China's First Pharma SaaS IPO Candidate: Taimei Medical Technologies Breaks Through Domain Limits with TrialOS Platform
On December 29, 2021, the prospectus of Zhejiang Taimei Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Taimei”) was published on the information disclosure page of the STAR Market.。This pharmaceutical SaaS company, regarded as a key platform supporting independent innovation in China’s biopharmaceutical industry, has finally reached the threshold for an initial public offering.
Taimei Technology was not the first company in China to enter the pharmaceutical SaaS sector. In this competitive landscape, it faced established international giants with years of accumulated expertise ahead, and numerous challengers close behind. Despite the high-pressure competitive environment, Taimei Technology managed to overtake its rivals directly, carving out its own competitive advantages and achieving explosive growth in 2019.
How has Taimei unleashed tremendous energy over the past two years? How long can this explosive growth momentum be sustained? What trajectory will the innovative pharmaceutical SaaS sector follow amidst the booming development of the pharmaceutical industry?The answers to all these questions lie hidden in Taimei’s prospectus.
Digital empowerment has now become a consensus in the pharmaceutical industry. However, back in 2013 when Taimei was founded, digitalization was still a novel concept for China’s pharmaceutical sector.
In 2013, Medidata conducted a global survey, which revealed that approximately 75% of new drug trials worldwide had begun to use eCRF (electronic Case Report Forms) and EDC (Electronic Data Capture systems for clinical research). At that time, however, the adoption of EDC in China was concerning. It was not until 2018 that a survey by Probe Capital showed that the domestic usage rate of EDC remained below 50%.
For a long time, thanks to years of experience and technological accumulation, foreign pharmaceutical SaaS vendors represented by Medidata, Veeva, and Oracle have long dominated the Chinese market, while domestic vendors are mostly small and micro-sized, with a significant gap between them.
Bridging the gap in the digitalization of domestic clinical trials has become Taimei’s entry point into the pharmaceutical sector.
Key Technological Applications in the Pharmaceutical SaaS Industry
Leveraging digital technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data, Taimei provides pharmaceutical SaaS solutions to the life sciences industry.From fragmented, scenario-based standalone solutions to the integrated TrialOS platform, Taimei has built its own digital ecosystem for the pharmaceutical industry.Various stakeholders in clinical research can achieve win-win collaboration within the ecosystem. Taimei, leveraging its pharmaceutical SaaS products, provides digital infrastructure to ensure high quality, high availability, high reliability, and high security of its solutions.
As Taimei rapidly expanded its coverage capabilities, China’s drug review and approval reforms became a significant driver of the company’s development.The drug review reforms have unleashed the substantial backlog of demand for clinical drug studies that had accumulated due to protracted approval processes. This surge in demand has created an ideal growth environment for Taimei Technology, significantly accelerating the iterative evolution of its pharmaceutical SaaS products through continuous practical application.
Standing on a precise foothold and riding the wave of the times, Taimei Technology has secured seven rounds of financing totaling RMB 2.355 billion in the nine years since its establishment. Notably, its Series F financing round in 2020 alone reached RMB 1.2 billion, allowing the company to remain steadily ranked among unicorn enterprises for several consecutive years.
Currently, Taimei’s product and service portfolio primarily comprises three major categories: SaaS products and digital solutions, the TrialOS collaboration platform, and clinical operations services.
1. SaaS products are the cornerstone of Taimei's development.Taimei has independently developed dozens of SaaS products that cater to various user categories, including pharmaceutical companies/sponsors, hospitals/clinical research institutions, and third-party service providers. These products are applied in diverse scenarios such as project management, document management, pharmacovigilance, clinical data management, drug distribution, and imaging assessment. Furthermore, Taimei has achieved data interoperability across its different SaaS products, thereby supporting the efficient conduct of clinical studies. Taimei provides SaaS products tailored to different scenarios along with corresponding professional services, forming innovative digital solutions. These include digital solutions for clinical operations, data solutions, independent imaging assessment solutions, digital SMO (Site Management Organization) solutions, institutional digital solutions, pharmacovigilance solutions, and pharmaceutical marketing solutions.
