Pioneering Chinese Microfluidics Expert and Tsinghua Professor Luo Guoan Launches Organoid Venture with Hongrui Medical

Counting from the start of his studies at East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai in 1964, this year marks Professor Luo Guoan’s 58th year in the field of basic scientific research.

Over the years, Professor Luo Guo’an has successfully completed more than 40 national-level projects, authored six research monographs, and published over 900 academic papers, including more than 450 SCI-indexed articles in influential journals in the fields of materials science, microfluidics, and analytical chemistry, such as Advanced Materials, Lab on a Chip, and Analytical Chemistry. He has been granted 50 invention patents and developed six new drugs. Professor Luo has received four Second-Class Prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award and more than 20 provincial and ministerial-level awards. He was honored with the title of “Outstanding Returned Overseas Scholar” and is a recipient of the Special Government Allowance from the State Council.

As one of the pioneers of microfluidics technology in China, Professor Luo Guoan’s team has successfully established a highly integrated and automated biomimetic microfluidic chip experimental platform, developed various new organ-on-a-chip models, and provided reliable experimental platforms and novel in vitro models for drug efficacy and safety evaluation. Building on nearly two decades of research accumulation in biomimetic microfluidic organ-on-a-chip technology at Tsinghua University and Macau University of Science and Technology, Professor Luo Guoan’s team independently developed China’s first “Automated Tumor Organoid Drug Sensitivity Screening System” with full core independent intellectual property rights.

Such a highly accomplished scientist chose the arduous path of entrepreneurship in 2021 by co-founding Zhejiang Hongrui Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hongrui Medical”), an “adventurous” decision made at the age of seventy.

As a basic scientist with extensive experience, why did Professor Luo Guoan choose to embark on entrepreneurship after achieving significant academic success? As a pioneer of microfluidics technology in China, how will he translate his decades of foundational research achievements into the field of organoids? As an emerging technology, how have organoids successfully evolved from their nascent stage to industrialization in recent years? What are the current development logic and survival status of organoid companies worldwide?

With these questions in mind, Artery New Medicine conducted exclusive interviews with Professor Luo Guoan, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist of Hongrui Medical, as well as Zhong Ming, Co-Founder and General Manager of Hongrui Medical.

In the 1990s, Professor Luo Guoan served as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, and later as an Associate Researcher in the same department. In 1994, upon completing his studies, Professor Luo immediately returned to China and joined Tsinghua University as a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Chemistry.

Professor Luo Guo’an recalled, “The conditions in the 1990s were indeed not as favorable as they are today. I was fortunate to benefit from the momentum of China’s reform and opening-up policy, receiving support from various sectors. Upon my return to China, Tsinghua University provided me with funding.”3,000 yuanresearch funding, and by the time I retired from Tsinghua University and handed over my responsibilities, my laboratory already had a value of30 millioninstrumentation and equipment.”

Under challenging circumstances, Professor Luo Guoan jokingly referred to himself as a “traditional” person, which is why he chose to return to China at that time.“Although foreign countries offered strong technological and financial support at the time, I was still motivated to return to China after acquiring some expertise to make a contribution. On the other hand, most Chinese professionals face a ‘glass ceiling’ in their careers abroad. Once we reach a certain level, we encounter constraints; whereas in China, we can pursue scientific research and exploration according to our own vision.”

This exploration carried into the new millennium. Around 2000, microfluidics technology emerged and was recognized as one of the top ten innovative technologies worldwide. China’s development in the field of microfluidics closely kept pace with international advances. In July 2002, the First National Academic Conference on Micro Total Analysis Systems, jointly organized by researchers including Academicians Wang Liding and Fang Zhaolun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as Professor Luo Guoan, was successfully held.

“This conference actually marks the starting point for the development of China’s microfluidics technology sector,” said Professor Luo Guoan, one of the conference chairs.

After two decades of development, the technical barriers and market prospects of microfluidics have gradually become clear. Against this backdrop of clarity, why did Professor Luo Guoan choose to combine microfluidics with organoids—an emerging field—as the application scenario for scientific research translation?

Professor Luo Guoan told VCBeat New Medicine, “For microfluidics technology to achieve market translation, two major challenges must be addressed: application prospects and technological development.”

