Shunzhi Health Technologies Files for IPO with Breakthrough Low-Cost, High-Precision Insulin Pump Targeting Type 2 Diabetes Patients

A report released by Zhiyan Consulting shows that in 2017, there were approximately 425 million diabetes patients worldwide, a figure projected to reach 625 million by 2045. China currently has the largest number of diabetes patients globally, with 114 million cases recorded in 2017 and an expected increase to 150 million by 2045, among whom more than 90% have type 2 diabetes.

The vast patient population has made diabetes a “super topic” in the medical community today. As one of the key therapeutic approaches for patients with diabetes, insulin therapy has been researched and promoted for nearly a century, with multiple insulin products successively introduced for the treatment of diabetes. However, to this day, insulin injectionLow accuracy, high cost, and the need for multiple daily long-term subcutaneous injections cause local skin irritation and psychological distress in patients.which continue to plague patients with diabetes, remaining pressing challenges in insulin therapy that urgently need to be addressed.

Recently, Instant Knowledge (Guangzhou) Health Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Instant Knowledge Tech”) has caused significant repercussions in the field of diabetes treatment. A third-party authoritative test report issued by the Shanghai Medical Device Testing Institute, a domestic official testing authority of high standing, along with related data, shows that the insulin pump developed by Instant Knowledge Tech,For single-pulse injection (3 minutes), the infusion error fluctuation was 4%, and the infusion accuracy was 93%; for 10-pulse injection (30 minutes), the infusion error fluctuation was 1%, and the infusion accuracy was 95%.Both technical indicators surpass those of other high-end insulin pump products currently available on the market.

Physiological insulin secretion in healthy individuals can be divided intoBasal Insulin SecretionandMealtime Insulin Secretion, these two components of insulin secretion each account for approximately 50%. Basal insulin secretion refers to the continuous, pulsatile release of small amounts of insulin by pancreatic beta cells over a 24-hour period, maintaining blood glucose levels within the normal range during the basal (non-prandial) state. Prandial insulin secretion refers to the rapid and substantial release of insulin by pancreatic beta cells in response to food intake, ensuring that postprandial blood glucose does not rise abruptly. It is precisely due to the existence of these two modes of insulin secretion that human blood glucose levels are maintained within the normal range.

In the early 20th century, the pathogenesis of diabetes was scientifically confirmed: it is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia in patients, resulting from defects in insulin secretion and/or impaired biological action of insulin.

Based on differences in pathogenesis, diabetes mellitus can be classified into type 1 and type 2. Patients with type 1 diabetes exhibit an absolute deficiency in insulin secretion and require exogenous insulin to control blood glucose levels. In contrast, patients with type 2 diabetes present with either insufficient insulin secretion or impaired insulin efficacy (insulin resistance), often necessitating treatment with oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin. Authoritative medical studies have demonstrated that early initiation of insulin therapy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients helps alleviate glucotoxicity, improves pancreatic β-cell function and insulin resistance, and enables a greater proportion of patients to achieve long-term glycemic remission.

Insulin is an endogenously secreted hormone in the human body. Currently, it can only be supplemented via exogenous injection (research on oral insulin is proceeding vigorously, but no related products have yet been approved for market launch).

Xu Yibo, Founder and CEO of Instant Knowledge, stated, “The ideal requirement for insulin injection is to precisely mimic the physiological dynamic secretion of human insulin to match the daily fluctuations in blood glucose levels.” Excessive insulin injection can cause a rapid drop in blood glucose, leading to hypoglycemia, which may trigger life-threatening conditions such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Conversely, insufficient insulin injection results in poor glycemic control, increasing the risk of chronic complications including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Daily meal timing and food choices vary among individuals, as do their usual exercise routines and daily schedules. Consequently, daily blood glucose fluctuations are highly individualized. For both physicians and patients, achieving precise control of insulin injections by finely matching the dynamic daily blood glucose variations under diverse dietary and lifestyle patterns remains a formidable challenge for the medical and industrial communities.

According to the test report issued by the Shanghai Medical Device Testing Institute, combined with relevant statistical data:In terms of single-pulse injection over three minutes, the insulin pump developed by Instant Knowledge Technology demonstrates a fluctuation error of 4% and an infusion accuracy rate of 93%. For ten pulse injections over 30 minutes, the fluctuation error is 1%, with an infusion accuracy rate of 95%. Both technical indicators have reached or surpassed the international leading standards in the industry.