2. TrialOS Pharmaceutical R&D Collaboration Platform:TrialOS Platform serves as the primary portal for industry users and is the integrated platform for Taimei Technology’s SaaS products. Stakeholders across the industry leverage the platform and its associated SaaS solutions to conduct online collaboration, driving clinical research through digitalization. The platform enables efficient data transmission, seamless process collaboration, and standardized operations, thereby breaking down information silos across all segments of the industry chain and achieving digital operations in the field of pharmaceutical R&D.
3. Clinical Operations Services:Taimei provides high-quality clinical operations services for drug development, covering Phase I–IV clinical studies and bioequivalence (BE) trials, with a primary focus on clinical operations for innovative drugs.
The combination of these three business segments nearly covers all digitalization needs for drugs, from clinical development to post-marketing. As a result, Taimei has evolved from a solution provider into a platform-based digital empowerment enterprise.
Accumulating Strength for a Breakthrough: After years of product R&D and validation, Taimei Technology’s revenue began to scale up from 2018. In 2018, Taimei Technology’s total revenue was less than RMB 60 million; in 2019, it tripled directly to RMB 187 million;In 2020, revenue further increased, surpassing the RMB 300 million mark.
As of June 30, 2021, Taimei Technology had cumulatively conducted business with approximately 1,000 domestic and international pharmaceutical companies and CROs; it had provided digital solutions to more than 360 hospitals/clinical research institutions (including 238 Grade A tertiary hospitals). As of June 30, 2021, Taimei Technology’s eCollect (EDC) product had cumulatively supported over 1,100 clinical research projects for more than 350 clients; its eCooperate (CTMS) product had cumulatively supported new drug development for more than 100 clients; and its eArchives (eTMF) product had cumulatively supported new drug development for more than 90 clients.
Taimei’s capability to empower innovative pharmaceutical R&D is also increasingly evident in the area of product approval.In 2020, 15 Class I innovative drugs were approved for marketing by the CDE; Taimei’s pharmaceutical SaaS products supported 8 of them, accounting for 53.33%.
In the report “China Life Sciences R&D Information System Market Share, 2019: Emerging IT Technologies Accelerate New Drug Development,” released by IDC in November 2020, relevant data show thatIn 2019, the top five vendors in China’s life sciences R&D information system solutions market held a combined share of 37.7%, with Taimei Medical Technology capturing 14.5% to rank first.Given the rapid growth achieved by Taimei in 2020, this ratio may have further increased in that year.The continuous increase in market share signifies that Taimei Technology, representing China’s pharmaceutical digitalization enterprises, is progressively achieving domestic substitution. This holds significant importance from the perspective of protecting human genetic resources within China.(For details on “Protection of Human Genetic Resources,” see Chapter VI, “Security of Human Genetic Resources and Biological Resources,” of the Biosecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China.)
Achieving such a market share is closely tied to Taimei’s efforts in customer acquisition. A customer retention rate of over 85% and steady growth in individual customer orders have become the cornerstone of Taimei’s sustained growth.The average revenue per customer for clients retained continuously over three years increased from RMB 259,900 in 2018 to RMB 712,700 in 2020., demonstrating strong performance among SaaS companies. Additionally, new customer acquisition is also growing rapidly.In 2020, revenue from non-retained customers accounted for more than 50%.
Taimei Customer Retention Status
This growth model exemplifies the advantages of the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) business model. Existing users accustomed to SaaS solutions develop a significant dependency on the service, while new customers benefit from the lower procurement threshold and clear cost advantages of subscription-based SaaS compared to purchasing entire systems outright. Taimei has fully leveraged the benefits of the SaaS model. To maintain its competitive edge, Taimei continuously iterates and updates its products to ensure long-term customer retention. Consequently, the company has sustained high levels of R&D investment; in 2020, Taimei invested RMB 109 million in research and development, accounting for nearly 36% of its revenue.
Throughout its development, the pharmaceutical SaaS products offered by Taimei have undergone multiple version iterations.However, what truly enabled Taimei Technology to break through the limitations of its domain-specific models was the TrialOS pharmaceutical R&D collaboration platform, which went live in 2019.
