Yixu Medical Secures Tens of Millions in RMB Financing to Advance Precision Drug Therapy and AI-Powered Prescription Decision Support

Recently, VCBeat learned that Beijing Yixu Medical Technology Co., Ltd., a company specializing in precision medication for chronic diseases, has announced the completion of a new round of financing. The amount raised in this round was tens of millions of yuan, with Lanfeng Medical as the sole investor. Following the completion of the financing, Yixu Medical will further expand its team and market channels. Meanwhile, the company will continue to increase investment in the research and development of genetic testing products and AI-assisted diagnostic and treatment technologies.

Yixu Medical was established in March 2016. Its core team had already defined the R&D direction of pharmacogenomics in 2015. After rigorous validation and comprehensive consideration, the company determined its product architecture for personalized medication in the management of the “three highs” (hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia) as chronic diseases, and has gradually expanded into other areas of chronic disease medication. As Professor Hu Songnian stated, at that time, attention was predominantly focused on fields such as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), tumor detection, and genetic disease testing. Not only clinicians and investment institutions, but even industry insiders paid little attention to this field. (For details, see: Research on Personalized Medication for Hypertension Based on Pharmacogenomics, Author: Hu Songnian, July 10, 2017)

Leveraging NGS-based targeted sequencing technology, Yixu Medical has conducted multiple studies on the relationship between gene polymorphisms and drug efficacy and safety. Taking hypertension as an example, by testing genes related to the metabolism, efficacy, dosage, and side effects of antihypertensive drugs, the company reveals individualized differences in drug adaptability and dosing among patients with different genotypes. Through omics analysis of comprehensive drug responses in individual samples, this approach assists in guiding clinical personalized medication.

In the precision medicine industry, it is widely recognized that personalized cancer treatment is a critical necessity, leading to intense competition in related fields. In contrast, personalized medication for chronic diseases, represented by hypertension, remains an untapped market with significant potential.

In China, one in four adults suffers from hypertension. During conventional treatment, most patients undergo a process of “trial-and-error” medication selection, which not only wastes resources and time but may also lead to unpredictable adverse drug reactions. This has resulted in an extremely low rate of achievement of therapeutic targets for hypertension.

Moreover, due to the high rates of disability and mortality associated with its complications—such as stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease—and the substantial drain on medical and social resources, hypertension has become a major public health issue in China.

In November 2018, the Health Commission of Guangdong Province issued the “Notice on Strengthening Pharmaceutical Affairs Management and Drug Cost Control in Medical Institutions to Promote High-Quality Development of Pharmaceutical Care” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”). Zhang Yanwei, founder of Yixu Medical, told VCBeat that the “Notice” further emphasized the role of clinical pharmacists, stating that “standardizing medication therapy management is an essential pathway for clinical management.”

In Zhang Yanwei’s view, centering on patient needs, focusing on rational drug use, and basing practices on evidence-based pharmacy and clinical application guidelines will establish a closed-loop chronic disease pharmaceutical care service encompassing information collection, treatment assessment, plan formulation, implementation, and monitoring with feedback.

“As emphasized in the Notice, in the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and severe mental disorders, clinical pharmacists will participate in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of clinical pathways for drug therapy, with priority given to the use of essential medicines under the premise of ensuring therapeutic efficacy,” added Zhang Yanwei. “Moreover, personalized guidance on rational drug use for patients will be incorporated into the performance assessment of clinical pharmacists and the comprehensive hospital evaluation system.”

“The introduction of policies related to clinical pharmaceutical services aligns perfectly with the direction Yixu Medical is pursuing,” said Zhang Yanwei.

To achieve personalized medication guidance, gene sequencing is undoubtedly a powerful tool. However, due to the lack of baseline pharmacogenomic data for the Chinese population with chronic diseases, and given ethnic differences, data from European and American populations cannot accurately guide medication use in Chinese patients. A prerequisite for the large-scale development of pharmacogenomics in China is the establishment of a foundational database tailored to the characteristics of the Chinese population.

“If European and American databases are used directly for locus comparison, the accuracy of drug response testing results will be significantly reduced,” explained Zhang Yanwei. Data from 2017 showed that among the 4,574 clinical annotation records in the well-known PharmGKB database, only 180 included frequency statistics for the Chinese population; furthermore, among the 150 annotations related to hypertension, information on the Chinese population was available for only 14 entries.

“Therefore, directly copying existing international databases to develop related genetic testing products would compromise the accuracy of test results. It is essential to integrate clinical data and follow-up information from the Chinese population, and leverage omics analysis to develop genetic testing products tailored to the actual drug responses of Chinese patients,” remarked Zhang Yanwei. “The challenges involved in the entire R&D process are self-evident.”

During the interview, the reporter learned that Yixu Medical has conducted extensive clinical validation and product development leveraging its core technologies. As Zhang Yanwei stated, “After more than two years of effort, the performance and detection accuracy of Yixu Medical’s pharmacogenetic testing products have gained widespread clinical recognition.”

It is reported that throughout the project’s implementation, numerous renowned Chinese experts in genomics, pharmacology, clinical medicine, and clinical pharmacy have been deeply involved and collaborated extensively. To date, Yixu Medical has completed the research, development, and validation of multiple test kits.

The V2.0 version of the testing product ultimately selected 135 genes, including drug-metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters, and drug target genes associated with commonly used medications for chronic diseases. The product report covers 45 clinically common drugs for hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular conditions, enabling comprehensive medication adjustment through a single test rather than individual testing for each drug.

To date, Yixu Medical has established close project collaborations with hundreds of renowned Grade IIIA hospitals across China. In two national research initiatives, Yixu Medical has collaborated with clinical experts from across the country to focus on the research and application of personalized medicine and precision medication for chronic diseases, thereby largely fulfilling the original objectives of its precision medication program for chronic diseases.

Guided by pharmacogenomics, Yixu Medical will further leverage artificial intelligence and big data technologies to assist clinicians in developing medication regimens based on individual genetic test results.

They will also leverage extensive case data and expert-prescribed regimens to train and continuously validate foundational datasets, thereby developing an AI-powered prescription decision-support system. This system aims to assist primary care general practitioners in evaluating and selecting personalized pharmacotherapy plans, ultimately enhancing therapeutic efficacy, reducing adverse reactions, and lowering treatment costs.

Zhang Yanwei also shared with VCBeat Yixu Medical’s plans and goals for the next three years—to build a comprehensive platform for whole-course chronic disease management. Building on its Chinese population chronic disease medication database and AI-powered prescription decision-support system, Yixu Medical will continue to develop this integrated platform, connecting various aspects of care including routine visits, follow-up consultations, home-based monitoring, medication reminders, critical condition alerts, online doctor–patient interactions, data mining, and targeted delivery of precision health services. Meanwhile, the platform will incorporate insurance payment capabilities, providing chronic disease patients with personalized health management services that are comprehensive, cover the entire course of disease, and span the full care cycle.

“In summary, Yixu Medical aims to build a comprehensive chronic disease service ecosystem with precision medication as its entry point. By leveraging regional medical consortia and integrating with clinical practice, the company seeks to establish a multi-level, diversified closed-loop system for chronic disease management that spans in-hospital and out-of-hospital care, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as prevention and health maintenance, while connecting experts, hospitals, communities, and health management institutions,” said Zhang Yanwei. “By bringing these stakeholders together, we aim to jointly serve physicians, pharmacists, patients, and other participants across the entire chronic disease industry value chain.”