Venus MedTech Successfully IPOs on HKEX, Becoming the First Medical Device Company Listed on the Biotech Board

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that the biotechnology sector of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange welcomed its first listed medical device company. Qiming Medical, a portfolio company of Qiming Venture Partners, successfully listed on the Main Board on December 10. The IPO price of Qiming Medical-B (02500.HK) was HK$33 per share, with an opening price of HK$40.

During the IPO subscription period, Venus Medtech emerged as the hottest new stock recently, securing a 312-times oversubscription.

Venus Medtech, founded in 2009, is a leading Chinese medical device company specializing in transcatheter heart valve technologies. Currently, Venus Medtech has one commercially available product developed in-house, with more than eight products in various stages of research and development or regulatory registration.

VenusA-Valve, independently developed by Venus Medtech, is the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) product approved by the National Medical Products Administration and commercialized in China. According to data from Frost & Sullivan, a global independent market research and consulting firm, Venus Medtech ranked first in China with a market share of 79.3% in 2018, measured by the number of TAVR procedures performed.

Venus Medtech enjoys a first-mover advantage, with a comprehensive product pipeline (covering all four heart valves), a robust patent portfolio (comprising 193 granted patents and 196 patent applications), and a visionary management team, which together have established high barriers to entry and set the company apart from its industry peers.

Treatment options for valvular heart disease include pharmacological therapy and surgical intervention. However, medications typically provide only temporary symptom relief and do not offer a sustained solution. Currently, surgical interventions for valvular heart disease are generally categorized into three types: conventional open-heart surgery, minimally invasive valve surgery, and transcatheter valve therapy (TVT). Among these three approaches, TVT demonstrates comparable efficacy to the other two surgical methods but offers a superior safety profile. In 2000, Bonhoeffer successfully performed the first percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI), pioneering the field of transcatheter heart valve replacement.

This market has relatively high entry barriers. New entrants face numerous challenges, including stringent requirements for establishing integrated R&D platforms and accessory kits, a lack of channel management experience, and patent restrictions.

From 2014 to 2018, the global number of TAVR procedures performed grew rapidly at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5%, and is expected to further increase at a CAGR of 15.0% from 2018 to 2025. The number of TAVR-eligible patients in China increased from 656,800 in 2014 to 742,100 in 2018, and is projected to reach 942,800 by 2025. Data shows that in 2018, only 0.1% of patients in China received TAVR treatment, with the penetration rate expected to rise to 4.7% by 2025.

As the largest institutional investor prior to Venus Medtech’s IPO, Qiming Venture Partners invested in Venus Medtech in 2013 as the sole investor in that round and subsequently participated in multiple follow-on investments.

Yingyu Liang, Managing Partner at Qiming Venture Partners, stated that the firm is optimistic about the benefits transcatheter heart valve procedures bring to patients. As a serial entrepreneur, Zhenjun Zi and his team prioritize original technological innovation. Their significant contribution to China’s healthcare sector lies in delivering products whose quality and clinical outcomes rival or even surpass those of comparable overseas counterparts.

As Venus Medtech continues to increase its investment in technological innovation and strengthen its R&D capabilities to develop new products, Liang Yingyu believes that the company will continue to enhance its competitiveness and is poised to become a global leader in transcatheter solutions for structural heart disease.

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

Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages seven U.S. dollar funds and five RMB funds, with total assets under management exceeding USD 4 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 310 companies, of which over 60 have gone public on exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), or exited through mergers and acquisitions. Nearly 30 of these portfolio companies have become industry-recognized unicorns and super unicorns.

Notable companies invested in by Qiming Venture Partners include: Xiaomi Corporation (01810.HK), Meituan Dianping (03690.HK), Megvii, UBTECH Robotics, Zhihu, Meitu Inc. (01357.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI), Cheetah Mobile (CTK.US), Hexing Electrical (603556.SH), Zhongchi Shares (603903.SH), HyperStrong, Qiniu Cloud, WeRide, Tigermed (300347.SZ), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB), Venus Medtech (02500.HK), CanSino Biologics (06185.HK), Topgen Life Sciences (300642.SZ), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), WeDoctor Group, Sinocelltech, Huitai Medical Devices, and Sanyou Medical Products, among others.