, multiple analytes and parameters can be detected simultaneously from minute sample volumes, significantly enhancing detection efficiency. The full localization of coded microsphere production has also substantially reduced reagent costs, further strengthening the advantages of multiplex flow fluorescence assays.

illumax Encoded Microspheres vs. Imported Manufacturers' Encoded Microspheres. Image from the illumax official website

Currently, the company’s three products—the P16 Fully Automated Flow Fluorescence Luminescence Immunoassay Analyzer, the lumilite8 Single-Test Chemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyzer, and the lumiflx16 Fully Automated Chemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyzer—have all obtained NMPA approval and European CE certification.

Among these, the ultra-compact, fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) analyzer, lumilite8, has become a breakout hit for illumax. As the world’s smallest 8-channel, single-test chemiluminescence system, it boasts an ultra-compact footprint (occupying an area equivalent to an A4 sheet of paper and standing no taller than a bottle of cola), exceptional performance (CV ≤ 5%), minimal cost, and high reliability (extremely low failure rate). It effectively addresses common challenges such as insufficient accuracy, high deployment costs, large space requirements, inconvenient operation, fluidic pathways in instruments, and high maintenance expenses. This makes it well-suited for widespread adoption in diverse settings, including primary healthcare facilities and point-of-care diagnostics.

Of particular note are the P8 and P16 fully automated flow fluorescence chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzers. As a global first, this product fills gaps in multiple areas, including compact flow fluorescence, single-test flow fluorescence, and highly autonomous integrated flow fluorescence. Due to its compact size, it can cover a wider range of application scenarios and reach more patients. It is one of illumax’s “5A” products, namelyAnytime, Anyplace, Anyone, Affordable, AccuracyA typical representative.

In recent years, there have been persistent doubts within the industry about small-scale chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) systems, with critics arguing that this niche market is limited in size and has a low growth ceiling. Zhang Xingpeng shared his perspectives with VCBeat.

First, chemiluminescence will remain the premier immunoassay methodology for at least the next decade. Regarding the controversial single-test format, global giants such as Roche, Abbott, and bioMérieux have long established their presence in this area, with their businesses continuing to thrive. Currently, widely adopted fluorescence chromatography assays all fall under the single-test format. Classic products like COVID-19 antigen tests and early pregnancy test strips have fully demonstrated the robust viability of this format, indicating substantial market demand.

Since chemiluminescence will remain the premier immunoassay methodology over the next decade, and single-test formats have irreplaceable application scenarios and substantial demand, illumax firmly believes in the boundless potential of single-test chemiluminescence.

Similarly, flow cytometry-based fluorescence is poised to become the premier multiplex immunoassay technology platform over the next decade. When integrated with single-test formats, it will unlock substantial market potential, bringing advanced precision diagnostics to every corner of the globe.

In summary, illumax will remain firmly focused on the fields of single-test chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence. With the mission of making precision diagnostics readily accessible, it is committed to pioneering single-test chemiluminescence technologies and growing into a global leader in the field of single-test immunodiagnostics.

Regarding commercialization, according to Zhang Xingpeng, illumax currently focuses on OEM production for its small-scale chemiluminescence systems, providing end-to-end solutions for clients across the industry to build their chemiluminescence product lines from scratch. Meanwhile, illumax has installed over 100 chemiluminescence analyzers both domestically and internationally. In China, its devices are deployed in facilities ranging from primary health centers to top-tier tertiary hospitals. Internationally, the company has entered markets in the Middle East and Europe, and plans to expand into South America through participation in the AACC exhibition in the United States, gradually penetrating the global market.

Illumax can provide customers with a full-chain solution for single-test chemiluminescence assays.

Single-assay chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence technologies, characterized by extremely high technical barriers, a scarcity of skilled professionals, substantial instrument costs, extensive reagent menus, and significant investments amounting to tens of millions of yuan over several years, have deterred countless companies within the industry.

“A single flower does not make spring, while a hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden.” In addition to providing end-to-end comprehensive solutions and upholding a spirit of openness and shared prosperity, illumax has recently proposed the establishment of an “Open Ecosystem Platform for Single-Test Chemiluminescence and Single-Test Flow Fluorescence.” By opening access to its accumulated capabilities in R&D, regulatory registration, and large-scale manufacturing of instruments and reagents in the fields of single-test chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence, and complemented by illumax’s experienced, professional, and meticulous team as well as its mature supporting solutions, more industry players can enter this field with lower costs and in less time.

“We aim to jointly build a new, multi-party win-win industrial ecosystem platform that is open rather than closed, collaborative rather than competitive, and symbiotic rather than dependent. By working together with industry peers to address the challenges of involution and centralized procurement, we seek to make single-test chemiluminescence and flow fluorescence technologies universally accessible, thereby enhancing the availability of precision diagnostic technologies.” In conclusion, Zhang Xingpeng sincerely hopes to join forces with more outstanding partners to foster shared development and keep pace with the times, delivering readily accessible precision diagnostic products and services to customers in China and around the world.