Dingdang Quick Medicine Secures RMB 1 Billion in Series B+ Funding to Expand Its Comprehensive Health Ecosystem

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on October 20, Dingdang Medicine, a leading Chinese internet healthcare company, announced the completion of its RMB 1 billion Series B+ financing round. The round was jointly invested by new investors Taikang, Haier Healthcare, and Longmen Investment, alongside existing shareholders including CMB International’s CMB Telecom Fund, Sinopharm Capital, SoftBank China, and others. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

Figure: Dingdang Medicine 24/7 Service

Dingdang Medicine has been committed to serving the health of the public. It has currently completed its new pharmaceutical retail layout in more than 10 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, serving tens of millions of users. Yang Wenlong, founder and chairman of Dingdang Medicine, stated, “This round of financing will be primarily used to accelerate the city-by-city rollout of the company’s strategic ‘Thousand Cities, Ten Thousand Stores’ project. By the end of 2020, we plan to expand into 10 additional cities, with full coverage of core first-, second-, and third-tier cities across China expected by 2021. Centered on overall health, Dingdang Medicine will continue to enhance its service offerings and quality. Building upon our established ‘Fast Doctor’ and ‘Fast Medicine’ services, we will leverage personal health big data and advanced technologies such as AI to introduce innovative services including ‘Fast Testing,’ ‘Fast Insurance,’ and chronic disease management. In collaboration with shareholders such as Taikang and other insurance companies, we aim to construct an integrated ‘Medical Care + Pharmaceuticals + Testing + Insurance’ health ecosystem to better serve hundreds of millions of people in China.”

Figure: Dingdang Smart Pharmacy

Driven by the implementation of policies such as prescription outflow and the “4+7” centralized drug procurement program, coupled with a year-on-year increase in the number of patients with chronic diseases, the chronic disease market presents substantial growth potential. In response, Dingdang Medicine has elevated “chronic disease medication and management services” to a strategic priority for the first time. By leveraging centralized procurement, Direct-to-Patient (DTP) models, and platform subsidies, Dingdang Medicine aligns chronic disease drug prices with those of the “4+7” centralized procurement, passing on benefits to end-users with chronic conditions and thereby capturing market share. In terms of pharmaceutical enterprise collaborations, Dingdang Medicine leverages the advantages of its “FSC Pharmaceutical Alliance” to fully integrate upstream and downstream resources, including manufacturers, products, and distribution channels. Through technology empowerment and innovative services, it has become the preferred platform for the launch of new specialty drugs.

Figure: Free Online Consultations with Professional Doctors at Dingdang Medicine

Xu Jun, Managing Director and Head of the Strategic Equity Investment Department at Taikang Asset Management, one of the lead investors in this round, stated: “By deeply understanding user needs and responding promptly to health-related demands, Dingdang Medicine provides products and services that meet immediate consumer needs, thereby establishing a strong reputation and brand influence in the market. Leveraging its supply chain advantages and efficient offline retail management, Dingdang Medicine has achieved rapid scale expansion and cross-regional replication through a new pharmaceutical retail model. Through this collaboration with Dingdang, Taikang aims to build a closed-loop industrial ecosystem integrating ‘healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and insurance,’ delivering efficient and professional health management services to consumers via an online-to-offline (O2O) model.”

Figure: Dingdang Kuaiyao Autonomous Vehicle

Wang Hanlun, Partner at Longmen Investment, and Shen Hao, Executive Director, stated: “As an internet-based general health enterprise headquartered in Haidian District, Beijing, Dingdang Medicine has always been a company we closely monitor. We are delighted to have completed this investment in Dingdang and highly recognize Chairman Yang Wenlong’s original aspiration and pragmatic spirit as a successful entrepreneur embarking on a second venture. Particularly during the pandemic, Dingdang Medicine’s thoughtful and rapid health services helped more people become accustomed to online healthcare and online medication purchases, thereby driving the company’s sustained strong performance. We remain firmly optimistic about Dingdang Medicine’s future development prospects and hope that the company will continue to create long-term value for its customers, employees, shareholders, and society.”

“As an industrial investment and operation platform focused on the healthcare sector, we place significant value on a company’s accumulated expertise and capabilities in pharmaceutical supply chains and the development of offline new retail infrastructure,” said Ni Xiaowei, CEO of Haier Healthcare. “Dingdang Medicine’s self-operated smart pharmacies have rapidly expanded into major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Wuhan. Through its ‘Thousand Cities, Ten Thousand Stores’ model, the company has swiftly penetrated second- and third-tier cities, leveraging internet-based geo-fencing technology to achieve citywide coverage and establish a nationwide new retail pharmaceutical network. These achievements reflect Dingdang Medicine’s long-term dedication to the pharmaceutical new retail sector. We remain optimistic about its future development and will continue to foster synergy between Haier Healthcare’s medical ecosystem and Dingdang Medicine’s health network.”

