Coyote Bioscience Secures Nearly RMB 600 Million in Series D Funding, Leading the Rapid Molecular POCT Diagnostics Market

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Coyote officially completed its Series D financing round in December 2020, with a transaction size of nearly RMB 600 million.This round of financing was led by Hillhouse Ventures, with strategic investment from Jinhe Capital, and follow-on investments from Huiyuan Capital and FreeS Fund.To date, Coyote has received continuous support from multiple renowned venture capital firms, including SAIF Partners Asia, Northern Light Venture Capital, Legend Star, Longpan Capital, and Chang’an Capital, with total investments amounting to nearly RMB 600 million.

This round of financing will be used for the research and development, clinical studies, and market commercialization of innovative products related to POCT molecular diagnostics, continuously strengthening China’s leading advantage in the widespread global application of innovative nucleic acid testing technologies.

Li Xiang, Founder of Coyotestated: “Ensuring that everyone benefits from molecular diagnostics has been the unwavering belief of Coyote throughout its journey. In the future, we will continue to develop a more comprehensive portfolio of molecular diagnostic products, applying cutting-edge precision testing technologies to clinical practice through simplified, intelligent, and automated solutions. Through interdisciplinary original innovation, we will further popularize rapid and high-quality nucleic acid testing technologies in primary healthcare settings and across various scenarios under the normalized epidemic prevention context. This will accelerate the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment in primary hospitals, enabling more people to benefit from molecular diagnostic technologies.”

Yi Nuoqing, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Hillhouse Capital and Head of Biopharmaceuticals and Medical Devices at GL Ventures, stated, “As a global leader in POCT molecular diagnostics, Coyote’s proprietary platform technology is protected by patents worldwide. The company has developed China’s first approved rapid nucleic acid testing system capable of processing samples in one minute and delivering results within 30 minutes, playing a pivotal pioneering role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hillhouse will provide long-term support for the company’s independent innovation, facilitate the commercialization of new technologies, and help Coyote become a world-class next-generation genetic molecular diagnostics platform, thereby benefiting a broader population.”

Hao Bixi, Co-founder of Jinhe Capital, stated, “Jinhe Capital is highly optimistic about the growth potential of the rapid molecular diagnostics market. Coyote has accumulated substantial technical expertise in the field of rapid molecular diagnostics and possesses a complete ‘instrument + reagent’ system platform. By developing applications focused on multiple key clinical areas, it has emerged as a leading enterprise in this market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coyote team demonstrated strong execution capabilities, launching multiple new products in a short period and driving the company’s performance to new heights. Following this strategic investment, Jinhe Capital will integrate industrial resources to support Coyote in achieving greater development.”

Zhang Shanshan, President of Huiyuan Capital, stated, “Since partnering with Coyote in 2017, Huiyuan Capital has been pleased to witness Coyote consistently remaining at the forefront of development in the molecular diagnostics field. This additional round of investment further affirms our recognition of Coyote’s rapid growth and sustained R&D innovation capabilities in the area of rapid nucleic acid testing. Against the backdrop of national initiatives promoting precision medicine, and with the shift toward earlier disease prevention and the deepening of clinical diagnostic technologies, we remain firmly confident in the company’s future business prospects.”

• Li Feng, Founding Partner of FreeS Fund, stated: “Since its establishment in 2015, FreeS Fund has remained firmly bullish on the development of biomedical innovation in China. Coyote is one of our most outstanding portfolio companies. We recognized its strategy and competitiveness in the point-of-care testing (POCT) sector as early as the angel round for its clinical laboratory business. Its exceptional performance during this pandemic reflects Coyote’s long-term, solid accumulation of capabilities. Looking ahead, we remain confident in Coyote’s long-term development and firmly believe that it will shine brightly in China’s independently developed POCT field.”

Hillhouse Ventures is the venture capital fund under Hillhouse Capital that focuses on early-stage innovative companies. It primarily invests in four key sectors: biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, software and hard technology, consumer internet and technology, and emerging consumer brands and services. Biopharmaceuticals and medical devices have long been a core investment focus for Hillhouse. Over the past decade, Hillhouse has invested in more than 200 outstanding enterprises in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. We aim to partner with companies as “friends of time,” jointly driving innovation and development in the broader healthcare sector to benefit more patients.

Jinhe Capital is an investment firm focused on the healthcare sector, headquartered in Guangzhou. The core team of its fund manager possesses over 25 years of experience in the medical industry and successfully established KingMed Diagnostics, China’s largest third-party medical laboratory service provider. Jinhe Capital currently manages two healthcare industry funds with a combined scale of nearly RMB 2 billion. The firm continues to make strategic investments in areas such as in vitro diagnostics, building an industrial ecosystem dedicated to leveraging the synergy between industry expertise and capital to cultivate healthcare enterprises with international competitiveness.

Huiyuan Capital is an emerging investment firm focused on the healthcare and medical sector, founded by a professional team in partnership with state-owned capital. It has established in-depth collaborative relationships with numerous listed companies and industrial groups, committed to providing portfolio companies with robust industry resources. Huiyuan Capital, together with two listed companies, Xinhua Medical and Huajian Medical, jointly established an in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry fund, which participated in this round of financing to provide comprehensive support for Coyote’s further development.

Frees Fund was established in 2015, focusing on early-stage and growth-stage investments. Its investment sectors include consumer/TMT, hard technology, and biopharmaceuticals, with a focus on investment opportunities in lifestyle, education, culture and entertainment, finance, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and new drug R&D, new energy, and new materials.

As an outstanding innovator with over a decade of deep engagement in China’s POCT molecular diagnostics industry, Coyote possesses integrated R&D capabilities across instruments, reagents, system platforms, and AI-driven big data, with particular expertise in rapid nucleic acid detection technologies for pathogenic microorganisms. The vision of “making molecular diagnostics accessible to everyone” serves as the core driving force behind Coyote’s continuous innovation and dedicated implementation. The company has achieved breakthrough leading technologies in POCT molecular diagnostics, which have been widely applied in scenarios such as medical institutions, airport ports of entry, and overseas aid programs, playing a significant role in emergency responses to outbreaks including Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19.