In other words, Instant Knowledge’s insulin pump can more accurately mimic the physiological pulsatile secretion of insulin by the human pancreas, thereby enabling more effective and safe blood glucose control while reducing the incidence of diabetic complications and hypoglycemia.

The medical community’s efforts to overcome challenges related to diabetes and insulin have been ongoing, leading to the successive development of various insulin delivery methods. Among these, subcutaneous insulin injection is more readily absorbed by the human body and currently represents the mainstream method of insulin administration in clinical practice.

Ex vivo insulin delivery devices include traditional injection devices (insulin syringes), durable injection devices (insulin pens), pre-filled injection devices (insulin pens), and insulin pumps.

Due to their low cost, lack of entry barriers, and ease of use, insulin pens are currently the most commonly used injection devices. By administering basal insulin once daily at bedtime and bolus insulin before each of the three main meals, insulin pens can effectively mimic physiological insulin secretion patterns.

However, insulin pen injection requires patients to maintain a relatively regular diet, stable daily physical activity levels, and good adherence. Furthermore, with four daily injections, patients must endure the physical and psychological distress associated with frequent needle sticks, which also increase the risk of subcutaneous tissue hyperplasia and infection. These numerous inconveniences limit the acceptance of insulin therapy among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Insulin Pump: An Intelligent Device for Precise, Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin DeliveryAn insulin pump is an intelligent device designed to deliver precise, continuous subcutaneous insulin. Its core advantage lies in its ability to administer accurate and continuous insulin injections tailored to individual patients’ dynamic daily blood glucose levels, either through manual adjustment or artificial intelligence. This approach represents the therapeutic regimen that most closely mimics the physiological pattern of endogenous insulin secretion.

Compared with insulin pens, insulin pumps require only one to two injections per week to maintain stable blood glucose control. They allow for segmented basal rate settings, providing greater flexibility in meal timing and physical activity, and significantly reducing the risk of hypoglycemia and diabetes-related complications.

Insulin pumps are not a novel product. The world’s first insulin pump emerged as early as 1963, and around the year 2000, Medtronic entered the Chinese market and began promoting insulin pumps and insulin pump therapy. Nevertheless, people are inevitably curious: over the past few decades, insulin pump products have been continuously updated and iterated, with concomitant improvements in injection accuracy; why, then, are there only more than 40,000 long-term users of insulin pump therapy in China?

Currently, the insulin pump brands available in the Chinese market include Medtronic, South Korea’s Dana, and other domestic brands. Among these, Medtronic’s insulin pumps offer high injection accuracy and precisely mimic physiological insulin secretion. Regarded as the most effective and safest insulin pumps globally, they enjoy a strong reputation among specialists and hold a dominant position in the hospital market. However, the upfront cost for individual users is approximately RMB 60,000 to 90,000.

Compared with Medtronic’s products, domestically produced insulin pumps have a slightly lower entry cost; however, due to insufficient injection accuracy, their efficacy and safety are inferior to those of Medtronic. Consequently, they lack strong reputation among hospitals and physicians. Even the relatively lower entry price (approximately RMB 20,000–30,000) still represents a significant financial burden for individual users.

Therefore, patients in China who are willing to pay high upfront costs tend to choose the more precise Medtronic insulin pump products, while most patients who cannot afford these high initial expenses have no choice but to opt for less accurate yet more affordable insulin pen devices for their insulin therapy.

Unlike the technological path taken by existing traditional insulin pumps, Instant Knowledge leverages mature semiconductor technology within the industry to develop a microfluidic digital chip pump with fully independent intellectual property rights. This innovation replaces the micro-precision electromechanical hardware core of traditional insulin pumps, with core technical indicators for precise infusion meeting or surpassing the current international leading standards in the industry.

“Existing traditional insulin pumps use micro precision motors to control precision mechanical gears that push pistons for injection. They cannot precisely control the injection volume of a single pulse; instead, they require accumulation of multiple pulses and feedback-based adjustments to achieve precise delivery. However, Instant Knowledge’s”Microfluidic chip pumps enable pulsed digital output, precisely controlling the volume of each single-pulse injection. They ensure accuracy in both individual pulse delivery and cumulative multi-pulse administration, thereby making it possible to more accurately simulate the 24-hour pulsatile micro-secretion of insulin by pancreatic islet β-cells.“Xu Yibo said so.

