Evovive Health Files for IPO: Delivering Medical-Grade Smart Wearables for Out-of-Hospital Cardiovascular Monitoring

Recently, the "Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China 2019" was officially released. As the chronic disease with the highest incidence and mortality rates in China, cardiovascular disease has once again drawn public attention and sparked discussion. According to the report, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in China continues to rise, with the current number of affected individuals reaching 330 million. Deaths from cardiovascular disease account for more than 40% of all disease-related deaths among Chinese residents, posing a significant threat to life and health.

The rising number of patients has driven continuous expansion of the market size. According to research data from China Business Industry Research Institute, the market size of cardiovascular health-related pharmaceuticals in China grew from RMB 158.8 billion in 2015 to RMB 212.2 billion in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%. It is projected to further increase from RMB 217.5 billion in 2020 to RMB 247.7 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 3.3%.

Faced with a vast market worth hundreds of billions, numerous companies and teams have entered the field. Examples include Zhongjia Hengtai, which shifts cardiovascular health management upstream by assessing endothelial function; Dr. Du Enpeng’s team, which employs magnetorheological technology to lower blood pressure and treat cardiovascular diseases through physical therapy; and Weiguang Medical, which focuses on cardiovascular imaging diagnostic and therapeutic devices, among others.

VCBeat recently engaged with Shenzhen Iwown Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Iwown Health”), a high-quality enterprise making significant strides in the cardiovascular health market. Founded in 2012, the company is dedicated to developing out-of-hospital monitoring solutions for cardiovascular diseases.

Changes in vital signs, such as blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and body temperature, serve as important indicators for assessing cardiovascular health. Therefore, smart wearable devices are an excellent choice for cardiovascular health management, as they enable continuous, long-term monitoring of multidimensional health metrics—including heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), sleep patterns, and physical activity—thereby facilitating the assessment of health risks.

Although smart wearable devices were not widely accepted by the public a few years ago when they first gained popularity, as most products did not yet meet medical-grade standards, they have increasingly gained recognition with technological iterations.

Relevant data indicate that public acceptance of smart wearable devices is currently high, with active users wearing them for an average of more than 15 hours per day. Average wear time increases with age, exceeding 17 hours among individuals aged 60 and above. Furthermore, the frequency of electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements rises with age, and for some populations, using smart wearables to monitor cardiac health has become an integral part of daily life.

“By wearing smart hardware devices, users can receive early warnings of adverse physiological changes through real-time monitoring of variations in vital sign data,” Zhu Hongjia, founder of Iwown Health, told VCBeat. He emphasized that early prevention and detection are crucial for cardiovascular diseases. Most symptomatic patients are unaware of whether they are ill or what specific condition they have, leading to delays in seeking treatment. However, acute conditions such as myocardial infarction often occur suddenly, requiring patients to seek medical attention without delay. By monitoring patients’ vital signs outside the hospital setting, healthcare providers can assess patients’ conditions in advance during such emergencies, enabling earlier response and immediate deployment when necessary.

In response, Iwown Health has developed smart bands and smartwatches designed for cardiovascular health monitoring. These devices offer 24-hour heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. Additionally, they provide features such as SOS alerts, location services, message notifications, and communication capabilities.

In addition to cardiovascular diseases, which are terrifying due to their highest rankings in disability and mortality rates, hypertension currently has the widest prevalence in China, affecting over 400 million patients. In response, Iwown has specifically launched the HB1, a blood pressure monitoring wristband that truly meets medical-grade standards. This solution abandons traditional wrist-based PPG measurement methods, which lack accuracy, and instead innovatively adopts fingertip PPG measurement based on the pulse wave technology used in conventional sphygmomanometers. By leveraging chips from global medical-grade semiconductor manufacturers and optimizing algorithms through extensive real-world user testing, the HB1 delivers satisfactory blood pressure measurement results. Currently, Iwown’s single-channel fingertip PPG solution and products, based on pulse wave analysis, are at the forefront globally.

In terms of technical advantages, Iwown Health's products have three main highlights.