In terms of market applications, both the FDA and the CDE have accepted organ-on-a-chip systems as models, filling gaps in various pathophysiological modeling. This has opened up a blue ocean for the use of organ-on-a-chip technology in drug sensitivity testing for anticancer agents and new drug development. Technologically, while microfluidics itself presents significant barriers, these challenges can be addressed through automated instrumentation, thereby facilitating the translation of research into practical applications.

Moreover, China holds two undesirable world-first rankings: it has the highest number of new cancer cases annually and the highest number of cancer-related deaths annually. In 2020 alone, there were 4.57 million new cancer cases in China, accounting for 23.7% of the global total and ranking first worldwide—more than double the figure for the United States (2.28 million), which ranked second. China also recorded 3 million cancer deaths, representing 30% of the global total and ranking first worldwide—3.5 times higher than India (850,000), which ranked second.

“This indicates that there is still significant room for improvement in personalized treatment in China. On the other hand, over the past few decades, I have been conducting fundamental basic research,” explained Professor Luo Guoan.“Although basic research is forward-looking, many prospective studies lack market application prospects. Microfluidics technology, however, possesses both scientific depth and market potential—a rare combination. This valuable opportunity for translation should not be easily forfeited.”

Beyond rational analysis, Professor Luo Guoan’s decision to pursue translation in the organoid sector was also driven by a “regret” from a decade ago. “In 2010, one of my doctoral students successfully directed the differentiation of mouse stem cells into cardiomyocytes in the laboratory, which then self-assembled into cardiac tissue and began beating at a frequency identical to that of a mouse heart. However, due to ethical considerations, we were unable to conduct further research using human stem cells.”

This regret became the driving force behind Professor Luo Guoan’s decade-long exploration of organoid models in pharmaceutical research, and also motivated his shift toward the new field of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip models.

In June 2019, Zhong Ming embarked on his entrepreneurial journey. Prior to this venture, he had worked at Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical for ten years, where he was primarily responsible for the company’s international markets before his departure. At the end of 2019, Zhong Ming met Professor Luo Guo’an at a gathering. After learning about Professor Luo’s scientific research projects, he began conducting market research in the relevant field.

Benefiting from the global perspective cultivated in his previous work environment, Zhong Ming quickly recognized that the field of organ-on-a-chip technology represented a vast blue ocean.

In Zhong Ming's view,“Organoid technology is akin to gene sequencing technology from over a decade ago.”“Nowadays, whenever we develop targeted therapies, we apply gene sequencing technology. In a few years, before administering precision anti-tumor treatments, we will similarly employ organoid technology for drug sensitivity screening.”

In addition to its application in precision medicine, organoid technology can also address the pain points in pharmaceutical research and development.Animal testing data are required during the new drug development phase. In recent years, the rising costs of model animals have led to increasing R&D expenditures for pharmaceutical companies, while animal model-based studies also entail lengthy experimental cycles. By contrast, using organoids for new drug development offers advantages such as homologous tissue origin (derived from human tissues), lower costs, and shorter turnaround times.

Specifically, organoids possess three characteristics.First, organoids possess biomimetic fidelity, highly recapitulating the structural, physiological, and genetic characteristics of their tissue of origin, thereby yielding authentic and reliable test data. Second, organoids offer robustness by balancing the needs for personalized and high-throughput testing; they are amenable to passaging, cryopreservation, and revival, demonstrating excellent operability. As such, they represent the premier in vitro model for research into pathogenic mechanisms, drug development, and guidance on personalized medication. Third, organoids exhibit precision, with their living biobanks constituting the ultimate form of biological sample banking and genetic resource preservation.

Addressing the pain points of targeted clinical oncology therapy and leveraging the advantages of organoids, Hongrui Medical currently provides end-to-end services across the entire industrial chain for organoid-based drug sensitivity screening.In terms of specific entrepreneurial strategies, Hongrui Medical also has a detailed approach:“We will first structure our products and services around drug sensitivity screening to accumulate more patient data and tissue samples. Only with a sufficient volume of accumulated data can we exert significant effort in the field of new drug development. Building on this foundation, Hongrui Medical is currently collaborating with several pharmaceutical companies on drug development. Furthermore, leveraging its core competencies in drug sensitivity screening and new drug R&D, Hongrui Medical has proactively positioned itself in regenerative medicine to build up its technological reserves.”

