Chosen Medicine Secures Hundreds of Millions RMB in Series C1 Funding to Accelerate Oncology IVD Commercialization

VCBeat has learned that Qiuzhen Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Qiuzhen Medical”) recently completed a Series C1 financing round worth hundreds of millions of RMB. The round was led by Yijing Capital, with participation from Gaoxin Kangyang and Jingming Capital. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing round.

This round of financing will primarily be used by Qiuzhen Medical to further advance the clinical registration of its companion diagnostic products for lung cancer and gastrointestinal tumors, as well as to facilitate the industrial commercialization of its early cancer screening products and MRD (minimal residual disease) assays. Meanwhile, the company will continue to develop tumor biobanks and clinical databases based on Chinese populations, providing clinical support for the development of novel oncology drugs.

Qiuzhen Medical is a national high-tech enterprise dedicated to the field of precision oncology. It focuses on solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and early cancer screening within China. The company has established multiple standardized NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) medical testing laboratories in Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and other cities. Qiuzhen Medical has partnered with over 500 leading hospitals and dozens of new drug R&D enterprises across China, providing patients with precise tumor genetic testing services while offering clinical support services for pharmaceutical companies’ new drug development.

Image provided by Qiuzhen Medical

Furthermore, VCBeat has learned that Qiuzhen Medical operates two major R&D bases in China and the United States. Its team consists primarily of industry elites from renowned research institutions both domestically and internationally, with expertise spanning multiple disciplines including biology, medicine, and bioinformatics.

Its Chief Scientist, Dr. Li Wei, is a tenured chaired professor at the University of California, Irvine, and has led four NIH big-data oncology projects. Its Chief Information Officer, Dr. Niu Beifang, is a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and previously served as an expert in the multi-cancer data analysis group for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program and as an expert for the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).

As the sole corporate participant in the national project “China Cancer Genome Atlas Consortium” (CGAC), Qiuzhen Medical has collaborated with various partners to preliminarily map the tumor gene atlas of the Chinese population, thereby providing more accurate clinical research support for new drug development and clinical trials.

It is reported that the “China Cancer Genome Atlas Project,” led by the China National Center for Human Genetic Resources, will conduct a five-year study across approximately 70 centers nationwide in accordance with the established protocol.Under this program, Qiuzhen Medical provides a multi-gene tumor testing panel for patients enrolled in the study to inform their clinical treatment decisions.

Leveraging its robust artificial intelligence algorithm development capabilities, Qiuzhen Medical has developed a range of Chosen-series tumor companion diagnostic products targeting various cancer types, which have been highly acclaimed by clinical customers.Currently, the company is comprehensively advancing the industrialization of its IVD products and conducting clinical registration for multiple companion diagnostic products targeting lung cancer and gastrointestinal tumors.

Dr. Zhou Qiming, President of Qiuzhen Medical, revealed to VCBeat that the company has already made targeted arrangements in the field of early cancer screening, which has attracted significant attention from the industry.

Specifically, Qiuzhen Medical applies its proprietary “Methylation Canyon” concept, utilizing self-developed unique algorithms to detect methylation canyon markers. This approach applies ctDNA methylation detection technology to early cancer screening, achieving an accuracy rate of over 95%.

“Unlike CpG island methylation, methylation valleys are typically larger than 3.5 kb, and their methylation patterns differ significantly between normal and cancerous tissues. This substantial variation facilitates the detection of cancer signals,” explained Dr. Qiming Zhou.

Image courtesy of Qiuzhen Medical

Furthermore,Qiuzhen Medical holds 57 patents and 62 bioinformatics software copyrights, enabling the independent development of bioinformatics algorithms that cover the entire workflow of tumor companion diagnostics.

The internationally first NGS platform-based MSI status detection algorithm, MSIsensor, developed by the company, has been adopted by the FDA-approved first tumor multi-gene testing kit (MSK-IMPACT), which is a strong testament to its bioinformatics algorithm capabilities.

To date, the MSIsenor suite of algorithms has been cited in over 340 publications and applied in 670 clinical research projects across 27 countries. Related research findings have been published multiple times in top-tier international academic journals, with the most-cited single paper exceeding 10,000 citations.

Furthermore, Qiuzhen Medical has actively participated in the formulation of industry standards and guidelines related to tumor gene testing in China. For instance, it contributed to the development of the “Chinese Expert Consensus on High-Throughput Sequencing for Molecular Detection of Colorectal Cancer,” took part in China’s largest TMB standardization project, and engaged in multiple clinical research initiatives.

Dr. Zhou Qiming stated:With the continuous emergence of new biomarkers, novel genetic loci, newly identified pathogenic mechanisms, and targeted therapies, the market penetration of genetic testing will further increase. Pharmaceutical companies will also leverage multi-omics data to facilitate precision medicine for patients.

As the lead investor in this round of financing, the Yijing Capital team stated:The genomics industry serves as the foundation and strategic high ground of biomedicine. Qiuzhen Medical boasts an internationally top-tier team from specialized sectors, with core members possessing over a decade of industry experience. Yijing Capital is not only optimistic about Qiuzhen Medical’s robust technical reserves and innovative capabilities but also highly values its forward-looking strategic layout and global vision. Moving forward, Yijing Capital will leverage its own advantages and resources to provide continuous support to Qiuzhen Medical, thereby facilitating the development of the precision oncology healthcare industry.

