Lezhun ZhiXin Completes Series A Financing, Pioneering 'Multi-Test-on-a-Chip' Chemiluminescent Biochip Technology
Recently, Lezhun Zhixin announced the completion of its Series A financing round. The round was led by Sanze Venture Capital, with participation from Yicun Capital and existing shareholders. The funds will be used to build an automated chip production line, develop “multi-assay-per-chip” biochips and diagnostic instruments, and expand market presence.
Lezhun Zhixin is a leading enterprise in the field of biochips for in vitro diagnostics, dedicated to achieving multiplexed and precise detection of proteins and nucleic acids using biochip technology. The founding team boasts extensive industry experience with over 20 years of accumulation in the sector, having overcome bottlenecks related to the precision, mass production, and cost control of biochips. The company has successfully developed a chemiluminescent biochip capable of “multiple tests on a single card.”
Currently, Lezhun Zhixin has completed multiple rounds of financing. Wu Pengcheng, the company’s founder, stated, “During our Pre-A round, we overcame challenges in the mass production and cost control of biochips, achieved chemiluminescence detection using whole blood, and secured investment from Sinocare Inc. and Shenzhen Ruixiangyuan. This time, we have pioneered the global implementation of ‘multi-analyte testing on a single cartridge’ for chemiluminescence assays, while significantly reducing reagent costs, thereby once again attracting strong interest from investors.”
Greater precision, higher efficiency, and lower costs have always been the central themes driving development in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector. In particular, following the implementation of Anhui Province’s volume-based procurement policy for chemiluminescence immunoassays in 2021, which led to an average price reduction of approximately 50% for the involved products, the IVD industry has faced sustained pressure to reduce costs under this procurement framework.“An increasing number of detectable items and lower prices represent a long-term trend.”Wu Pengcheng's Summary.
Biochips are highly aligned with the robust demand in the field of in vitro diagnostics for precision, simplicity, and speed. Biochips enable relatively complex biological, chemical, and physical experiments on a chip no larger than a postage stamp, providing technical support for medical devices that offer low manufacturing costs, minimal sample requirements, short turnaround times, and ease of operation. This technology addresses the key limitations of traditional detection methods, such as complex pre-analytical sample processing, lengthy testing workflows, and the inability to balance accuracy with speed.
Wu Pengcheng stated, “Currently, the clinical laboratory is equipped with large-scale instruments, with a single automated assembly line costing tens of millions of yuan,”With the widespread adoption of biochips, a few compact instruments are sufficient to meet the diverse testing needs of laboratory projects.”
However, although the concept of biochips has been established for a long time, it has not been widely adopted in the field of in vitro diagnostics. Wu Pengcheng stated, “The primary reason lies in the high technological barriers associated with biochips. China’s foundational research in biochips is weak, and their development is highly complex, involving multiple disciplines such as physics, microelectronics, materials science, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Without significant breakthroughs in manufacturing processes, the resulting chips incur high costs and lack sufficient accuracy.”High-precision biochips remain a scarce resource in the market.”
Lezhun Zhixin has established a professional team of over 50 members, capable of independently completing the development process from raw materials and chip fabrication to the associated instruments and reagents.Cost control and mass production are two major challenges in the industrialization of biochips. Starting from fundamental chip technology research, Lezhun Zhixin has overcome key technical hurdles such as micro-volume blood filtration, precise sample loading, and accurate aliquoting into multiple reaction chambers. The company has successfully achieved large-scale manufacturing of biochips, driving costs to an absolute minimum while ensuring high precision.
Lezhun Zhixin not only integrates the entire testing process onto a single chip, but also enables “multiple tests on one card,” allowingPerform six full-process chemiluminescence assays simultaneously on a single chip.Leveraging its “one-card, multiple-tests” chemiluminescent biochip technology, the company will develop a large-scale chemiluminescence analyzer capable of performing 720 tests per hour and a compact model capable of performing 90 tests per hour. The instruments will feature a significantly reduced footprint, faster turnaround times, and lower costs, while delivering diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of imported products.
Currently, Lezhun Zhixin’s “One Card, One Test” biochip chemiluminescence detection system has been deployed in multiple hospitals. The “One Card, Multiple Tests” chemiluminescence instrument and reagents are scheduled for registration testing in 2022. In the field of nucleic acid testing, the company’s developed nucleic acid testing biochip can complete the entire process of sample extraction and amplification on a single chip, enabling the detection of 48 loci at once. Registration testing is planned for 2023, which will achieve multi-locus combined detection, replace certain NGS tests, significantly reduce PCR testing costs, and simplify PCR testing to the utmost extent, eliminating the need for professional operators.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of China’s in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry is projected to reach RMB 195.7 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 17.8% from 2019 to 2024, maintaining its rapid growth momentum. However, Wu Pengcheng pointed out, “Over the past few decades, IVD technology has not undergone disruptive innovation. With the mature application of biochips in multiple testing areas,”Biochips hold promise as a powerful tool for China to overtake competitors on the curve in the global race for in vitro diagnostics.“‘One-Card, Multi-Test’ Biochips to Pioneer a New Era in In Vitro Diagnostics!”
Xia Jiazhi, Partner at Sanze Venture CapitalIt is stated that microfluidic chips can be applied across various analytical fields, such as biomedicine, synthesis and screening of new drugs, food and commodity inspection, and aerospace science, with bioanalytical medical testing being a particular focus. Sanze has been focused on the domestic IVD sector for many years. Within the industry, companies capable of achieving the detection quality, cost-efficiency, and throughput of large-scale automated chemiluminescence analyzers through microfluidic technology, while also realizing mass industrialization of biochips, are exceedingly rare. Through years of R&D in biochips, the company has enabled whole-blood testing, eliminating the need for sample pre-treatment and optimizing the testing workflow. Its microchannel design reduces reagent consumption, thereby lowering detection costs. Furthermore, the company’s comprehensive layout across the entire industrial chain allows for full control over chip development timelines and significantly reduces chip manufacturing costs. These advancements have effectively addressed the bottlenecks currently hindering the market entry of traditional microfluidic chemiluminescence products.
The company’s next-generation multiplex testing chip portfolio will set a new direction for chemiluminescence-based microfluidic diagnostics. Founder Mr. Wu brings extensive expertise and a broad vision to the fields of chemiluminescence and molecular microfluidics. We look forward to Lezhun’s continued success in chemiluminescence detection and molecular microfluidics, delivering superior chemiluminescence diagnostic products to patients and the market, and ultimately becoming a benchmark enterprise in China’s IVD sector.
Zhao Jianghua, Managing Director of Yicun Capitalstated that Yicun Capital has long focused on new technologies, breakthroughs, and trends in the healthcare sector. In vitro diagnostics (IVD) is currently the largest sub-segment of the medical device market, exhibiting rapid growth. Meanwhile, we believe that microfluidics technology will bring transformative changes to the IVD industry through faster processing, more convenient operation, and more accurate test results.
Lezhun’s endeavors in this area have already yielded exciting phased results. Its solution ingeniously integrates microfluidics with chemiluminescence, delivering not only superior product performance and low cost, but also—more impressively—stability in test results comparable to that of imported brands. Furthermore, we place greater emphasis on the fact that Lezhun’s foundational technologies will continue to provide new momentum for the company’s advancement in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector. We look forward to Lezhun, driven by its founding team and entire workforce, exploring further areas such as multiplex testing and achieving new breakthroughs.