Gao Jianfei of Yibai Tech: Empowering Pharma & MedTech Digital Transformation with an All-in-One SaaS Cloud Platform [VB100]

Every “brave soul” who dedicates themselves to the healthcare industry shares similar beliefs and sentiments—a desire to make a meaningful contribution to medical care. They persist in their exploration, often walking their paths alone, yet ultimately arrive at the same destination through different routes.

“Making Healthcare More Human” — At the Top 100 Future Healthcare Conference, Gao Jianfei, founder of Beijing Medical Technology (Beijing Medical Technology Co., Ltd.), declared this with conviction. He explained that these seven words not only embody the original aspiration behind the establishment of Beijing Medical Technology but also represent its developmental mission.

Beijing Medical Technology, established in 2016. This enterprise, which initially started in a residential building in Beijing, became a well-known domestic provider of digital transformation services for pharmaceutical marketing within just three years. Its independently developed full-scenario, one-stop SaaS cloud service platform helped over 200 leading pharmaceutical companies undergo digital marketing transformations and achieve revenues exceeding 100 million yuan within a year and a half of its launch.

How Does Beijing Medical Technology Achieve This? What Are the Differences Between Traditional Marketing and Digital Marketing? What Incremental Value Has the All-Scenario, One-Stop SaaS Cloud Service Platform Delivered to Pharmaceutical Companies? Recently, VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Gao Jianfei, founder of Beijing Medical Technology, who provided detailed insights into these questions.

(The photo shows Gao Jianfei, founder of Beijing Medical Technology Co., Ltd.)

“Medicine is not a pure science, but an extension of human emotions.” This poignant quote from the book *Warm Medicine* has been widely cited by healthcare professionals. It also served as the impetus for Gao Jianfei’s cross-industry transition from advertising and media to the healthcare sector, leading him to found Beijing Medical Technology.

In the summer of 2016, Gao Jianfei was inspired by the stories of physicians and their professional dedication featured in the book *Warm Medicine*, which sparked his idea to launch a venture in the healthcare sector. “Those vivid stories made me realize that entrepreneurship in the medical field is something highly valuable, compassionate, and meaningful,” said Gao Jianfei.

Driven by his passion, Gao Jianfei, who has over a decade of experience in the advertising and media industry as well as expertise in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) marketing, keenly identified the historical opportunity for transformation facing pharmaceutical marketing through careful observation.

Statistical data shows that China's total pharmaceutical sales amounted to RMB 2.2 trillion in 2018 and are projected to exceed RMB 5 trillion by 2025. Based on the 20% marketing expenditure ratio observed in mature markets such as the United States, pharmaceutical companies' marketing expenses will surpass RMB 1 trillion. "The digital transformation of pharmaceutical marketing will create a market worth hundreds of billions of yuan, and this niche segment already showed early signs in 2016," pointed out Gao Jianfei.

Furthermore, since 2015, more than 300 medical industry policies have been issued at the national level. The introduction and implementation of a series of policies, such as the “Consistency Evaluation,” the “Two-Invoice System,” and the “4+7” Volume-Based Procurement, have profoundly reshaped the landscape of the pharmaceutical industry. For pharmaceutical companies, traditional marketing models are facing severe challenges due to rising cost pressures, the dense rollout of new policies and regulations, ongoing reforms within healthcare institutions, and the increasing complexity of the overall healthcare market. Consequently, the digital transformation of pharmaceutical marketing has become an urgent imperative.

The market is sufficiently large, policy pressures are forcing pharmaceutical companies to transform, and traditional marketing models are collapsing... These are all opportunities.

How to Seize Opportunities? In August 2016, Beijing Medical Technology was established, focusing on the B2B vertical sector—digital transformation services for pharmaceutical companies.

Gao Jianfei pointed out that digital transformation must go through three key stages: stock marketing, incremental marketing, and closed-loop marketing.

What Does Stock Marketing Mean?

He explained that existing-customer marketing is the “cornerstone” of pharmaceutical companies’ marketing strategies, and that these companies must recognize its importance—namely, serving existing customers well and maintaining a stable customer base.