Selected Pharmaceutical SaaS Products by Taimei
eCollect (EDC), strategically deployed at the company’s inception, was Taimei Technology’s initial entry point. Subsequently, Taimei Technology continuously expanded its footprint within clinical research, gradually extending its empowerment capabilities to cover a comprehensive suite of enterprise-side products, including project management (eCooperate), document management (eArchives), pharmacovigilance (eSafety), and imaging assessment (eImage). This expansion further encompassed a full range of hospital/clinical trial institution-side solutions, such as the eSite institutional management system, the eTrial Phase I ward management system, and the GCP-X intelligent clinical trial platform, as well as third-party vendor management systems for SMOs and other providers. After years of strategic development, Taimei Technology has become one of the industry’s leading solution providers, boasting the most comprehensive product portfolio and the strongest coverage capabilities.
However, while Taimei’s multi-SaaS product strategy has allowed it to stand out among Chinese enterprises, it is not sufficient to compete head-to-head with global giants.In clinical research, different systems are employed at various stages to address efficiency and quality issues at individual points; however, this artificially creates data silos and fragments workflows, preventing the industry from achieving overall efficiency gains.
With the determination to solve this problem,In 2019, Taimei Technology launched the TrialOS pharmaceutical R&D collaboration platform.TrialOS integrates all of Taimei’s accumulations in pharmaceutical SaaS over the past six years, connecting the five core roles in clinical trials—pharmaceutical companies/sponsors, third-party service providers, hospitals/research institutions, patients/subjects, and regulatory agencies—on a single platform. This enables data exchange, process collaboration, standardization, resource integration, and value enhancement for all stakeholders in clinical research.
TrialOS: A Collaborative Platform for Pharmaceutical R&D Connecting All Stakeholders in Clinical Research
The launch of TrialOS cemented Taimei’s leading position in the pharmaceutical SaaS industry. Since then, Taimei has embarked on its marginal expansion.
In 2019, Taimei acquired RuanSu Technology as a wholly-owned subsidiary., extending the coverage of its TrialOS solution to the field of digital pharmaceutical marketing in the post-launch phase.
In 2019, TrialOS enabled the practical implementation of digital clinical trials, delivering high-quality and efficient clinical operations services to pharmaceutical companies through innovative, technology-driven concepts.Launched the TrialPartner collaboration platform in 2020, innovatively leveraging digital technologies to integrate SMO resources and CRC on-site management, thereby launching digital SMO services to address industry pain points such as uneven geographic distribution, significant talent shortages, and lack of standardized practices.
Schematic Diagram of Taimei's Main SaaS Product Connections
Cloud-based SaaS ensures that all authorized stakeholders are immediately informed of the latest developments in a clinical study as soon as data is uploaded to the cloud. This approach completely eliminates the time delays and spatial barriers inherent in traditional data communication, significantly enhancing the efficiency of clinical research, reducing communication costs, and providing enhanced security.When multiple products deployed on the same cloud are fully integrated, forming a SaaS ecosystem for clinical research collaboration, the cost-reduction and efficiency-enhancement advantages of SaaS reach a new level, delivering greater added value to users.
The pharmaceutical SaaS product model has evolved globally over the past 20 years, giving rise to industry giants such as Veeva and Medidata. In China, Taimei has emerged as a pioneer of pharmaceutical SaaS, enabling domestic clinical research to benefit from the advancements in global digital technologies.
If Taimei’s previous development and strategic layout were about “following the giants” by replicating the success of leading foreign enterprises, then its new strategy today demonstrates Taimei’s boldness in leading industry development. As the pharmaceutical SaaS sector faces new demands driven by industrial evolution, Taimei, as a leading enterprise in the field, has provided its own original solution.
Taimei Technology, which has experienced explosive growth for two consecutive years, is it hitting its own ceiling? The answer is certainly no.This can be substantiated from five perspectives: global outlook, market size, business composition, industrial development, and industry competition.
1. On globalization, pharmaceutical industrial software is gaining global attention:Although industrial software for the pharmaceutical sector is still in its nascent stages compared to other general-purpose domains, its substantial market value and promising prospects cannot be underestimated, and industry giants have already begun to take action.
