Hai Mai Medical Completes Tens of Millions RMB Angel Financing to Advance Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

On June 28, 2022, Humatrix (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Humatrix”) officially announced the completion of its angel financing round, amounting to tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was exclusively invested by Huafang Capital.

Humatrix, established on September 1, 2021, in Suzhou Industrial Park, is a leading technology platform company specializing in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Initially, the company focused on the development and manufacturing of allogeneic small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels, which are suitable for establishing vascular access for hemodialysis in chronic renal failure, replacing injured lower extremity arteries, treating lower extremity atherosclerosis, and performing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Currently, approximately 3.5 million patients worldwide undergo long-term chronic hemodialysis each year, and each patient requires a safe and durable arteriovenous access for repeated long-term use as their dialysis access.

The China National Renal Data System (CNRDS) indicates that the number of patients undergoing long-term chronic hemodialysis in China is increasing annually (by an average of 13–14% per year). There are currently over 120 million patients with chronic renal insufficiency in China. In 2020, more than 800,000 patients were registered in the CNRDS as receiving long-term chronic dialysis, and this figure is projected to exceed 2.3 million by 2030. Among these patients, 87% use arteriovenous fistulas, 10% use central venous catheters, and approximately 1% use artificial vascular grafts. In comparison, the United States has approximately 600,000 patients undergoing long-term chronic hemodialysis annually, with 65% using arteriovenous fistulas, 15% using central venous catheters, and 20% using artificial vascular grafts.

In fact, patients with arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) must wait 3–6 months after surgery before the fistula can be used as a dialysis access. One-third to one-half of these patients fail to achieve adequate maturation, rendering the AVF unusable. Among those with initially successful AVFs, complications such as vascular stenosis, thrombosis, aneurysm formation, and infection often lead to access failure over time, forcing patients to rely on central venous catheters (CVCs) as temporary dialysis access. Notably, the annual infection rate for CVCs reaches 200%. Traditional expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular grafts are also highly susceptible to infection and stenosis, with a primary patency rate of approximately 50% at two years and an extremely low patency rate at five years.

On the other hand, China performs approximately 870,000 peripheral artery disease surgeries annually, compared to over 100,000 in the United States; China conducts 150,000 vascular trauma surgeries per year, versus 73,000 in the United States. Domestic coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures currently number 50,000 annually and are projected to reach 150,000 per year within the next decade, whereas the United States performs 500,000 CABG procedures annually, with patients requiring an average of approximately 2.5 graft vessels. Since autologous vein grafts require surgical harvesting, they can lead to prolonged operative time, graft site infections, extended anesthesia and intensive care unit (ICU) stays, and increased hospitalization costs. Meanwhile, existing small-diameter synthetic polymer vascular grafts suffer from low patency rates and are prone to thrombosis-induced failure, rendering them unsuitable for use in CABG procedures.

According to the latest authoritative data, the global market size for artificial blood vessels and regenerative medicine-related products is approximately $120 billion. With its enormous growth potential, this vast market represents the strategic focus of Humatrix.

In addition to tissue-engineered small-diameter blood vessels, Humatrix leverages its proprietary platforms in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to develop and manufacture other allogeneic regenerative medicine product pipelines, including tissue-engineered ureters, tissue-engineered heart valves, nerve repair conduits, and decellularized tissue organs, with plans to expand clinical research and commercialization globally in the future.

Dr. Luo Wangqian, Partner at Huafang Capital, which exclusively participated in Humatrix’s angel round of financing, stated that following small-molecule and large-molecule drugs, living cells have emerged in recent years as a more complex therapeutic modality entering clinical practice to benefit patients. We believe that with breakthroughs in multiple key technologies, the ex vivo “replication” of tissues and organs—structures more complex than individual cells—will soon become one of the focal points for biotechnology research and investment in the next phase. Starting from living cells and leveraging tissue engineering and regenerative medicine technologies, Humatrix has targeted clinically urgent small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels as its entry point to develop and manufacture a series of allogeneic regenerative medicine products. This approach not only exemplifies the latest application of synthetic biology in the field of tissue engineering but also enriches the scope of living cell applications in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors.

The key to solving this problem lies in the company founder and team’s more than 17 years of dedicated efforts in the relevant field, during which they have successively developed autologous and allogeneic acellular matrix small-diameter artificial blood vessels. This technology has been granted two Chinese invention patents.

