QiYi Medical Completes Pre-A Funding Round and Builds a Complete Business Model for Digital Respiratory Healthcare

On February 18, VCBeat learned that Qiyi Medical, a company specializing in full-course management systems for respiratory diseases and digital therapeutics platforms, announced the completion of its Pre-A financing round, raising tens of millions of yuan.This round of financing was jointly invested by Yuanhe Origin and Shijie Venture Capital, with existing shareholder Matrix Partners China increasing its investment.VB Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised in this round will be primarily allocated to the research and development, regulatory registration, and commercial expansion of several digital therapeutic products currently in the pipeline.

Respiratory diseases have historically been the hardest-hit areas in large-scale epidemics, with an extremely large patient base for conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and pneumonia. According to research statistics published by Academician Wang Chen in The Lancet, the number of COPD patients in China has approached 100 million.

"Healthy China 2030" proposes to research the inclusion of health management for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the national basic public health service package, implement the tiered diagnosis and treatment system, and provide comprehensive prevention and control services—including screening and intervention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up management, and functional rehabilitation—for individuals at high risk of COPD and patients, thereby improving the rates of early diagnosis and treatment as well as standardized management of COPD at the primary care level.

Since its inception in 2020, Qiyi Medical has maintained close collaboration with the National Center for Respiratory Medicine to drive the implementation of standardized development initiatives for Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) departments, thereby enhancing the overall capacity and standards of respiratory medicine.Currently, we have reached the respiratory departments of more than 3,000 medical institutions and established direct connections with tens of thousands of pulmonologists.

Secondly, Qiyi Medical partnered with the China Primary Health Care Foundation to launch the “Whole-Course Management of Chronic Respiratory Diseases” project,Deployed a pre-consultation assessment system for respiratory diseases in over 1,600 hospitals across China, providing screening and follow-up services to nearly 5 million patients with high-prevalence respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and pulmonary fibrosis.

Furthermore, with the increasing prevalence of hardware and internet technologies, a gradual rise in the incidence of chronic diseases, and the irreversible boost to demand for medical intervention software driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global digital therapeutics industry is entering a fast track of development.

In 2021, Qiyi simultaneously initiated three clinical trials for digital therapeutics in the areas of intelligent screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), early warning systems for acute exacerbations of COPD, and digital pulmonary rehabilitation. These initiatives included the clinical study of China’s first digital therapeutic for COPD rehabilitation, co-developed with the expert team at China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

The consolidation and robust execution of the aforementioned businesses are primarily attributed toThe core team of Qiyi consists of serial entrepreneurs who previously held positions at Fortune 500 pharmaceutical, medical device, and consulting companies, with an average of over 15 years of management experience., not only possesses a profound understanding of the pain points in respiratory and chronic disease management, but has also cultivated deep expertise in full-course disease management for many years, while accumulating extensive expert and industry resources. The team’s diversity and professionalism provide the company with unique advantages to lead in the field of respiratory diseases.

Fei Jianjiang, Managing Partner of Yuanhe OriginStatement: Driven by irreversible factors such as 5G technology and the pandemic, digital therapeutics are ushering in significant structural opportunities across the entire disease treatment landscape. Technology and healthcare are the two core sectors focused on by Yuanhe Yuandian. We maintain a strong interest in projects at the intersection of these two fields, with digital therapeutics being a key area of focus. We are optimistic that “digital drugs” will become an indispensable component of disease treatment, alongside pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

The number of patients with respiratory diseases in China has exceeded 100 million, and chronic disease treatment has grown into a blue-ocean market worth hundreds of billions of yuan., Qiyi Medical has made in-depth strategic deployments in early screening, critical care treatment, and respiratory disease rehabilitation, leveraging innovative digital solutions to help patients and physicians establish a complete therapeutic loop. We look forward to the company’s swift commercialization of its products to benefit more patients.

Sun Zhe, Managing Partner of Shijie Venture Capital“QiYi Medical is doing the right thing at the right time. Currently, attention to respiratory diseases is continuously increasing across government, industry, and academia, with patients receiving growing medical support and social concern. The innovative business model of QiYi Medical aligns with the development trends of the healthcare market. Digital therapeutics provide innovative solutions for disease treatment, enhancing the accessibility and convenience of medical services.”

Overall, respiratory disease management represents a vast market carrying high expectations from the government, industry, and society. It is poised for further unforeseen changes and greater achievements in the coming years. As a leader in digital health within the respiratory care sector, Qiyi Medical has more anticipated milestones to achieve in 2022.