Guoyao Capital-Backed Assisted Reproductive Technology Platform Files for IPO
According to VCBeat, Sinopharm Capital has invested tens of millions of yuan to partner with Dr. Sun Fangzhen, a renowned embryologist and former director of the Institute of Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to establish an R&D and medical service platform for assisted reproductive technologies.
What kind of team is this? Why did it secure investment from Sinopharm Capital?
It is reported that, influenced by environmental pollution, high work pressure, unhealthy lifestyles, delayed childbearing age among women, and the two-child policy, the prevalence of infertility among women of childbearing age in China has risen from 2% in the 1980s to approximately 15% in 2017.
In recent years, national-level research projects in the field of assisted reproduction have primarily focused on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches related to birth defects, pediatric genetic disorders, and fertility preservation. Currently, medications and hormones account for approximately 40%–50% of the total cost per assisted reproduction treatment cycle. With increasing penetration rates of assisted reproductive technologies and heightened patient awareness, greater emphasis is being placed on preventive and pre-treatment measures, such as minimizing excessive hormonal stimulation and preserving ovarian function.
According to the prospectus of Jinxin Fertility, which cites a report by Frost & Sullivan, there were approximately 47.7 million couples with infertility in China in 2017, a figure expected to rise to about 56.2 million by 2023. The prevalence of infertility in China is projected to increase from 15.5% in 2017 to 18.1% in 2023.
Against this backdrop, China’s assisted reproductive technology (ART) services market has experienced rapid growth. The number of ART institutions in China increased from 88 in 2006 to 451 in 2016. In 2017, approximately 527,000 patients received ART services in China, a figure projected to reach around 956,000 by 2023. Driven by rising fertility rates and policy incentives from the Chinese government, the market size for ART services in China is expected to grow to RMB 52.7 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6% from 2017 to 2023.
Meanwhile, the United States has become the most popular destination for Chinese citizens seeking overseas assisted reproductive technology (ART) services. In 2017, approximately 15,000 Chinese nationals traveled abroad to receive ART services, with 30% of them choosing the United States. According to data from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, the market size for cross-border medical care in assisted reproduction exceeded RMB 9 billion in 2017. The total number of cross-border ART cycles reached approximately 470,000, among which the number of cross-border in vitro fertilization (IVF) oocyte retrieval cycles exceeded 200,000, surpassing the number of cross-border ART clinical pregnancy cycles.
Dr. Sun Fangzhen studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he successfully defended his doctoral thesis before Dr. Robert Edwards, known as the father of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, earning his Ph.D. from Cambridge. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Marilyn Monk, a Fellow of the Royal Society and internationally renowned expert, focusing on the fundamental theories and techniques of in vitro maturation of oocytes. He was later elected as a Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. At the invitation of Professor Zhou Guangzhao, former President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and former Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Dr. Sun returned to China to establish the CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology. He served as Director of the CAS Institute of Developmental Biology and as Chief Scientist for the “Research on Safety Assessment of Embryo Manipulation” project under the National Medium- and Long-Term Major Scientific Research Program. Dr. Sun is among the earliest scholars in China to explore the industrialization of assisted reproductive technologies driven by technological innovation.
He first applied embryo technologies developed at the University of Cambridge to enhance the competitiveness of the dairy industry. He was one of the core founders of the parent company of China Shengmu Organic Milk Limited, a publicly listed company (HK.1432), and previously served as the founding chairman of Shengmu High-Tech.
Dr. Sun Fangzhen is the academic leader of China’s first national-level major research program on the safety of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). He organized and led more than 20 renowned reproductive medicine centers across China, including some of the largest such as Xiangya, to successfully complete a high-quality risk assessment of the safety of current ART practices in China. The project helped refine technical guidelines and contributed to advancing the standard of ART in China.
Dr. Sun Fangzhen has supervised nearly 50 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in China. Among them, nearly 20 have become professors, associate professors, or research fellows at renowned universities or research institutions both domestically and internationally; three have served as Chief Scientists for national key programs; and one has been elected as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Sun Fangzhen, adhering to the philosophy of “harnessing technology for the benefit of humanity,” is a steadfast academic practitioner committed to advancing the transition “from new theories to new technologies and products, serving the public with safer and superior technical solutions.” Dr. Sun believes that, having already cultivated a cohort of outstanding scientific and technological backbone talents for the nation, it is now time to embark on the path of integrating technology with capital, transforming innovative scientific knowledge into practical new technologies and products that tangibly contribute to the development of social healthcare.
Guided by this conviction, Dr. Sun Fangzhen has leveraged his more than 30 years of technological expertise as a stabilizing foundation, forging with Sinopharm Capital an integrated entity that synergizes technology and capital for mutual growth.
Sinopharm Capital has always adhered to its mission of “providing people with optimal health management solutions and products.” Taking the research and development of safer, more efficient next-generation alternative technologies for assisted reproduction as a starting point, both parties are advancing an innovative assisted reproduction technology system. This initiative aims to make assisted reproductive treatment and fertility preservation for women safer, less time-consuming, and less medication-intensive, while minimizing side effects.
Technical safety assessment based on advanced approaches such as genomics, epigenetics, lipidomics, and ion signaling transduction, aiming to ensure that the next generation conceived through assisted reproductive technologies is born healthier and with a reduced risk of adult-onset diseases.
This timeSinopharm Capital Announces Joint Venture with Dr. Sun Fangzhen, Renowned Embryologist, Chief Scientist of the National Major Scientific Research Program, and Former Director of the Institute of Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to Establish an R&D Service Platform for Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Focusing on the research, development, and clinical translation of next-generation assisted reproductive technologies, the venture will collaborate with international experts to build a new global platform for assisted reproductive medicine, addressing the rapidly expanding domestic and international demand for assisted reproduction and female fertility preservation services, and expanding its reach from China to the world.
In the future, Sinopharm Capital aims to leverage an “integration + empowerment” strategy to collaborate with Dr. Sun Fangzhen and renowned medical experts and scientists from developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. By relying on leading domestic and international experts, we will jointly establish an International Medical Consortium for Reproductive Medicine. To this end, we will invite more partners in capital, technology, and management to participate in investing in and establishing advanced assisted reproductive technology (ART) laboratories and novel ART medical centers both in China and abroad.Committed to providing world-class assisted reproductive and reproductive genetic technology services to people in China and Belt and Road Initiative countries.