First, at the medical grade level, Iwown Health’s ECG (electrocardiogram) and PPG (photoplethysmography) functions achieve atrial fibrillation detection accuracies of 94.76% and 93.27%, respectively. The company has shipped a cumulative total of 200,000 ECG wearable devices globally, and its client recently obtained CFDA certification.

Second, it offers multi-dimensional capabilities. By leveraging sensors such as fingertip optical sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, barometers, bioelectric sensors, and GPS, Iwown Health’s smartwatches can capture data on heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure, sleep, physical activity, heart rate variability (HRV), mental stress, and body fat percentage, thereby enabling comprehensive, multi-dimensional health management.

Third, algorithmic models: Leveraging data from a cumulative 10 million users, Wuxi Iwown Health Technology Co., Ltd. has developed core algorithms for automatic activity recognition, automated atrial fibrillation diagnosis, REM sleep monitoring, ECG analysis, arterial stiffness index, and mental stress assessment, which are continuously being iterated and upgraded.

Behind high-quality products lies a high-caliber team. Currently, 80% of Iwown Health’s staff are R&D professionals, graduating from prestigious universities such as Harbin Institute of Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Nanjing University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Many of these R&D specialists also come from renowned enterprises including BGI Group, Lifesense, and Asia Optical.

Among them, founder Zhu Hongjia graduated with a degree in Communication Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He joined a publicly listed communication equipment company in 2003 and brings 17 years of experience in the telecommunications and consumer electronics industries. Co-founder Huang Jianwei graduated with a degree in Computer Science from Nanjing University. He began his career in product development at Konka Group in 2003 and possesses extensive experience in the computer and electronics sectors. Co-founder Jing Maosheng oversees the company’s supply chain, quality control, and delivery operations, with over a decade of specialized expertise in the design, R&D, and supply chain management of precision instruments and digital electronic products.

It is worth noting that Dr. Hiroshi Fukuda joined Wuxi Iwown Health Technology Co., Ltd. in 2016 as the Head of the Japan R&D Center, having previously worked at Mitsubishi and Olympus Group in Japan since 1998. Zhang Yi, the Head of Marketing, graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology with a major in Communication Engineering. He began his career in sales and marketing at Huawei in 2004 and is currently responsible for marketing, e-commerce, and related operations.

In terms of market collaboration, Iwown Health engages in scientific research and technical partnerships with renowned medical institutions. These collaborations include the exploration, clinical trials, and application of smart wearable products and solutions in the field of clinical medicine, as well as research on cardiac health algorithms and models focused on cardiology. Notably, Iwown Health is the only smart wearable manufacturer, aside from Huawei, to collaborate with top-tier non-profit medical institutions in China. Regarding industry clients, Iwown Health has established partnerships with professional health management organizations in the United States and Asia, as well as domestic healthcare enterprises.

In terms of its business model, Iwown Health operates both B2C and B2B. Specifically, in the B2C segment, Iwown Health provides health management products and services to users seeking health management, risk screening, and chronic disease tracking through a “hardware + service” model. The pricing structure is based on monthly subscriptions, with additional fees charged per use once the service package limits are exceeded. In the B2B segment, Iwown Health offers health management and chronic disease monitoring solutions to health management companies, elderly care institutions, and medical facilities by combining hardware (a diverse range of wearable devices) with software systems (user-facing apps, management backends, and analytics platforms). The pricing model for B2B services requires no upfront payment for the system, with installment payments made after deployment and implementation.

In terms of channel strategy, Iwown Health is also actively embracing e-commerce. In JD.com’s 2016 sales rankings, Iwown Health’s smart hardware products ranked among the top four. “We have accumulated extensive industry resources in the production and sales of smartwatches and fitness trackers. Moving forward, we also plan to launch our products through nursing homes and insurance companies,” said Zhu Hongjia.

Regarding future development, Iwown Health will first build a global cardiovascular health management network platform and secondly strive to become a daily home health management platform connecting users with professional physicians. “For each user, we can collaborate with physicians to provide a personalized health management plan,” said Zhu Hongjia.