Qiming Medical, DCP Capital and Qiming Venture Partners Launch Ascendum Capital to Strategically Invest in Global Innovative Cardiovascular Medical Devices

On July 16, Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) Inc. (“Venus Medtech”), DCP Capital, and Qiming Venture Partners announced the signing of an agreement to jointly establish Jishi Capital, a new medical investment platform.

Jishi Capital aims to invest in globally innovative medical device technologies within the cardiopulmonary sector. By leveraging the industrial resources of Venus Medtech, along with the financial strength of DCP Capital and Qiming Venture Partners, it seeks to introduce advanced foreign technologies and products, accelerating their R&D and commercialization in China. Simultaneously, it promotes indigenous R&D with independent intellectual property rights, fosters and integrates more industry-leading medical device enterprises, and drives the development of innovative medical devices in China.

Jishi Capital is led by Ms. Shao Ying, a renowned former healthcare analyst at Credit Suisse, and has assembled a professional team with extensive industry investment experience and exceptional global operational capabilities. Ms. Shao stated, “We are confident in developing Jishi Capital into a leading medical device investment platform in the industry, driving the commercialization of outstanding innovative technologies and products.”

Venus Medtech is China’s largest medical device company specializing in transcatheter heart valve technologies. In December 2019, Venus Medtech successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a current market capitalization exceeding HK$31 billion. Its first-generation transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system, Venus A, received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in April 2017, becoming the first TAVR product approved for commercialization in China. Additionally, Venus Medtech boasts a robust product pipeline covering all four cardiac valves. The company’s long-term objective is to become a global leader in the development and commercialization of minimally invasive solutions for cardiovascular diseases through independent R&D, collaborations, and mergers and acquisitions. As an industry leader, Venus Medtech possesses strong R&D capabilities and a global resource network, providing Jishi Capital with cutting-edge technical insights and frontline clinical experience to strategically invest in the most promising innovative technologies.

Mr. Zi Zhenjun, Co-founder and President of Venus Medtech, stated, “Qiming Venture Partners and DCP Capital are partners we trust deeply. Over the years of collaboration, both investors have provided Venus Medtech with valuable advice on operational management, M&A integration, and capital operations, fostering a long-term partnership built on mutual trust and win-win outcomes. Therefore, we are delighted to continue our collaboration with them in this investment. Taking Jishi Capital as a new starting point for our cooperation, we will join hands to strategically expand our presence in the global innovative medical device industry.”

Mr. Liu Haifeng, Chairman of DCP Capital, stated: “Venus Medtech was founded by one of the most capable management teams in the industry and has emerged as a leader in innovative medical devices. We are pleased to see that, after years of rapid development, Venus Medtech has demonstrated its industry-leading strategic vision and is steadily executing its industry layout, underpinned by robust R&D capabilities and strong market promotion efforts. Through our investment in Venus Medtech, we also recognize the long-term opportunities within China’s innovative medical device sector. We hope to leverage this investment to identify and support more outstanding innovative medical device companies.”

Ms. Liang Yingyu, Managing Partner at Qiming Venture Partners, stated, “We have witnessed the entire journey of Venus Medtech’s growth from inception to its current scale, and we firmly believe in the team’s ability to judge technological directions and industry trends. We are delighted to collaborate once again by jointly establishing an investment platform to promote the development of innovative medical device technologies in China and globally, and to cultivate more leading enterprises in the industry.”

This gathering of healthcare industry and investment giants is expected to fully integrate the power of industry and capital, consolidate talent and technological resources within the sector, and build an open aircraft carrier for medical innovation technology, so as to meet the huge and continuously growing healthcare demands in China and even the global market in the future.

Venus Medtech, established in 2009 and headquartered in the Hangzhou National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Binjiang), is dedicated to the development and industrialization of minimally invasive treatments for heart valve diseases. Focusing on research and development, Venus Medtech boasts two globally pioneering products: a dry-storage pre-loaded transcatheter heart valve and a transcatheter self-expanding pulmonary valve. The company has conducted extensive innovative research and trials, including spearheading clinical studies in the field of transcatheter valves, performing implantations and trials of Chinese heart valve devices in Europe, and establishing a Heart Valve Research Institute in China. Currently, Venus Medtech holds the first percutaneous transcatheter heart valve system approved for market launch by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

DCP Capital is an international private equity investment firm focused on the Asian market. The core team of DCP Capital previously led the private equity investment businesses of KKR and Morgan Stanley in Asia, delivering superior long-term investment returns across multiple economic cycles. DCP Capital has garnered strong support from leading domestic and international long-term institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, funds of funds, and family offices.

Over the past 27 years, the DCP Capital team has invested in a series of pioneering projects within China’s private equity industry, nurturing numerous leading Chinese enterprises such as Ping An Insurance, Mengniu Dairy, Qingdao Haier, China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Far East Horizon, Venus Medtech, China Cord Blood Corporation, Modern Farming, Hengan International, Nanfu Battery, Belle International, COFCO Meat, and United Environment. Leveraging its international investment expertise and localized resource network, DCP Capital has accumulated profound industry knowledge and robust post-investment management capabilities. Adhering to the philosophy of value investing, DCP Capital aims to establish long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with its portfolio companies, creating value for their sustainable development.

Qiming Venture Partners, established in 2006, has successively set up offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seattle, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages nine U.S. dollar funds and five RMB funds, with total assets under management exceeding USD 5.3 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early-stage and growth-stage companies in sectors such as TMT and healthcare.

To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in more than 350 high-growth innovative companies, of which over 110 have achieved exits through listings on exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Taipei Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, as well as through mergers and acquisitions. More than 30 of these portfolio companies have become industry-recognized unicorns and super unicorns.

Among Qiming Venture Partners’ portfolio companies, many have grown into the most influential firms in their respective fields, including Xiaomi Corporation (01810.HK), Meituan Dianping (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI), Roborock Technology (688169.SH), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB), Venus Medtech (02500.HK), CanSino Biologics (06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), AmoyDx (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), Sinocelltech (688520.SH), WeDoctor Group, and UBTECH.