Weimu Medical Secures Tens of Millions in Pre-A Funding to Advance Innovative Biomaterial-Based Interventional Medical Device Platform

Recently, Shanghai Weimu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Weimu Medical”) announced the completion of its Pre-A financing round, raising tens of millions of RMB. The round was exclusively invested by IDG Capital, with Dianshi Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised will be used to advance clinical trials of existing products, expand the new product pipeline, and scale up the team.

Shanghai Weimu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. was established in late 2020 and is located in the Life Blue Bay Park in Lingang, Shanghai. Dr. Xie Dang, the founder, has nearly 15 years of experience in the field of polymer materials, having held positions at leading domestic and international companies such as 3M, Medtronic, and Hengrui Medicine. Under his leadership, the Weimu team has built China’s first high-end interventional medical device platform based on innovative materials, developing multiple products including microspheres, hydrogels, and tissue adhesives to address several unmet clinical needs in conditions such as liver cancer and lower extremity varicose veins.

(Weimu Medical Polyvinyl Alcohol Embolization Microspheres)

In early March this year, the first patient was enrolled in a clinical trial at Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital evaluating Weimu Medical’s independently developed inaugural product, polyvinyl alcohol embolic microspheres, for the treatment of primary liver cancer using drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (d-TACE). Current clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of primary liver cancer recommend d-TACE for patients with stage Ib to IIIb disease.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), as one of the most common embolic agents, was first introduced in the mid-1970s for the treatment of certain solid tumors and spinal arteriovenous malformations. Currently, the domestic market is characterized by a competitive landscape where Chinese-made brands and imported products each hold significant market share.

In early clinical feedback, Weimu Medical’s drug-eluting microspheres demonstrated leading performance in suspension stability, resistance to rupture and deformation, as well as in core metrics including maximum drug loading capacity, drug loading time, drug release duration, and drug release rate. Patients experienced favorable postoperative recovery, and the tumor control efficacy was highly encouraging to physicians, earning widespread recognition for the product’s performance.

(Weimu Medical Varicose Vein Closure Adhesive)

In early April, another core product from Weimu Medical, a varicose vein closure adhesive, completed the enrollment of its first patient for the treatment of severe varicose veins in vascular surgery at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital. Globally, Medtronic’s VenaSeal has demonstrated strong performance and rapid commercial adoption since its launch, with over 100,000 patients treated worldwide; however, it has not yet formally entered the Chinese market.

The treatment hope for nearly 100 million varicose vein patients in China still relies on the currently more traditional surgical treatments (mainly great saphenous vein stripping) or minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation therapy. The drawbacks of traditional surgical treatment are self-evident, while radiofrequency therapy is inferior to vascular closure glue in terms of the core indicator of 5-year occlusion rate and has side effects such as thermal effects.

As a potential future outpatient procedure, varicose vein closure adhesive is poised to significantly improve the current industry landscape, where surgical penetration remains below 1% and is concentrated among patients with advanced-stage disease, offering patients a new option with superior efficacy and better cost-effectiveness.

Although Weimu Medical was established only recently, it has already built a cohesive and challenge-ready R&D team, developed a distinctive “M (Membrane) B (Microsphere) A (Hydrogel)” technology platform, and conducted extensive technological reserves and product validations in the fields of oncology, pan-vascular intervention, and medical aesthetics.

In April, when Shanghai hit the pause button, the company still had teams stationed in the industrial park, methodically advancing various tasks. Commenting on this, founder Xie Dang also expressed the team’s determination to strive hard by quoting, “Do not laugh at the youthful dreams of the jianghu; who among us did not dream of the jianghu in our youth?”

Commenting on the successful completion of this funding round, he stated, “We extend our sincere gratitude to the IDG team for their recognition and support of Weimu Medical, particularly for maintaining proactive and effective communication throughout the pandemic. Weimu remains committed to an innovation-driven development strategy, focusing on foundational technologies in biomedical materials to build an influential platform for interventional devices based on innovative materials. Looking ahead, we aim to develop more high-quality products to extend therapeutic windows for patients and improve clinical outcomes.”

IDG Capital stated, “Throughout our engagement with Weimu, we have been deeply impressed by the founding team’s strong conviction and sense of social responsibility, as well as their craftsman-like pursuit of excellence in ensuring product safety and efficacy. We endorse Weimu’s strategic layout in tumor intervention and pan-vascular intervention, and we are confident in the company’s R&D capabilities and product commercialization efforts. We look forward to the early market launch of Weimu’s products. IDG will continue to support grounded, innovative enterprises like Weimu, contributing to the rapid development of China’s healthcare industry and benefiting more patients.”

IDG Capital is a globally leading private equity investment firm. With nearly 30 years of development, the company has accumulated over RMB 150 billion in assets under management. IDG Capital focuses on leading enterprises in sectors such as Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT), new consumption and services, culture and entertainment, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy. Its investment scope covers all stages, including early-stage, growth-stage, mature-stage, and mergers and acquisitions, with investment sizes ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of US dollars.