After conducting research and interviews, VCBeat New Medicine found that most organoid companies in China and abroad have followed the development trajectory described above.In the first phase, organoid companies typically choose to develop organoid-on-a-chip technologies and establish a presence in the field of drug sensitivity screening. In the second phase, leveraging data accumulated from drug sensitivity screening, these companies gradually expand into new drug development. Finally, they make forward-looking strategic reserves for the regenerative medicine sector. Currently, it is still too early for organoids to be applied in regenerative medicine; most companies do not have related pipelines, with relevant efforts being primarily undertaken by research institutions and universities.

Specialization is key. After Zhong Ming conducted extensive research on the global market and technology and facilitated resource integration, Professor Luo Guoan joined Hongrui Medical as Chief Scientist, embarking on a new chapter in his life. However, while scientific research emphasizes exploratory innovation, industrial development focuses on translational innovation of scientific achievements—innovation aimed at solving practical problems. Although both share innovation as their core essence, their objectives differ.

Professor Luo Guoan candidly shared his thoughts on the transition between his roles as an entrepreneur and a scientist:“For basic research, the primary aim is to explore the unknown rather than to address applied problems; its focus lies in ‘exploration.’ Of course, during the process of exploration, strong application scenarios may gradually emerge, at which point innovation-oriented research can be undertaken to solve practical problems. When this development reaches a certain stage, it becomes what we refer to as the translation of scientific research.”

In January 2021, Hongrui Medical formally completed its business registration and project site selection. Engineering design for the project commenced in the first half of 2021. In June 2021, the company relocated its administrative and R&D operations to new facilities. By the end of 2021, construction work was substantially completed across all areas, including R&D, production, and testing. Trial operations began in February 2022. All activities have been proceeding intensively yet in an orderly manner.

In just over a year, Hongrui Medical has already commercialized the production and sales of its instruments and equipment, while related low-adsorption templates, enzymatic digestion solutions, and culture media are also being marketed.

In fact, Hongrui Medical had already begun preparing for its startup launch in late 2019, but the sudden outbreak of the pandemic somewhat disrupted these preparations. Zhong Ming told VCBeat’s New Medicine: “During the pandemic, we continued to advance our technology. Professor Luo basically completed all our pre-commercialization work at his laboratory in another city. As a result, the company experienced rapid growth immediately after its establishment.”

Currently, Hongrui Medical has successfully established organoid culture and drug sensitivity testing systems for a variety of malignant tumors, covering 15 high-incidence cancers—including lung cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer, and renal cell carcinoma—as well as their metastatic lesions.

In contrast to mainstream organoid culture technologies on the market, which require the introduction of exogenous matrices as scaffolds for organoid construction and lack dedicated instrumentation—relying primarily on manual operations—Hongrui Medical’s proprietary technology enables fully automated processes. It provides integrated fully automated instruments and an intelligent operating system, ensuring high throughput while minimizing human operational errors to the greatest extent. This standardized, fully automated approach also guarantees a high success rate in tumor organoid construction and strong clinical relevance, with a primary tumor cell culture success rate exceeding 90% and accurate, reliable drug sensitivity results.

In terms of underlying technology, Hongrui Medical possesses a complete set of proprietary patented technologies for its series of products, including “instruments, microplate consumables, culture media, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing kits.”This series of technologies and products enables the transition from traditional, fully manual organoid culture methods to semi-automated or even fully automated processes, significantly enhancing the efficiency of drug sensitivity screening in organoids. Furthermore, it facilitates quasi-standardized drug sensitivity screening, ultimately demonstrating core technical advantages such as high throughput, short turnaround time, and uniform spheroid size.

Hongrui Medical’s rapid growth has naturally relied on financial support. In July this year, Hongrui Medical announced the completion of the first phase of its tens-of-millions-level Pre-A round financing, led by the Taizhou Jiaojiang Infinity Haizheng Fund under Infinity Capital.Currently, the company is undergoing Pre-A round financing to fund subsequent R&D and industrialization efforts.Looking ahead, Zhong Ming stated that Hongrui Medical’s primary goals and plans focus on industrialization. “We hope to gradually commercialize our instruments, equipment, consumables, and reagents. By the end of next year, we aim to achieve a qualitative leap in the sales of our clinical laboratory services, as well as our instruments, equipment, and consumables.”