Beyond the precise delivery that surpasses traditional electromechanical insulin pumps, Instant Knowledge’s insulin pump features a microfluidic chip pump as its hardware core. Designed, processed, and manufactured using semiconductor technology, this approach significantly reduces mass production costs. This technological foundation supports a business model characterized by low upfront costs for patients and the use of high-value weekly disposable consumables, thereby providing patients with insulin pump products that are both precise and affordable.

Left: The microfluidic chip pump independently developed by Instant Knowledge; Right: The company’s insulin pump product (Image provided by the company)

In addition to being the founder and CEO of Instant Knowledge, Xu Yibo has another identity—a family member of a patient with type 2 diabetes. Over the years, he has deeply understood the hardships and helplessness faced by the vast number of diabetes patients, especially those with type 2 diabetes, who are unable to access advanced insulin pump therapy.

Therefore, although Instant Knowledge has already reduced the personal upfront cost of insulin pumps to a few thousand yuan, Xu Yibo still hopes to accelerate the transformation of the business model through technological innovation. The goal is to shift from the traditional high-value hardware model, which charges a significant one-time upfront fee for product sales, to a model with ultra-low or even no personal upfront fees. This new approach adopts a high-value consumables model, where doctors can prescribe as needed and patients can purchase as needed. While minimizing the financial burden on patients with type 1 diabetes, it also supports a broad population of patients with type 2 diabetes in accessing affordable and convenient advanced insulin pump therapy. Xu Yibo stated, “Instant Knowledge plans to implement different pricing models for different types of diabetic patients.”

Most patients with type 2 diabetes do not require long-term insulin injections, though intermittent insulin therapy may be necessary in certain situations (such as intensive treatment for newly diagnosed patients or when blood glucose levels are excessively high). Instant Knowledge (Shanghai) Health Technology Co., Ltd. plans to eliminate individual upfront fees and instead rent insulin pumps to type 2 diabetes patients who do not require long-term pump therapy by collecting a small deposit (approximately RMB 300) or requiring a minor credit guarantee (such as 500 Alipay Sesame Credit points). Patients can purchase consumables weekly at a cost of a few hundred RMB, based on medical advice. With a pay-as-you-go model that offers greater discounts for larger purchases, patients can benefit from advanced insulin pump therapy that is safer, more effective, more convenient, and reduces the need for injections.

Type 1 diabetes mostly occurs in children and adolescents. At the current level of medical science, it cannot be cured; patients must receive lifelong insulin injections, otherwise their lives will be at risk. For children and adolescents, adherence to insulin injection regimens is often poor, making insulin pumps their optimal choice. Instant Knowledge (Shanghai) Health Technology Co., Ltd. plans to offer consumables at preferential prices on a long-term basis to patients who purchase its insulin pumps at an affordable entry price (estimated at RMB 6,000), thereby alleviating the financial burden on patients.

Currently, Instant Knowledge is undergoing certification for its first-generation insulin pump product in China and overseas. Xu Yibo stated, “The product is expected to launch overseas in the first half of 2021 and in China in the first half of 2022.”

Regarding future plans, Xu Yibo stated that diabetes treatment requires long-term, frequent blood glucose monitoring and insulin injections. Currently, mainstream insulin pumps are open-loop devices. Medical personnel calculate the patient's daily dynamic insulin dosage based on the patient's physical condition, in-hospital blood glucose monitoring data, and caloric intake from their diet; these devices cannot automatically adjust insulin dosage in response to daily fluctuations in the patient's blood glucose levels. In the future, Instant Knowledge will initiate at an appropriate timeDevelopment of Artificial Pancreas Products Integrated with Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Establish a Comprehensive Closed-Loop Diabetes Management System。

“Our Vision: Upgrading Traditional Insulin Therapy with Semiconductor Technology, Replacing Carbon-Based Organs with Silicon-Based Ones, to Help Eliminate Diabetes Worldwide!“Xu Yibo, founder and CEO of Instant Knowledge, said so.”