Juno Medical Secures Hundreds of Millions in Series C Funding to Accelerate Full-CGMS Industrial Chain Expansion

VCBeat has learned at the earliest opportunity,Continuous Glucose Monitoring ((CG) industry leader Infinovo Medical announced that it has recently completed a Series C financing round amounting to hundreds of millions of yuan, led by GL Ventures and TF Capital, with participation from YF Capital、Loyal Valley Capital、Zhongyuan Qianhai Fund、HM Capital、Ming Bioventures、Life Capital Co-investment，Life Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing. The proceeds will be primarily used to further advance the company’s product R&D, market promotion, and expansion of production capacity.

Jiunuo Medical, established in 2016, is a global innovative enterprise dedicated to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) product technologies. Its production base is located in Nantong, Jiangsu, with R&D centers in Suzhou and London, and an overseas sales center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

(Cheng Rongen, Founder of Infinovo Medical)

Infinovo Medical stated, “Over the past five years since its establishment, Infinovo Medical has achieved rapid, leapfrog growth. By focusing on breakthrough research in semi-permeable membrane materials, dehydrogenase technology, blood glucose prediction algorithms, data mining and interaction, soft cannula delivery systems, wireless transmission systems, and ecosystem development, the company has ensured that all parameters of its CGM products reach industry-leading levels. As of 2020, the company’s products had entered sales channels in 15 overseas countries and were poised to launch in the domestic Chinese market.”

Cheng Rongen, founder of Infinovo Medical, revealed: “The company is currently accelerating the construction of its global production base. It is expected to complete the world’s first fully automated production line based on dehydrogenase technology and printing processes in 2023, with a designed annual capacity of 12 million units. At that time, Infinovo Medical is poised to become the world’s first company to achieve commercial mass production of CGM devices based on dehydrogenase technology.”

According to the 9th edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas (2019), there are approximately 463 million people with diabetes worldwide. China has the largest number of diabetes patients globally, reaching 116 million. It is projected that the number of people with diabetes will reach 642 million by 2040. Currently, one in every eleven adults has diabetes, and one person dies from diabetes and its complications every eight seconds. It can be said that diabetes has become one of humanity’s greatest enemies today.

The large patient population and severe complications have drawn increasing attention from physicians and patients alike, while the rising number of patients and heightened health awareness have driven continuous growth in the diabetes market size. For instance, the global market size of the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) industry quintupled from 2016 to 2020, exceeding $5 billion in total sales, making it a remarkable blue-ocean sector.

In the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, blood glucose monitoring is one of the most critical components. For a long time, the primary method for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in diabetic patients has been the use of capillary blood glucose meters, which require finger pricks to obtain blood samples for testing with test strips. This approach causes pain with each measurement, thereby reducing patient compliance, and also carries a risk of infection.

Compared with traditional blood glucose meters, CGM technology has achieved a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of blood glucose monitoring. Without the need for blood sampling, CGM automatically captures continuous dynamic blood glucose profiles for up to 14 days, addressing key pain points in traditional diabetes management, such as the need for finger-prick blood tests, incomplete monitoring of blood glucose dynamics, and the inconvenience of carrying bulky devices.

Additionally, CGM can help patients gain a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between their behaviors, medications, and blood glucose levels. By providing alerts for hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and enabling the development of precise management plans, CGM facilitates effective disease control, delays the onset of complications, significantly reduces medical costs, and ultimately improves patients’ quality of life.

As previously mentioned, China has the largest number of diabetes patients worldwide. However, similar to other segments of the high-end medical device industry, the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market in China is predominantly dominated by overseas brands such as Abbott and Medtronic, while domestic brands remain in their early stages of development.

Fortunately, Infinovo Medical, a leading domestic CGM enterprise, has achieved significant breakthroughs in CGM technology. Cheng Rongen stated, “Infinovo Medical has experienced rapid, leapfrog development, achieving breakthroughs in semi-permeable membrane materials, dehydrogenase technology, blood glucose prediction algorithms, data mining and interaction, soft cannula delivery systems, wireless transmission systems, and ecosystem integration. The various parameters of the company’s CGM products have also reached industry-leading levels.”

Cheng Rongen told VCBeat: “Infinovo Medical’s second-generation CGM product has obtained EU CE certification and is about to commence clinical trials in China. Compared with the first-generation product, Infinovo Medical’s second-generation CGM is thinner, more compact, and enables calibration-free blood glucose monitoring.”

Meanwhile, Infinovo Medical is developing its third-generation CGM product, which will incorporate the company’s newly developed next-generation dehydrogenase technology and corresponding blood glucose prediction algorithms. Notably, Infinovo Medical is the first company globally to commercialize dehydrogenase technology, a breakthrough that will significantly reduce production costs.

In terms of application, Infinovo Medical plans to build an industrial ecosystem by collaborating with diabetes industry stakeholders—including insulin pump manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, chronic disease management enterprises, and insurance institutions—to jointly promote the application of CGM technology in more fields. This will gradually expand the use of CGM technology from current medical scenarios, such as hospital-wide blood glucose monitoring and management, remote diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases, and diabetes education management, into daily home life settings.

