AiTang Submits IPO Prospectus: Pioneering China's Only Integrated Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring SaaS and Management Platform for Smart Diabetes Telemedicine

Digital health management for diabetes in China has long been a dormant market. Although the field witnessed a “Hundred Sugar Wars” frenzy during the 2015 mobile health boom, five years of market consolidation have yet to yield a settled competitive landscape.

The latest epidemiological survey (2015–2017) results show that the prevalence of diabetes among Chinese adults reached 12.8%, with 35.2% of adults in a prediabetic state. The awareness rate among patients was 43.3%, the treatment rate was 49%, and the treatment control rate was 49.4%.

Behind the data lies the grim reality of diabetes management in China. Even today, a significant number of diabetic patients remain undiagnosed; among those diagnosed, approximately half do not receive standardized treatment, and among those undergoing treatment, roughly half fail to achieve adequate glycemic control.

Existing blood glucose monitoring methods and management models have limitations. Advances in blood glucose monitoring technology and the development of information technology continue to drive the optimization of blood glucose management models. With the rapid development of technologies such as the Internet of Things, the Internet, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence,Leveraging new continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technologies to establish a digital blood glucose management model, and applying informatics and telemedicine to integrated blood glucose management both within and outside hospitals, will be the prevailing trend in optimizing blood glucose management models.

Targeting this market gap, iTang, a domestic provider of smart blood glucose management system services, has entered the sector. Positioned as a cloud-based telemedicine platform for chronic disease management, the company has developed a SaaS-based continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system to address the lack of digitalization in blood glucose data.

By leveraging open, diversified data collection, diabetes patients scattered across various hospital departments are brought under unified management. An Artificial Intelligence-based Real-time Data-Assisted Analysis and Diagnosis System (AGR) is established to replace traditional passive management with AI-driven approaches, thereby enabling personalized precision treatment and empowering patients to self-monitor and manage their blood glucose levels.

Building on this foundation, Aitang has establishedThree Major Closed Loops: A closed-loop system for comprehensive in-hospital to out-of-hospital management based on real-time blood glucose monitoring, a closed-loop medical and nursing care management system using real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and a closed-loop system integrating digital monitoring with digital management. By leveraging real-time big data from monitoring, the system provides online nutritional assessment and digitalized nutritional plans. Capitalizing on the advantages of these three closed-loop systems, AiTang has established a solid foothold in smart blood glucose management and is seeking expansion into new fields.

Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring + Closed-Loop Glucose Management

Despite numerous pain points in current diabetes management, such as the inability to accurately capture continuous blood glucose fluctuations, poor patient adherence, and the lack of real-time diagnosis and treatment capabilities, Aitang has still identified a strategic entry point to address these challenges.

Incubated by Tsinghua University, this team has decided to enter the large market of glucose management by addressing a niche gap: personalized precision therapy and patient self-monitoring of blood glucose. By leveraging continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology, they are building a digital glucose management system that integrates informatics and telemedicine into a holistic model for managing blood glucose both inside and outside hospitals, thereby establishing a comprehensive approach to glucose management.

With the blueprint in place, the next step is to implement R&D.

The founder of Aitang, a Tsinghua University graduate, brings eight years of marketing experience from internationally renowned companies and serves as a partner at a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device manufacturer. This background, along with her extensive resources, has enabled her to rapidly identify the market’s true needs.

Soon, Ai Tang assembled a team comprising a Ph.D. in Engineering and Senior Engineer from Tsinghua University, a Medical Doctor from the Chinese PLA General Hospital, a Master of Artificial Intelligence from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an Operations Director with prior experience in sales at internationally renowned brands and seven years of expertise in Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) sales. Together, they initiated the research and development of this system, pioneering a new model for the digital management of diabetes.

Digital Management of Diabetes refers to a medical behavioral management process in which healthcare institutions or physicians leverage digital diabetes management software and intelligent hardware to conduct remote interventions for patients with diabetes and individuals with prediabetes, or wherein individuals with diabetes utilize relevant digital tools for self-management, with the aim of controlling disease progression and preventing deterioration. Specifically, this can be analyzed from two perspectives.

In terms of system architecture, AiTang integrates three core modules: a real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM) system (smart hardware), an information-based blood glucose management system (SaaS, Software as a Service), and medical care management (telemedicine), providing diabetic patients with a comprehensive digital blood glucose management solution based on CGM.

By leveraging technologies such as rtCGM, AI, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), this solution integrates user glucose data collection and analysis, hospital-side SaaS systems, and blood glucose management apps to create a comprehensive closed-loop system for in-hospital and out-of-hospital blood glucose monitoring and management, providing an effective approach to the precise management of chronic diseases.

Healthcare professionals review patient blood glucose data at the ward-based glucose monitoring station.

Compared with traditional blood glucose monitoring methods, real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM) systems enable patients with diabetes to view their blood glucose levels and fluctuations in real time. The system can obtain 480 blood glucose readings per day and provide continuous monitoring for 15 days.

