HuiXian Medical Completes RMB 100 Million Pre-A Financing to Advance Microfluidic Rapid In Vitro Diagnostic Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that HuiXian Medicine completed a Pre-A financing round worth hundreds of millions of yuan in December 2020. The round was led by Baidu Ventures, with participation from Kunshan Science and Technology Innovation Fund, Suzhou New District Venture Capital, and Purple Cow Fund. The funds will be used for the R&D, registration, and marketing promotion of a series of innovative products on its microfluidic rapid in vitro diagnostic platform, aiming to build a globally leading rapid testing system.

HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD, established in late 2018, is a medical rapid diagnostic product research and manufacturing company with microfluidics as its core technology, providing a new generation of tumor liquid biopsy and infectious pathogen microbiology rapid detection products. HEMOSMART has established technical R&D centers in Shanghai and Cambridge, UK, respectively. The core R&D team consists of Fellows of the Royal Society, PhDs returned from the University of Cambridge, foreign PhDs, and others.

Microfluidic technology enables the miniaturization of laboratory-based assays onto a single chip, utilizing systems that process or manipulate minute fluid volumes (ranging from nanoliters to picoliters) through microchannels (with dimensions spanning tens to hundreds of micrometers). A key characteristic of microfluidics is the unique fluid behavior exhibited at the microscale, such as laminar flow and droplet formation. Leveraging these distinct fluidic phenomena, microfluidics facilitates microfabrication and micromanipulation tasks that are challenging to achieve with conventional methods. Currently, microfluidics is recognized for its significant development potential and broad application prospects in biomedical research.

Microfluidics is widely applied in the field of in vitro diagnostics, predominantly for immunoassays. HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD has innovatively extended the application of microfluidic technology to multiple areas, including early cancer screening, medication guidance, and rapid infectious disease detection., and has successively launched more than 30 products across two product lines, including the fully automated integrated PCR multiplex testing system, the fully automated integrated LAMP rapid testing system, respiratory nucleic acid multiplex testing kits, sexually transmitted disease nucleic acid multiplex testing kits, COVID-19 nucleic acid rapid testing kits, common pathogen point-of-care rapid testing systems, rare cell rapid enrichment systems, and circulating tumor cell rapid detection systems.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD responded rapidly and completed the development of multiple SARS-CoV-2 testing products, including nucleic acid test kits and a fully automated, integrated, closed microfluidic nucleic acid detection system. In early February 2020, it became one of the first manufacturers in Jiangsu Province to launch COVID-19 test kits. The related products have obtained relevant qualifications and certifications in China and the European Union and have been exported overseas. HEMOSMART’s COVID-19 diagnostic products have also engaged in international cooperation with enterprises and academic institutions in the United Kingdom and Norway, supporting global efforts to control the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the responsiveness and technical capabilities of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies, while also accelerating the development of the IVD industry. The escalation of public health prevention and control measures will create long-term, sustained opportunities.

In the first half of 2020, the State Council issued two consecutive announcements requiring tertiary hospitals, secondary hospitals, and centers for disease control and prevention to have nucleic acid testing capabilities.

In response to this rapidly growing demand, Yan Jing, founder of HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD, stated: “HEMOSMART’s products will provide tertiary and secondary medical institutions with the simplest and most sensitive systems, thereby avoiding cross-contamination and improving efficiency. In the fourth quarter of 2020, HEMOSMART launched a fully automated, integrated, closed-loop microfluidic nucleic acid testing system. This system achieved, for the first time, combined detection of more than 50 targets, integrated closed reagent kits, and fully automated integrated testing. It offers the advantages of eliminating cross-contamination between samples, one-touch operation from sample input to result output, and high sensitivity.”

In the future, HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD will continue to launch a series of specialized microfluidic rapid in vitro diagnostic test kits and supporting instruments, establishing itself as a leading brand in rapid specialized testing systems. It is reported that HEMOSMART has reached a strategic cooperation intention with BioMap, and will introduce artificial intelligence in the future to achieve rapid detection and early warning.

An investor from Baidu Ventures stated, “The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge to all of humanity, but it has also brought unprecedented development opportunities to the molecular diagnostics industry. With the comprehensive establishment of molecular laboratories, increased clinical awareness of molecular testing, and expanded insurance coverage, China’s molecular diagnostics market is highly likely to achieve sustained multiplicative growth in the coming years. In the post-pandemic era, national regulations on the management of infectious samples (requiring samples to remain within hospital premises) have raised higher demands for in-house molecular testing capabilities at secondary hospitals and below. HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD has leveraged its patented microfluidic technology to develop an automated all-in-one PCR system and accompanying multiplex testing chips. This solution enables high-throughput, rapid, and highly automated in-hospital testing, while overcoming production process bottlenecks common among traditional microfluidic companies, resulting in low production costs and stable manufacturing processes. Baidu Ventures is very optimistic about the company’s development prospects and looks forward to partnering with HEMOSMART to contribute to the cause of human health.”

Dr. Miao Lü, Managing Partner at Su Gaoxin Venture Capital’s Rongsheng Fund, stated: “As an angel investor in HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD (HuiXian Medical), we have continued to increase our investment in this round. We are delighted to witness the continuous growth of the HuiXian team and the ongoing expansion and iteration of its product portfolio. As a company leveraging 3D microfluidic technology as its platform and focusing on providing rapid in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products, HuiXian Medical demonstrates exceptional product strength, execution capability, and commercialization proficiency. We look forward to HuiXian Medical delivering more innovative solutions to the diagnostics field through its fully proprietary microfluidic IVD products in the near future.”

Li Zhu, Founding Partner of Inno Angel Fund, stated, “Hemosmart Medical has developed a comprehensive suite of automated instruments and corresponding reagent kits for fully automated tumor detection and rapid infection testing. Its products boast high levels of automation, precise test results, and strong cost-effectiveness, with technological capabilities leading the industry. These products have already been deployed in numerous top-tier tertiary hospitals across China. Inno Angel Fund is optimistic that the IVD early screening sector will enter a period of explosive growth against the backdrop of national healthcare cost containment efforts. Under the leadership of Dr. Yan Jing, Founder of Hemosmart, we believe Hemosmart will continue to develop superior clinical testing products and services to benefit patients and empower healthcare professionals.”

Yu Bo, Head of Healthcare at Ziniu Fund, stated, “We believe that within the broader framework of precision medicine, there will be higher demands on the dimensional breadth and informational granularity of clinical diagnostic data. Data acquisition tools based on fine-grained cellular and molecular-level sensing will more effectively guide precise treatment and prevention of clinical diseases. Leveraging the advantages of its microfluidics technology platform, HEMOSMART MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD provides ‘fully automated, integrated, and precise’ point-of-care diagnostic products for the diagnosis, early screening, and early detection of tumors and infectious diseases. As the company’s lead investor in its first funding round, we are highly optimistic about the platform scalability of microfluidics technology and strongly recognize Dr. Yan Jing and her team’s exceptional execution and product R&D capabilities. Ziniu Fund will continue to support the company’s future development.”