It is reported that Dr. Qiu Xuefeng, founder of Humatrix, formerly served as Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Union Hospital affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Dr. Qiu studied under Professor Dong Nianguo, a renowned expert in cardiovascular surgery and tissue engineering and Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Union Hospital affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He later pursued postdoctoral research abroad, serving as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Clinical Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Bioengineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley Stem Cell Center, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. He also worked as a Research Fellow in the Department of Bioengineering and the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Qiu is a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a committee member of the Cardiovascular Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

Dr. Qiu Xuefeng boasts 25 years of clinical and R&D experience in cardiovascular surgery, with extensive expertise in small-diameter artificial blood vessels, stem cells, biomaterials, and cardiovascular medical devices. He has received research awards from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) three times, published over 60 papers, and had multiple studies on tissue-engineered small-diameter blood vessels featured in specialized journals such as *Biomaterials*. Dr. Qiu was awarded the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress in Hubei Province and the Chinese Medical Association’s Lillehei Award. In 2018, he was recognized as a “3551” Entrepreneurial Talent in the 11th batch of Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, and in 2021, he was selected as a Leading Talent in Suzhou Industrial Park. Professor Qiu possesses substantial surgical and clinical experience in cardiac and great vessel surgery, particularly in aortic and major vascular surgery, as well as coronary artery bypass grafting.

Dr. Qiu Xuefeng, Founder, Chairman, and CEO; Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery; Expert in Tissue Engineering

“After nearly 30 years of accumulation, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have developed very rapidly in recent years. However, the technical barriers are extremely high, requiring interdisciplinary integration of biomaterials, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and clinical medicine. Currently, only three companies worldwide have tissue-engineered small-diameter blood vessels entering clinical trials or about to complete clinical trials, with two in the United States and one in Europe, while China has none,” introduced Dr. Qiu Xuefeng.

According to overseas media reports, a U.S. company has developed a tissue-engineered small-diameter vascular graft with exceptional performance. The one-year patency rate after implantation is approximately 90%, and the five-year patency rate is 58%. Long-term implantation in humans has shown no complications such as infection, graft wall calcification, or aneurysm formation. Its performance significantly surpasses that of currently clinically used heparin-coated ePTFE grafts and other vascular prostheses. However, its price is extremely high, at approximately $25,000 per graft (40 cm in length).

In this regard, Dr. Qiu Xuefeng aims to leverage his extensive clinical experience in cardiovascular surgery to lead the Humatrix team in overcoming the critical technological bottlenecks in tissue-engineered small-diameter artificial blood vessels, thereby addressing the shortage of artificial blood vessels in China and “enabling more Chinese patients in need to access ‘affordable’ tissue-engineered small-diameter artificial blood vessels as soon as possible.”

According to Dr. Luo Wangqian, Partner at Huafang Capital, Professor Qiu Xuefeng, Founder of Humatrix, possesses extensive research experience and outstanding achievements in the fields of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biomaterials, along with broad industry resources. “Although engaged in clinical practice, he has remained true to his original aspirations. By integrating clinical practice with a profound understanding of clinical needs, he ultimately decided to embark on full-time entrepreneurship by establishing Humatrix, which is truly commendable! Huafang Capital has always adhered to a technology-oriented approach and will continue to fully support top scholars across various fields in their entrepreneurial ventures and technological translation. We believe that under Professor Qiu’s leadership, Humatrix will assemble a world-class team and rapidly bring its multiple products to market to benefit patients.”

It was revealed that the financing raised by Humatrix will be primarily used for building its early-stage team and constructing a tissue engineering and regenerative medicine laboratory at the Sangtian Island Science and Technology Innovation Park in Suzhou Industrial Park.

“I am delighted that our company’s growth potential has been recognized by Huafang Capital, the investor. With the completion of Humatrix’s first round of financing, all funds will be dedicated to the research and development of products in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, as well as to actively planning the construction of a high-standard GMP production workshop,” said Dr. Qiu Xuefeng.

Professor Qiu Xuefeng (right), the company’s founder, performing surgery

Humatrix (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. was established on September 1, 2021, in Suzhou Industrial Park. As a leading technology platform company in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, it initially focused on the development and production of allogeneic small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels. These vessels are suitable for establishing vascular access for hemodialysis in chronic renal failure, replacing injured lower limb arteries, treating lower limb atherosclerosis, and performing coronary artery bypass grafting. Leveraging this technological platform, the company also researches, develops, and produces allogeneic regenerative medicine products—such as tissue-engineered ureters, tissue-engineered heart valves, nerve repair conduits, and decellularized tissue organs—and expands their global clinical research and commercialization to meet the growing and largely unmet clinical needs.

Huafang Capital is an investment fund dedicated to the biopharmaceutical and broader healthcare sector, with a strategic focus on biopharmaceuticals, high-end medical devices, healthcare services, and healthcare informatics. The firm has already completed investments in multiple leading enterprises across various niche segments. The core team at Huafang Capital possesses extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, offering profound insights into the healthcare sector and unique perspectives on industry trends, project innovation and differentiation, as well as the capability building of entrepreneurial teams. Leveraging abundant resources within the medical industry, Huafang Capital achieves comprehensive synergy with other listed companies under the healthcare segment controlled by its parent company, Haili Group—namely Kunming Pharmaceutical Corporation (600422) and Jianmin Pharmaceutical Group (600976). This collaboration empowers portfolio companies holistically, facilitating product upgrades, channel deployment, and both horizontal and vertical integration across the industrial chain.