COFY New Materials Files IPO Prospectus Highlighting Proprietary Anti-Fog Solution for Medical and Sports Eyewear

In March 2020, in the Sino-French Ward of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, two doctors were performing a special surgery.

This 81-year-old diabetic patient unfortunately contracted COVID-19. Despite intensive medical treatment that led to improvement in his COVID-19 condition, diabetes caused rapid gangrene of his entire right leg, and the subsequent sepsis poses an imminent threat to his life. After careful consideration, the medical team decided to proceed with amputation surgery.

“Is this a blood vessel?”

“Is this a blood vessel? Is this side the artery?”

On the operating table, the surgeons’ frequent quiet exchanges were not due to any intraoperative complications, but rather because strict infection-control measures required them to wear double-layered masks, their own eyeglasses, a pair of goggles, and a face shield. Combined with the airtight layering of surgical gowns and protective suits, this ensemble quickly caused fogging that obscured their vision, significantly increasing the difficulty of the procedure.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, such scenarios were by no means isolated incidents. To prevent viral infection, healthcare workers must implement various effective protective measures, with masks, protective suits, and goggles being essential equipment. However, fogging of the lens surface is a common issue while wearing goggles, which obstructs vision and severely interferes with clinical work. This impairment can hinder nurses from performing therapeutic procedures effectively and prevent physicians from making accurate diagnoses and treatments. In emergency situations, it may delay critical patient resuscitation efforts, and inadequate protection may even lead to nosocomial cross-infection. Therefore, identifying effective anti-fogging measures has become an urgent priority.

Kufei New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Kufei”) is a technology-driven enterprise with independent intellectual property rights. Its medically and sports-oriented anti-fog agents, developed and manufactured in-house, resolved the lens fogging challenge for tens of thousands of healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Kufei was founded in 2015. Its founder, Liu Hongmei, holds a Master’s degree in Management Science from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). After graduation, she remained at USTC as a faculty member before pursuing further studies in Switzerland, where she earned an IMBA degree and worked for several years. Upon returning to China, she collaborated with the R&D team led by Professor Wang Haiqian of USTC to commercialize research achievements in functional thin-film materials, transforming them into market-ready products.

Dr. Dong Xiaolei, Vice President of Technical Development at Kufei, graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China, where he consistently conducted research on functional thin-film materials. Given the strong alignment with his expertise, he decided to join Kufei after graduation to continue the research and development of functional thin-film materials.

At its inception, Kufei’s R&D focus was not on anti-fog materials, but rather on another highly practical functional thin-film material for surface applications: the anti-fouling coating. By applying this coating to alter the properties of surface materials, it effectively prevents electronic components, mobile phone screens, lenses, and other items from accumulating oil stains, fingerprints, and dust, or sustaining scratches.

In 2018, as the antifouling materials market gradually reached saturation, Kufei began to seek new breakthroughs.

In an interview with VCBeat, Liu Hongmei recounted that a friend once told her how the efficacy of myopia correction training devices was significantly compromised during summer use due to lens fogging. At the time, Liu was contemplating which product category to develop and manufacture next; she immediately decided to initiate an anti-fog coating project.

Dr. Dong Xiaolei explained to VCBeat that for anti-fog agents used in areas close to the eyes, in addition to the basic requirements of efficacy and transparency, there are also performance requirements such as being non-toxic and harmless, non-irritating, and long-lasting. Therefore, Dr. Dong Xiaolei led Coolfly’s technical team to spend more than a year on independent research and development, from material screening to performance testing.

The principle of anti-fog materials is to impart hydrophilic properties to the substrate surface, thereby enhancing the affinity between water and the substrate. This prevents fog from forming discrete water droplets; instead, it spreads into a thin, uniform water film on the substrate surface. This ensures that light passes through normally without obstructing visibility, thus achieving the anti-fog effect. Currently, there is a wide variety of anti-fog materials available on the market, which can be broadly classified into hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and hydrophilic-hydrophobic types based on their respective anti-fog mechanisms.

After repeated adjustments and thousands of experiments, they ultimately selected purified water as the solvent and hydrophilic polymers as the primary anti-fog ingredients. The formulation is free from heavy metal ions, silicone oil, PEG, and other substances harmful to the human body, and it does not cause eye injuries such as burns or allergic reactions.Furthermore, the anti-fog agent developed by Kufei has notProlonged water washingProvided there is no man-made damage such as scratches, the effective duration can exceed 6 months.

Liu Hongmei told VCBeat that since Kuifei’s anti-fog products were officially launched in June 2019, they have been primarily applied to various types of sports eyewear for swimming, diving, skiing, and other activities, in addition to the myopia correction training device mentioned earlier. However, their substantial adoption in the medical field occurred during the recent pandemic.

Upon learning that medical personnel’s goggles were severely fogging up due to factors such as the impermeability of protective suits and cold weather, Kufei promptly donated anti-fog agents to the front lines of the epidemic response in Hubei. These donations were facilitated through channels including the Hefei High-Tech Zone Science and Technology Bureau, Anhui Provincial Hospital, and the Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, and were deployed as specialized supplies for healthcare workers. Meanwhile, Kufei also donated anti-fog agents to nucleic acid testing institutions in Hefei for use by testing personnel.

It is reported that the anti-fog spray donated by Kufei has provided clear vision for at least tens of thousands of medical personnel.

Currently, Kufei adopts an online-offline integrated business model. On one hand, it collaborates with manufacturers of protective goggles and sports eyewear for sales; on the other hand, Kufei also promotes its products through its Taobao store.

Dr. Dong Xiaolei revealed to VCBeat that Kufei’s current anti-fog agent has already met the initial R&D targets in terms of light transmittance, durability, and safety. However, since the current design requires users to apply the product themselves, it remains challenging to ensure the uniformity of the anti-fog film. Therefore, their next goal is to integrate the anti-fog function directly into products such as goggles by improving the formulation and film-forming technology, aiming to achieve uniform coating and semi-permanent or even permanent anti-fog performance.

Meanwhile, Kufei is also considering applying its anti-fog technology to medical scenarios with anti-fog requirements, such as dentistry and clinical laboratory departments.

In an interview, Liu Hongmei stated, “The current anti-fog product market is fraught with mixed quality and lacks clear entry barriers. While this landscape allows products to enter the market easily once developed, it also makes it difficult for high-quality products to build brand recognition. As a technology-driven company, we have absolute confidence in the caliber of our R&D team and the quality of our products. Therefore, Kufei’s immediate priority is to build a robust marketing team to enhance product visibility and acceptance, increase market share, and emerge as an industry leader.”

Furthermore, Kufei also aims to collaborate with manufacturers of anti-fog products such as goggles and various sports protective eyewear, to further enhance the performance and application scope of its anti-fog solutions.