Lian Suping, a member of the Management Committee of CMB International Capital Limited, stated, “CMB Telecom Fund, managed by CMB International, led the investment in Dingdang Medicine during the previous round and again oversubscribed in this round, demonstrating our confidence in and recognition of Dingdang Medicine’s management team and corporate development. Dingdang Medicine is transitioning from a pure quick-delivery pharmaceutical service to a comprehensive big-health ecosystem service, actively leveraging capital to accelerate this process. CMB International is highly optimistic about Dingdang Medicine’s future prospects and will continue to provide all-around support, including funding and other resources.”

As an investor in Dingdang Medicine’s Series A round, SoftBank China has continued to increase its investment in this round. Jiang Min, Partner at SoftBank China Capital, stated: “The most critical aspect of the ‘new retail’ model in the pharmaceutical industry is enhancing industrial efficiency and service quality. We are particularly pleased to see that Dingdang Medicine has maintained rapid and healthy growth, establishing a strong industry brand and favorable reputation in online pharmaceuticals and medical services. SoftBank China will continue to support Dingdang Medicine by providing capital and industry resources as we move forward together.”

Sinopharm Zhongjin, as a strategic investor in Dingdang Medicine, has continued to bolster its support in this round of financing. Li Ke, General Manager of Sinopharm Zhongjin, stated, “As a private equity fund management company focused on healthcare investment, established through the collaboration between Sinopharm Holding, a leading enterprise in China’s pharmaceutical industry, and CICC, one of China’s premier financial institutions, Sinopharm Zhongjin will leverage its shareholders’ resources to continue providing capital support and resource integration for Dingdang Medicine’s development. Dingdang Medicine can deliver more professional, efficient, safe, and convenient pharmaceutical and medical service experiences to a broad user base. It holds significant potential for multifaceted cooperation with Sinopharm’s sales network and boasts promising prospects in the realm of internet-based pharmaceuticals and healthcare.”

Wan Xin, Vice President of China Renaissance and head of private equity financing for the Dingdang Medicine project, stated, “Under the leadership of Chairman Yang Wenlong, Dingdang Medicine is becoming one of the leaders in China’s internet healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and health management sectors. Leveraging its profound advantages accumulated in the supply chain domain, the company has rapidly established a nationwide ecosystem network for pharmaceuticals and general health through self-operated models in first- and second-tier cities and its ‘Thousands of Cities, Tens of Thousands of Stores’ expansion strategy. While capitalizing on the major trend of outpatient prescription outflow, it enhances the efficiency and health management capabilities of traditional pharmacies, ultimately serving public health in a more efficient and professional manner. We are honored to have been Dingdang Medicine’s partner in the capital markets and will continue to provide diverse capital market services to support its development.”

Taikang Insurance Group is a financial and insurance services group focused on the grand health industry. Deeply engaged in the life insurance industry chain, it relies on a four-in-one business model comprising “vibrant elderly care, premium healthcare, superior wealth management, and end-of-life care” to create three closed loops of longevity, health, and prosperity. By following the implementation path of “expanding payment capabilities, deploying services, driving growth through technology, and building an ecosystem,” Taikang constructs an ecosystem for the grand health industry. Taikang Insurance Group owns subsidiaries such as Taikang Life Insurance and Taikang Asset Management. This transaction was commissioned by Taikang Life Insurance and executed by Taikang Asset Management.

Haier Medical, established in 2016, is a co-creation platform for a comprehensive health ecosystem centered on the core philosophy of “unity of doctors and patients.” As a key vehicle for Yingkang Yisheng, an ecosystem brand incubated by Haier Group in the big health sector, Haier Medical has internalized the “RenDanHeYi” model into the “unity of doctors and patients,” continuously enhancing user experience by focusing on patient needs. It has currently deployed 16 hospitals across China, providing a service capacity of over 8,000 beds, serving more than one million users annually, and establishing four major care scenarios: critical care rehabilitation, comprehensive oncology treatment, elderly care, and home health management.

Longmen Investment is a market-oriented investment management institution jointly initiated by renowned entrepreneurs, venture founders, seasoned investors, and capital market experts. Zhongguancun Longmen Fund is the first fund managed by Longmen Investment, with major contributors including the National Social Security Fund, the Beijing Municipal Government, and the Haidian District Government. Driven by the dual engines of investment and empowerment, Longmen Fund deeply integrates comprehensive service capabilities across pre-investment, during-investment, and post-investment stages, striving to become the preferred, most trustworthy, and long-term collaborative platform for leading enterprises in the industry.