Shanghai Sage Medical Completes RMB 100 Million Series A Funding Led by Qiming Venture Partners

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Shanghai Saints Sages Surgical Co., Ltd. (“Saints Sages Surgical”), a company dedicated to the development of minimally invasive surgical products with high technical barriers and high added value, has completed its RMB 100 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with participation from Taifu Capital and several existing shareholders.

It is understood that Saints Sages Surgical plans to use the funds from this round of financing to accelerate the development and market deployment of its energy-based surgical products.

Saints Sages Surgical was founded in 2017. Its core team comprises overseas-returnee PhDs, senior executives from renowned multinational corporations, veteran engineers from well-known multinationals, and elite professionals from China’s medical industry. It is one of the few domestic teams in the medical device sector that has successfully developed products launched globally while working at multinational enterprises. Currently, Saints Sages Surgical has established an R&D pipeline for energy-based surgical devices, including the SanAgile Ultrasonic Scalpel Hemostasis System, the SanPulse Radiofrequency Ultra-High Frequency Integrated Surgical System, and the SapPare Endoscopic Electric Stapler. Among these, the first-generation SanAgile Ultrasonic Scalpel Hemostasis System, which has made the most rapid R&D progress, has been submitted for regulatory registration, while the second-generation SanAgile system has completed type testing and animal trials.

Previously, Saints Sages Surgical completed its tens-of-millions-yuan angel round in August 2018 and December 2019, invested by Volcanic Stone Capital and Honghui Capital, as well as its Pre-A round, invested by Northern Light Venture Capital and Longpan Capital. Commenting on the completion of this Series A financing, Dr. Hu Zhe, founder of Saints Sages Surgical, expressed his sincere gratitude to Qiming Venture Partners, the lead investor, and Taifu Capital, the co-investor, for their trust in the team, and also extended his appreciation to existing shareholders for their continued support.

Dr. Hu Zhe is highly optimistic about the market potential of domestic energy-based surgical devices in China. On one hand, China’s vast market offers immense scale, and with economic development, there has been a significant improvement in payment capacity and health insurance coverage. On the other hand, compared to foreign brands, domestic companies are closer to the Chinese healthcare market, possessing a deeper understanding of clinical needs and application scenarios. This enables them to maintain a competitive advantage in overall costs while flexibly adapting to the differentiated demands of various market segments. Dr. Hu Zhe told VCBeat that Saints Sages Surgical will sustain its innovation capabilities and pace, committing itself to the development of a wider range of minimally invasive energy-based devices with independent intellectual property rights.

Energy surgery refers to a branch of surgery in which surgeons utilize various energy-based devices to cut, dissect, achieve hemostasis, and perform other functions on tissues during surgical procedures. By combining mechanical properties, energy-based instruments have significantly improved surgical efficiency, safety, and reliability in modern minimally invasive surgeries, while also reducing postoperative complications and the learning curve associated with these procedures. Minimally invasive energy-based instruments are hailed as a milestone in the history of surgery due to their advantages of minimal trauma, reduced pain, and rapid recovery, becoming one of the three mainstream trends in medical development in the 21st century.

As surgical specialties become increasingly specialized, the range of energy-based surgical devices suitable for various surgical disciplines is expanding. To address the diverse needs of surgeons across different procedures, specially designed energy-based surgical devices are available for nearly every scenario. Currently, energy modalities such as radiofrequency, ultrasound, plasma, and laser are being widely adopted in minimally invasive surgeries. In recent years, driven by policy support and accelerated capital investment, cost-effective domestically produced medical devices have been increasingly utilized in a broader array of clinical settings, leading to the emergence of Chinese brands with robust core technologies and high-quality products.

In this context, basic research is often overlooked for interdisciplinary energy-based surgical products. At present, the factor constraining the development efficiency of many innovative medical devices is more often the iterative R&D processes caused by inadequate preliminary preparation, rather than shortcomings in core technologies. Dr. Hu Zhe attaches great importance to the innovative product design phase of minimally invasive energy-based devices, believing that good products are “designed.”

Dr. Hu Zhe introduced that during the product development process, Saints Sages Surgical conducts rigorous research adhering to standards far exceeding industry or national requirements, pushing performance boundaries to build international competitiveness for its products. Specifically, Saints Sages’ R&D team integrates innovative elements at the product definition stage, tailored to the unique clinical needs of the Chinese market, thereby achieving disruptive “product differentiation.”

Before the commencement of clinical trials for new products, R&D personnel at Saints Sages Surgical incorporate feedback from key opinion leaders (KOLs) to complete all product iterations prior to clinical testing. They also conduct extensive wet-lab validations based on literature references to ensure product reliability and stability. “This process is arduous, but only by shifting validation efforts significantly upstream can product quality be guaranteed,” stated Dr. Hu Zhe.

Zhang Ao, Executive Director at Qiming Venture Partners, stated, “Minimally invasive energy-based surgical devices fall within the field of energy surgery and offer substantial market potential in China. Saints Sages Surgical boasts a highly dynamic and innovative team specializing in minimally invasive energy-based devices. Its technological expertise in active surgical devices and sustained innovation capability have positioned it as a leading enterprise in China. We are optimistic about Saints Sages Surgical’s strategic layout, as its product pipeline, market strategy, and commercialization capabilities are all highly competitive. Qiming Venture Partners is delighted to collaborate with this outstanding team and support the company’s healthy growth.”

H.J. Jiang, Founding and Managing Partner of Taifu Capital, stated that energy-based surgical devices represent a critical segment within the medical device industry. Saints Sages Surgical’s multi-pipeline portfolio of energy-based surgical products holds significant advantages over competing products, primarily reflected in their superior performance and product differentiation. We look forward to Saints Sages Surgical leveraging its sustainable R&D strengths to build a renowned surgical brand both domestically and internationally, thereby achieving a breakthrough for Chinese-made devices in the surgical field.

Qiming Venture Partners was established in 2006 and has successively set up offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seattle, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages nine U.S. dollar funds and six RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $5.9 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early-stage and growth-stage companies in industries such as TMT and Healthcare. To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in more than 380 high-growth innovative enterprises, among which over 130 have achieved exits through listings on exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), as well as through mergers and acquisitions. More than 40 of these portfolio companies have become industry-recognized unicorns and super unicorns.

Taifu Capital focuses on venture capital in the life sciences sector, primarily investing in high-potential early-stage and growth-stage companies. Through diversified and strategic positioning, and by selecting high-quality partners, Taifu Capital 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 a commitment to achieving rapid growth alongside its portfolio companies.