BoTong Medical Secures Over RMB 10 Million in Funding to Build a Digital-Enabled Pain Management Platform

VCBeat has learned that Suzhou Potong Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Potong Medical”), a digital healthcare pain management platform, announced the completion of over RMB 10 million in angel and Pre-A financing rounds within four months. Both rounds were led by MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS. It is reported that the company has successfully achieved break-even, and the funds from this round will be primarily used for product research and development as well as market expansion.

Potong Medical is the first pain management platform in China to focus on "cancer pain." Driven by intelligent technology, based on data interaction, and centered on intelligent algorithms, it empowers medical institutions and has built a leading pain management platform in China, making innovative explorations in technology, application scenarios, and business models.

In recent years, with shifting public perceptions, increasing attention has been paid not only to the survival rates of cancer patients but also to their quality of life. Cancer treatment is no longer solely focused on eradicating tumors; instead, it aims to help patients live longer and better. Among the various factors affecting patients’ quality of life, pain is the primary concern.

According to the latest 2020 global cancer burden data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization: In 2020, there were 4.57 million new cancer cases in China, accounting for 23.7% of the global total, whileThe overall prevalence of pain across all cancer types is >60%. Not limited to cancer pain, China has a potential population of 300 million individuals suffering from pain, among whom 90% do not receive effective treatment. There is a substantial unmet need for pain diagnosis and treatment in China.

As material living standards continue to improve, people’s expectations for quality of life are rising steadily, making pain management a major healthcare need. The ICD-11 disease classification system currently being implemented in China explicitly“Chronic Pain”、“Chronic Cancer Pain”It has been included in disease classification. This presents new opportunities for patient admission, medical quality control, and health insurance reimbursement. In addition to recognizing the importance of pain management in oncology treatment, healthcare professionals require actionable standards and practical technical tools as clinical levers.

This is precisely the clinical pain point that Potong Medical has been committed to addressing.

In terms of application, Potong Medical has established a closed-loop service system encompassing assessment, diagnosis and treatment, and management. Its end-to-end pain management platform integrates the BTS (6D Pain Assessment System), BTC (Multidisciplinary Consultation System for Cancer Pain), BTX (Shutong Multidimensional Relief Device), and BTB (Fracture Risk Prediction System). Based on this framework, Potong Medical has developed standardized clinical pathways for pain treatment, enabling healthcare institutions at all levels to deliver more consistent, homogeneous patient pain management.

Among these, the BTS (6D Pain Assessment System) is one of Potong Medical’s core products. It not only integrates multiple clinical tests but also incorporates proprietary algorithms to form a systematic, multidimensional comprehensive assessment of “Total Pain.”

Potong Medical also conducted a comparative study on the use of BTS (6D Pain Assessment System) and BPI (Brief Pain Inventory) for pain assessment. The phase summary indicated that, in the pain assessment of patients with clinical cancer pain, BTS not only demonstrated significant advantages in terms of questionnaire completion time, ease of use, and patient preference, but also achieved a prediction accuracy of 98.9% for breakthrough pain and a diagnostic accuracy of 97.7% for neuropathic pain.

BTX (Shutong Multi-Dimensional Soothing Device) integrates Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS). By stimulating endorphin production and closing the neural “gate” for upward pain transmission, it directly alleviates pain symptoms and raises patients’ pain thresholds, offering a comprehensive solution for pain management. Additionally, leveraging AIoT technology, BTX captures multi-dimensional physiological data and employs artificial intelligence to analyze big data, thereby helping patients overcome limitations of treatment settings and achieve routine self-management of pain.

Potong BTX Shutong Multi-Dimensional Soothing Device

Abroad, severe pain is considered a sub-acute condition, requiring hospital admission for patients. In contrast, clinical practice in China primarily relies on traditional oral, intramuscular, or subcutaneous morphine injections for rapid analgesia in such patients. However, the lack of more diversified treatment and monitoring methods has significantly impacted the effectiveness of severe pain management. In response, with support from numerous experts, Potong Medical has reiterated its focus on “Pain Crisis” importance.