In 2019, Dassault Systèmes, the French industrial software giant, acquired Medidata for $5.8 billion, marking its entry into the digitalization of the pharmaceutical industry. Rooted in the field of clinical trials, Medidata provides data analysis and validation support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies through its SaaS software, particularly in the core area of Electronic Data Capture (EDC), thereby advancing the development of clinical trial technologies.
Back in 2014, Dassault acquired the vendor of Qumas, a software solution for regulatory compliance document control in the food and drug sectors, thereby establishing the BIOVIA brand and entering the life sciences field. The current acceleration of digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry has elevated clinical trial data integration into a high-value asset, which serves as the primary motive driving Dassault’s renewed entry into the market.
2. In terms of market size,Taimei Technology can be directly benchmarked against Veeva. In 2020, Veeva’s annual revenue reached $1.465 billion, approximately 30 times the revenue scale of Taimei Technology. Meanwhile, Veeva continues to maintain a revenue growth rate exceeding 30%, indicating that there is still substantial untapped demand for digitalization within the industry.Veeva has yet to reach its ceiling, so Taimei is naturally still far from its own.
3. In terms of business composition, the trinity of pharmaceutical SaaS, collaboration platforms, and clinical operation services has created ample and flexibly controllable development space for itself.Not only will demand for SaaS products grow, but customers’ needs for collaboration and professional services are also certain to expand. Taimei’s business structure is well-positioned to rapidly convert these demands into deliverable service models, thereby driving new growth momentum.
4. In terms of industry development, the intense competition within the pharmaceutical sector serves as fertile ground for Taimei.Although many industry professionals dislike the term “involution,” it accurately captures the intense competitive pressure faced by similar products during the transformation of China’s pharmaceutical industry. Mature products compete in volume-based procurement, while innovative products compete on R&D efficiency.While such a competitive landscape may pose challenges for pharmaceutical companies, it presents an excellent opportunity for upstream service providers in the pharmaceutical industry.
In a highly competitive environment, pharmaceutical companies face two choices: improve R&D efficiency or expand beyond the Chinese market to seek opportunities overseas.
Enhance R&D Efficiency,Relying solely on the internal capabilities of pharmaceutical companies is insufficient; they must leverage external resources to support R&D. This explains why the CRO and CDMO sectors have seen significant growth in recent years.Taimei’s SaaS products for clinical research are designed to enhance the efficiency of clinical development.
"Innovative Drugs Going Global Is a New Topic."According to incomplete statistics, a total of 40 domestic drugs were licensed out overseas in 2021, with 16 of these projects involving transaction amounts exceeding USD 100 million. Driven by this outbound trend,Domestic pharmaceutical companies are placing greater emphasis on conducting global multi-center clinical trials, thereby raising new demands for pharmaceutical SaaS solutions.
Taimei has long been preparing to continue serving Chinese innovative drug enterprises overseas.Particularly in the field of pharmacovigilance (PV), Taimei Technology is one of the first Chinese pharmacovigilance system providers to interface with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), possessing the capability to provide global pharmacovigilance services to clients. As of June 30, 2021, the TrialOS R&D Collaboration Platform had interfaced with the relevant databases of regulatory authorities in 34 countries/regions.
5. In terms of industry competition, SaaS is a sector that emphasizes user reputation.Leading enterprises can easily leverage accumulated user demands to rapidly iterate their products, thereby achieving a snowball effect. Consequently, resources in the pharmaceutical SaaS sector tend to concentrate among these market leaders. As a leading player, Taimei holds significant competitive advantages within the industry.
Therefore, after the first round of sprinting, Taimei is still far from the finish line.SaaS is inherently not a product category suited for “quick wins.” The long-term commitment to customer support and continuous product iteration means that companies in the pharmaceutical SaaS sector are more akin to participants in a marathon. In the race so far, Taimei has taken the lead, remaining clear-headed and full of energy. Whether a dark horse will emerge in the next leg remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Taimei’s leading position will remain the target that competitors strive to catch up with.