Yi Yuyang, Chairman of Gaoxin Kangyang, stated:As the application of genetic testing in clinical practice and scientific research continues to deepen, and omics data accumulates on a massive scale, leveraging information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to empower precision oncology diagnosis and treatment has become increasingly important. By deeply integrating genetic testing with AI, Qiuzhen Medical has established an international, platform-based shared ecosystem, building significant technical barriers in genomic information analysis. As an investor in this round, we are honored to participate in and support the development of Qiuzhen Medical, working together to advance the field of precision oncology.

Liu Xiang, Founder and CEO of Jingming Capital, stated:Tumor genetic testing has become a critical component in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Qiuzhen Medical not only boasts strong capabilities in tumor detection services and bioinformatics analysis, but also undertakes multiple national scientific research projects and participates in the development of various platforms as well as the formulation of industry standards and specifications. In the era of precision oncology, it is believed that Qiuzhen Medical, leveraging its high-quality products and services, national projects, and big data platforms, will continue to innovate and forge ahead on the path of precise cancer diagnosis and treatment, ultimately becoming an influential leading enterprise in the industry.

Dr. Zhou Qiming stated:Qiuzhen Medical has long attracted extensive attention from the capital market and earned high recognition from investors. The successful completion of this round of financing affirms the investors’ confidence in the achievements made by Qiuzhen Medical’s team through years of dedicated effort, and will inject strong momentum into the company’s future development. Qiuzhen Medical expresses its gratitude to the many renowned investment institutions in the industry for their trust and support. Upholding its corporate mission of “Pursuing Technological Innovation and Striving for Excellence in Medicine,” the company will continue to leverage gene technology, genomic big data, and artificial intelligence to empower “precision medicine,” thereby contributing to the steady advancement of precision oncology.

Qiuzhen Medical is a national high-tech enterprise dedicated to the field of precision oncology. Built upon next-generation sequencing (NGS) and advanced data mining technologies, and leveraging initiatives such as the "China Cancer Gene Atlas Project" and the "Precision Oncology Big Data Platform," the company deeply integrates genetic testing with artificial intelligence. It is committed to the development and intelligent iterative upgrading of diagnostic products in the field of liquid biopsy for cancer, with business operations spanning multiple application scenarios including early cancer screening, companion diagnostics, dynamic monitoring, and prognostic assessment. Meanwhile, Qiuzhen Medical continuously explores and identifies baseline and specific biomarkers of tumors in the Chinese population, thereby facilitating the research and development of anti-tumor drugs. The company has successfully obtained certification from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and achieved perfect scores in nearly 100 external quality assessment programs organized by authoritative domestic and international institutions, including the National Center for Clinical Laboratories (NCCL), the European Molecular Genetics Quality Network (EMQN), and CAP. Its medical laboratory quality management standards have reached the highest level of international recognition.

Yijing Capital, established in 2015 and headquartered in Shanghai, engages in primary market equity investments and fund-of-funds investments using its own capital and private funds. Adhering to the philosophy of “helping enterprises innovate and grow, promoting industrial optimization and upgrading, and driving social development and progress,” Yijing Capital focuses on professional investments in healthcare, hard-core technology, TMT, and mass consumer sectors. To date, its assets under management have reached RMB 5 billion. Many of its portfolio companies have grown into influential leaders in their respective niches, including Handu Medical, Dayi Group, OPM Biotech, Zhidao Biology, Weier’nuo Pediatrics, and MedSci.

Hunan Gaoxin Venture Capital Health and Elderly Care Fund Management Co., Ltd. is a controlling subsidiary of Hunan Gaoxin Venture Capital Group Co., Ltd. Established in 2015 with the approval of the Hunan Provincial People’s Government, in accordance with the central government’s directives on piloting market-oriented reforms in elderly care, the company is a professional equity investment institution registered with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC). It is tasked with operating and managing guidance funds jointly capitalized by central and provincial fiscal authorities. Currently, the total assets under management exceed RMB 2 billion. The company focuses strategically on core value segments of the health and elderly care industry, including medical-nursing integrated services centered on rehabilitation and nursing, biopharmaceuticals focused on innovative oncology drugs, and high-performance medical devices specializing in advanced therapeutic equipment.

Jingming Capital is committed to driving China’s economic growth, with the mission of leading the future of human health and advancing technological progress in daily life. The firm focuses on investments in healthcare and technological innovation. Headquartered in Qingdao and Beijing, it also maintains offices in Jinan and Hainan. In recent years, Jingming Capital has successfully invested in dozens of companies, including listed firms and those awaiting public listing, such as Zhiben Medical, Hope Group, Baiyang Pharmaceutical, Zhonghui Biologics, KangLe WeiShi (CanSinoBIO), Puti Diagnostics, Changshouhua Corn Oil, Guolin Technology, Shandong Tianyue Advanced Materials, Origin Quantum, Inspur Cloud, COSMOPlat, Gaoxiang General Aviation, Ximalaya, and Fan Deng Reading. To date, the total assets under management across its various funds exceed RMB 7.1 billion.