Jiahe Hongsheng: Building a Standardized Cell Storage and Preparation Center, Aiming to Cover 100 Cities Nationwide Within Three Years

Wang Yang, founder and chairman of Jiahe Hongsheng, told VCBeat that the company’s foray into the health sector was somewhat serendipitous. “In 2010, my father developed severe diabetic complications. We sought medical help from various sources, but conventional treatments struggled to cure his condition,” Wang said. “By chance, we learned about stem cell therapy for diabetic complications. Although we initially approached it with a tentative mindset, we were pleasantly surprised when my father made a full recovery.”

Since then, Wang Yang has focused on the healthcare sector, entering the industry as an individual investor. “Merely investing was not satisfying enough; I hoped to participate directly in the industry,” Wang Yang stated. In 2018, Wang Yang co-founded Jiahe Hongsheng with several partners. Jiahe Hongsheng is dedicated to building an integrated life science industry chain platform, encompassing ultra-low-temperature storage of human cells, regenerative cell research, biotechnological innovation, and translational scientific research.

Wang Yang, Founder of Jiahe Hongsheng

Although Jiahe Hongsheng has been in existence for only about a year, its core team has accumulated many years of experience in fields such as cell storage and biotechnology translation. In 2013, Wang Yang founded Jiahua Health, the predecessor of Jiahe Hongsheng, which focused on businesses including cell and tissue storage, research and development of biomedical technologies and products, translation of biomedical technologies, and genetic testing and diagnosis.

The cell industry chain encompasses upstream collection, preparation, and storage; midstream differentiation, value-added services, and formulation development; and downstream clinical treatment and applications. According to IMS predictions, the global stem cell industry reached a scale of $400 billion by 2020. The industry is currently dominated by upstream storage services, with growth driven by research demands from the midstream and downstream sectors. In China, stem cell banking primarily focuses on umbilical cord blood, while other stem cell storage services are still in their infancy. Data from China Business Industry Research Institute shows that by the end of 2017, the umbilical cord blood storage rate in China was only about 1%, compared to 15%–20% in developed countries in Europe and America. This indicates significant market potential for the upstream stem cell storage industry.

In recent years, cell therapy has demonstrated significant potential in disease treatment and anti-aging applications. Particularly in the fields of stem cells and immune cells, scientific research has revealed that stem cells possess self-renewal capacity and multipotent differentiation potential, enabling them to repair cells, improve cellular metabolism, and activate dormant cells, thereby potentially offering an optimal approach to delaying aging. Currently popular immunotherapies, such as CAR-T and CAR-NK, are also closely related to immune cells. However, cells gradually lose vitality with human aging and eventually undergo senescence and death. “If healthy human cells are stored and later revived and expanded when needed for scientific research, disease diagnosis, and treatment, their maximum value can be realized,” stated Wang Yang.

Jiahe Hongsheng enters the cell industry from the upstream sector, providing technical services such as extraction, preparation, testing, quality control, and storage of various stem cells and immune cells to clients including research institutions, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. The company possesses mature cell preparation and storage technologies, with its core cell cryopreservation technology originating from the University of Oxford in the UK. It offers customized solutions and storage services for a variety of cell types, including adipose-derived cells, immune cells, dental pulp stem cells from children’s deciduous teeth, and perinatal umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Meanwhile, the company has independently developed a biobank management system that complies with international quality management system standards, establishing standardized and networked cell storage processes covering sample intake, outbound logistics, and transportation. This end-to-end approach ensures the quality of stored cell samples and safeguards customer privacy. To guarantee sample security, the company has partnered with an insurance provider, under which every sample in the biobank is insured.

By collaborating with government-affiliated agencies in Shenzhen, Jiangxi Province, Henan Province, Jilin Province, and other regions, the company has established multiple public cell banks, preparation centers, and clinical translation bases. It operates GMP-certified laboratories with an overall cleanliness level of Class 1,000 and a core operational area meeting Class 100 standards. The laboratories utilize equipment and consumables imported from Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA), and its operations are certified under the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. The cell banks primarily provide cell storage services to clients, while the cell preparation centers offer customizable cell products for scientific research purposes. “We operate like a bank for cells,” stated Wang Yang. “Our goal is to ensure the quality and safety of cell samples throughout the storage period.”

Jiahe Hongsheng Laboratory

Jiahe Hongsheng has established two research translation platforms at hospitals in Tianjin and Hebei Province, providing standardized and customized cell products to support clinical researchers in their studies on anti-aging, stem cell transplantation for avascular necrosis of the femoral head, spinal cord injury, and other areas.

“To establish a cell sample bank, in addition to ensuring quality and safety, we must also streamline processes to enable convenient access, allowing customers to store samples locally and retrieve them as needed,” stated Wang Yang. Jiahe Hongsheng is committed to building China’s safest strategic cell storage repository and an international biobank, providing stem cell and immune cell preparation and storage services to clients across China. Currently, the company stores 100,000 cell samples annually and has obtained licenses in three cities. It expects to secure licenses in five additional cities by the end of the year, with plans to expand its cell storage service centers to cover 100 cities nationwide within the next three years.

Currently, Jiahe Hongsheng is undergoing a new round of financing, with the funds to be used for the nationwide layout of public cell storage banks, preparation centers, and other facilities. The company is also seeking various local partners, such as health management centers and hospitals, to establish joint ventures or enter into strategic partnerships. Through this division of labor, Jiahe Hongsheng will set up local cell storage banks and provide technical support for cell storage and preparation, while its partners will handle market promotion and customer base expansion, ultimately achieving a nationwide market presence.