“Pain Crisis” encompasses severe pain, or pain that, while not reaching the threshold of severity, remains uncontrolled or fails to meet treatment targets, necessitating rapid intervention. Currently, there is no standardized diagnostic and therapeutic approach for “Pain Crisis” established either domestically or internationally. Suzhou Potong Medical Technology Co., Ltd., in collaboration with leading Chinese experts in anesthesiology, pain management, and oncology, has conducted extensive discussions and proposedSAFE²(Safety, Analgesia, Fast, Effective) the new concept of "pain crisis", throughPain ICU (PAINICU)

Pain ICU Ward is a specialized intensive care unit distinct from conventional ICUs, designed for patients with relatively stable vital signs who are experiencing pain crises requiring active and rapid analgesic therapy, yet still necessitate close monitoring of risks during treatment. In addition to standard ICU monitoring systems, the ward is equipped with parameter assessment systems related to analgesia and sedation, including multidimensional pain assessment (e.g., 6D Pain Assessment), respiratory function monitoring, and EEG-based consciousness monitoring.

To establish a systematic framework for the treatment and management of cancer pain, encompassing systems, regulations, quality control, standards, training, and assessment, and to empower medical institutions at all levels to implement new concepts, technologies, and models in offline practice, Potong Medical, with the support of the China Health and Medical Development Foundation, experts from the National Health Commission’s Pain Quality Control Center, the Supportive Care and Rehabilitation Expert Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), and the Professional Committee on Cancer Rehabilitation and Palliative Care of the China Anti-Cancer Association, has launched the ““CPDP” Medical Consortium for Standardized Cancer Pain Management Capacity EnhancementProject.

Professor Wang Jiejun, founder of Potong Medical, serves as the Chairman of the Expert Committee. Potong Medical will act as the executing entity, integrating the assessment system, in-hospital and out-of-hospital management systems, digital therapeutics, and PAINICU. It will provide the CPDP Medical Consortium with services including platform resources and technical support, cancer pain screening and assessment, patient education, discharge follow-up, and data reporting. Additionally, it will conduct activities such as training and education on enhancing tumor supportive care capabilities, clinical practice, real-world studies, and data monitoring systems, thereby improving the overall level of standardized cancer pain management in primary healthcare institutions across China and benefiting a vast number of cancer pain patients.

In terms of business model construction, Potong Medical has established a unique "dumbbell-shaped" business model. The two ends of the "dumbbell" are the application segment for medical institutions and the training and clinical research segment for physicians, which are connected through a data interaction management platform. Data from both ends accumulate on the platform, where they are leveraged to enrich and upgrade products, with the resulting improvements fed back into the businesses at both ends.

Based on the dumbbell model, Potong Medical’s data engine has accumulated over 50,000 cases. Currently, Potong Medical has successfully commercialized its B-end services and will continue to expand into the hospital-side market in the future.

Professor Wang Jiejun, Founder of Potong Medical, stated: "The rising prevalence of chronic diseases and population aging represent major societal trends, making the decentralization of healthcare services, accessibility, payment efficiency, and service standardization increasingly important. Digital therapeutics are precisely the optimal solution to address these needs. The organic integration of digital therapeutics with traditional offline medical services is an inevitable path for the future development of healthcare. While continuously upgrading and optimizing its products, Potong Medical will take the lead in completing the establishment of pilot units within the CPDP Medical Consortium in 2023, and promote them extensively across China, achieving"In-Depth Vertical AnalysisandHorizontal Expansion, empowering more healthcare institutions to implement these solutions.”

Mr. Li Yang, Head of the MARATHON Digital Health Accelerator, stated“Platinum Tong was founded by China’s leading multidisciplinary team of cancer pain specialists, who have embarked on this venture full-time. Starting with cancer pain management, the company plans to expand into comprehensive health management for oncology patients, including nutrition and psychological support, thereby elevating the overall standard of cancer treatment, improving patients’ quality of life, and addressing current gaps in cancer care.”