How Valuable Are Existing Customers? Of China’s RMB 2.2 trillion in total pharmaceutical sales, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs account for only 25%–30%, while prescription drug sales reach RMB 1.7 trillion. Among China’s 3.5 million physicians, fewer than 2 million hold prescribing privileges. Therefore, each physician with prescribing authority represents an average potential of RMB 1 million in prescription value, which underscores the value of these customers.

“For the pharmaceutical industry, if existing-customer marketing is not done well, the entire sales framework will collapse,” said Gao Jianfei.

(Figure)

Incremental marketing, in essence, is about executing precision marketing effectively. According to Gao Jianfei, the pharmaceutical industry undoubtedly demands the highest level of marketing precision. Pharmaceutical companies require technological empowerment and strongly desire precision marketing. After serving existing customers well, the key to incremental marketing lies in how to deliver targeted communications and accurately identify and engage potential target customers.

“When existing stock marketing and future incremental marketing reach a certain level, it becomes evident that the target physicians within a pharmaceutical company’s platform, along with the patients and relational networks they reach, constitute the company’s traffic pool and serve as a critical database,” said Gao Jianfei.

He pointed out that all pharmaceutical marketing will ultimately converge into an integration of online and offline channels, marking the third stage and forming a closed-loop marketing system. “Pharmaceutical companies can clearly calculate their return on investment,” said Gao Jianfei. Furthermore, he indicated that another shift will occur over the next five years, with generic drugs transitioning toward innovative drugs, which will in turn bring about new changes in marketing strategies.

Based on an assessment of major industry trends and an analysis of key pain points, Beijing Medical Technology launched a one-stop SaaS cloud platform for digital marketing tailored to pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises in early 2018. Addressing the four core demands of “compliance, exclusivity, efficiency, and empowerment,” the company developed over 30 application scenarios for pharmaceutical marketing, including departmental meetings, satellite symposia, case collection, and surgical demonstrations. This approach achieves comprehensive coverage of digital marketing scenarios for pharmaceutical companies, helping them accumulate content, data, and user bases—such as physicians, pharmacy staff, and patients—for long-term reuse.

The platform supports offline pharmaceutical teams by reducing costs and improving efficiency.

“All offline activities can now be conducted on the Yibai platform, including live surgical broadcasts and case collection. We provide digital tools to meet all these needs,” said Gao Jianfei.

Why Build a SaaS Cloud Platform for Digital Marketing in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry?

(Beijing Medical Technology SaaS Cloud Service Platform)

Gao Jianfei pointed out the following reasons: First, pharmaceutical companies need their own dedicated platforms to accumulate content, data, and users for long-term reuse. Second, pharmaceutical companies require empowerment through internet technologies to achieve low-cost, precision marketing and rapidly serve their target customers at scale. Finally, pharmaceutical companies need to evaluate and assess the processes, behaviors, outcomes, and participant interaction feedback of their digital marketing efforts.

He introduced that the Yibai Digital Marketing SaaS Cloud Platform empowers pharmaceutical companies to transition from “executing digital projects” to “building a digital marketing ecosystem.”

Advantages of the Yibai Digital Marketing SaaS Cloud Platform: 1. Simple and user-friendly operation, enabling rapid deployment of a dedicated digital platform; 2. Yibai Headlines empowers marketing promotion, supported by a vast sharing platform for high-end academic conferences; 3. Leveraging Yibai’s inherent media attributes to integrate media resources for joint dissemination, thereby amplifying market presence; 4. A database of millions of physicians, facilitating expanded coverage and reach among target doctors.

(Beijing Medical Technology SaaS Cloud Service Platform)

He revealed that, to date, Beijing Medical Technology has assisted more than 200 leading pharmaceutical companies in their digital transformation. Notably, the contract value in 2019 exceeded RMB 100 million, representing a 550% year-on-year increase from 2018.

“Digital marketing transformation is an inevitable trend for pharmaceutical companies. We hope to join hands with leaders in pharmaceutical innovation to jointly build a healthcare ecosystem, thereby facilitating healthcare reform and the digital upgrade of the healthcare industry,” said Gao Jianfei.