After the patient wears a continuous glucose monitoring device,The blood glucose data can be transmitted to a mobile app for real-time monitoring and management.After scientific analysis and computation (via cloud computing) of glucose data, an Intelligent Dynamic Glucose Report (AGR) is generated. The AGR presents a “panoramic” view of the user’s glucose status and enables online physicians to manage patients’ blood glucose levels concurrently, based on risk assessment and prediction.

Figure: Trend of Glucose Fluctuations in Patients with AGR

Clearly, the personal version of the AiTang system has brought blood glucose management into the home setting. The system enables outpatient patients to conduct “home-based” real-time monitoring combined with remote management by healthcare professionals online, thereby meeting the current essential demand for telemedicine. Notably, its remote management module is comprehensive, covering nutritional assessment, exercise solutions, medication therapy guidance, and health education.

“Real-time, continuous glucose monitoring enables patients to view their blood glucose results anytime and anywhere via their mobile phones. This approach to glucose monitoring will significantly enhance patients’ willingness to manage their blood sugar,” said Dr. Fan, co-founder of iTang. “Furthermore, when patients can view their glucose levels online, they can interact with physicians, creating a closed-loop diabetes management system that spans from diet and exercise to medication adjustments. Currently, iTang is continuously integrating nutritional prescriptions, exercise prescriptions, and educational prescriptions into its existing closed-loop system for precise monitoring and real-time glucose control.”

In addition to the patient-facing interface, AiTang has also developed a physician-facing interface for this system. Its open data source interfaces enable compatibility with various types of blood glucose monitoring devices, and its SaaS-based glucose management platform can integrate with all commercially available CGM hardware on the market. The rich data collected through Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) allows physicians to simultaneously manage patients’ blood glucose levels while leveraging comprehensive data to support clinical decision-making and clinical research.

Dr. Fan told VCBeat, “My medical background has facilitated a smoother process. Meanwhile, this approach enables the intensive integration of medical resources, allowing for centralized, comprehensive management of diabetic patients in need, thereby improving healthcare efficiency. The enhancement of healthcare efficiency, coupled with standardized continuous glucose monitoring and management, will inevitably encourage more healthcare professionals to promote the product to users, further driving its adoption from the B-side to the C-side.”

The dual coverage strategy targeting both B-end and C-end users will significantly enhance initiative on both sides, generating a synergistic effect where “1+1>2,” thereby enabling continuous expansion of the system’s user base.Currently, Aitang has obtained 21 intellectual property rights, including five invention patents.

Clearly, Aitang has integrated online clinical guidance from doctors and nurses with patient blood glucose diagnosis and management through this model, creating a home-based, precise, and personalized care model for patients with diabetes.

Under this model, hospitalized patients with hyperglycemia in the Endocrinology, Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, ICU, and Pediatrics departments, as well as those in surgical departments (perioperative hyperglycemia patients), and high-risk diabetic populations in health examination institutions and wellness care facilities can all undergo screening and management through Ai Tang’s platform.

After completing the development of the aforementioned products, AiTang did not rest on its laurels in the realm of digital diabetes management. What should be the next step? AiTang has already provided its own answer.

Dr. Fan stated:Not only a continuous glucose monitoring system, but also a smart chronic disease telemedicine cloud platform. We will achieve this goal by building an information system for continuous glucose monitoring.

As for why we should build a smart cloud platform for remote management of chronic diseases, we can imagine the experience of diabetes patients in advance: follow-up visits to the hospital every three months, registration, queuing, seeing doctors, ordering tests, testing..., and the cumbersome process coupled with the inconvenience of going to the hospital during the epidemic is enough to constitute the reason.

Addressing the potential challenges on this journey, Dr. Fan outlined her approach: “The existing dual closed-loop SaaS system serves as our solid foundation. Building upon this, we will further humanize AI-driven glucose control and management solutions from the patient’s perspective. Meanwhile, as we accelerate hardware development, we will develop core management modules with higher technical barriers, laying the groundwork for the subsequent development of a telemedicine platform.”

In fact, Aitang has already developed a hospital-grade product, connected with 200 distributors, and deployed it in over 300 hospitals across China. Moving forward, Aitang will continue to deepen its engagement with healthcare institutions by establishing smart blood glucose management centers through medical consortiums.

Today, across the 300 hospitals it serves, AiTang has provided blood glucose management support services to tens of thousands of patient visits among individuals with diabetes. The personal version of the AiTang system integrates HeWei Doctors (a physician group) for remote diabetes management, greatly facilitating care for people with diabetes.

Overall, the Aitang Model effectively integrates inpatients and outpatients with abnormal glucose metabolism, healthcare institutions, and professional medical personnel to implement continuous and refined blood glucose management for individuals with hyperglycemia. This approach will enhance the efficiency of diabetes diagnosis and treatment as well as the level of diabetes management, ensuring its widespread clinical adoption.

Currently, Aitang is advancing its next round of financing to continue driving the development and commercialization of its products.