Cheng Rongen concluded, “In the future, Infinovo Medical will leverage its Suzhou R&D center to build a global research and development system, establishing a CGM ecosystem algorithm research center in London, a sensor semi-permeable membrane materials laboratory in California, and a physiological parameter weak signal processing research center in Beijing. Through continuous independent R&D and innovation, Infinovo Medical will work with partners to promote the application of CGM product technologies across more fields, empowering the entire industry chain related to diabetes management and care.”

GL Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hillhouse dedicated to early-stage innovative companies, focuses on key sectors including software and hard technology, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, consumer internet and technology, and emerging consumer brands. Biopharmaceuticals and medical devices have long been core investment priorities for Hillhouse. Over the past decade, Hillhouse has invested in more than 200 leading enterprises in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. We are committed to partnering with companies as “friends of time,” jointly driving innovation and development in the broader healthcare sector to benefit more patients.

Taifu Capital was established in November 2013, focusing on the fields of new drug development and novel medical technology research. It primarily invests in promising early-stage and growth-stage enterprises. Taifu Capital concentrates on venture capital in the life sciences sector, targeting high-potential companies in their early and growth stages. Through diversified and strategic investments and by selecting high-quality partners, it aims to seize opportunities amidst the rapid development of China’s life sciences industry. The investment team brings years of experience and extensive industry resources in these fields, with the goal of achieving rapid growth alongside its portfolio companies.

Loyal Valley Capital, established in 2015, has consistently adhered to the investment philosophy of “long-term orientation, focus, and altruism.” It is committed to building China’s premier investment research and post-investment management teams, with coverage spanning three major sectors: new consumer goods, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing. By conducting in-depth industry research and providing proactive post-investment value-added services, Loyal Valley Capital partners with outstanding entrepreneurs to co-create great enterprises that represent the future growth direction of China’s economy and generate social value. Since its inception in 2015, Loyal Valley Capital has invested in over 70 leading companies that exemplify the future trajectory of China’s economic development, including Bilibili, ByteDance, POP MART, Perfect Diary, NetEase Cloud Music, Didi Chuxing, Jiangxiaobai, Junshi Biosciences, InnoCare Pharma, Akeso, CARsgen Therapeutics, Genetron Health, JW Therapeutics, Henlius, Supcon Technology, Bayi Space, Avary Holding, O-Net Technologies, and Unisoc.

HM Capital is a vertical fund within the Hillhouse Ventures ecosystem, specializing in healthcare and medical investments. Leveraging the ecosystem advantages of Asia’s private equity giants and top-tier international medical institutions, HM Capital invests in the healthcare ecosystem through multi-dimensional and holistic approaches. It is committed to building a professional investment platform with global vision and local execution capabilities, helping early-stage and growth-stage healthcare companies achieve rapid growth.

Zhongyuan Qianhai Fund was established in 2019 with a scale of RMB 5 billion. The fund adopts a unique “fund-of-funds + direct investment” business model, with investment directions covering information technology, intelligent manufacturing, internet, consumer goods/modern services, biotechnology/healthcare, new materials, new energy/energy conservation and environmental protection, and other fields. The fund has cumulatively invested in over 60 direct investment projects and 7 funds.

YF Capital, established in 2010, is a private equity fund co-founded by a group of successful Chinese entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Since its inception, YF Capital has invested with an “entrepreneurial spirit,” focusing deeply on three major sectors: Internet Plus New Consumption, Technology and Enterprise Services, and Healthcare. It has accompanied and participated in the growth of a number of China’s new economy enterprises. In recent years, through investments across the upstream and downstream of the healthcare industry, YF Capital has not only established a series of deep collaborations with leading domestic and international healthcare companies but also achieved full-industry-chain layout in multiple niche markets, including biopharmaceuticals, CXO, medical devices, and healthcare services.

Ming Bioventures is a venture capital firm focused on early- to mid-stage investments in the life sciences sector, including innovative drugs, medical devices, novel diagnostics, and gene therapy. It primarily invests in early- to mid-stage innovative projects characterized by high technical barriers, experienced teams, and unmet clinical needs. Since its establishment in October 2018, Ming Bioventures has successfully invested in more than thirty outstanding startups in the industry. With strong capabilities in industrial resource integration, a professional and efficient investment team, extensive experience and background in biopharmaceutical investment, and a profound understanding of both domestic and international markets, the firm empowers its portfolio companies to achieve rapid growth.

Life Capital is a leading financial services institution in China, specializing in the broader healthcare sector. Its business portfolio encompasses investment banking and venture capital, with a commitment to cultivating future industry leaders in healthcare. The team comprises professionals from renowned investment banks, academic institutions, and medical enterprises, bringing decades of accumulated expertise in healthcare and investment financing. Over the past three years, the team has completed dozens of financing and M&A transactions in the healthcare industry, with a cumulative value exceeding RMB 10 billion. These transactions span various sub-sectors, including new drug R&D, medical devices, diagnostics, medical services, smart healthcare, and health insurance. In 2020, Life Capital was ranked among the Top 3 financial advisory firms in China’s healthcare sector in the evaluation conducted by Qiming Technology, a prominent financial big data provider.