Lü Doctor Clinics Secures Tens of Millions RMB in Series A Strategic Financing, Plans 200 Direct-Owned Community Clinics in Chengdu Within 3 Years

Recently,According to VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat),Dr. Lv, a Chengdu-based chain of community general practice clinics (hereinafter referred to as “Dr. Lv”), has completed a tens-of-millions-level strategic Series A financing round.This round of financing was exclusively participated in by the Tongqi Gaotou Equity Investment Fund, jointly established by Tongjiang Investment Group and Hubei High-Tech Industry Investment Holding Co., Ltd.

According to Wang Wencheng, General Manager of Lv Doctor Chain, after this round of financing,“Dr. Lv” will continue to deepen its presence in local communities, with plans to establish 200 directly operated community general practice clinics in Chengdu over the next three years. In addition to providing high-quality in-clinic treatment, the company will extensively develop health management services and initiate upgrades and iterations of its information management system, with a strategic focus on medical big data.

Since Dr. Lv began its chain operations in Chengdu in 2015, it has earned the recognition of local residents with the belief that “Dr. Lv is everywhere, and health is within easy reach.”

It is precisely for this reason that many investment institutions have flocked to them, eager to invest in their project.“However, we have always been cautious about capital. We strictly select strategic partners who understand the healthcare industry, because primary care is not a sector for making quick money,” Wang Wencheng told reporters.

So, why did “Dr. Lv” choose Tongjiang this time? And how does Tongjiang view this project? VCBeat conducted exclusive interviews with Shi Xiaoping, head of the medical sector in Tongjiang; Xu Dan, investment director for the medical sector in Tongjiang; and Wang Wencheng, general manager of the Dr. Lv chain, to reveal some details of this financing round.

For community-based general practice clinic chains, many entrepreneurs believe that achieving profitability is challenging and customer acquisition is difficult. So how does “Dr. Lv” address the challenge of profitability?

“Since we are rooted in the community and engaged in primary healthcare, delivering practical medical services must be our top priority. The next step is to conduct a thorough and in-depth analysis of our clients’ pain points and their true needs. It is acceptable even if project development proceeds at a slower pace,” said Wang Wencheng.

In terms of clinical services, “Dr. Lü” builds on the diagnosis and treatment of common, frequently occurring, and chronic diseases, extending its scope to pre-consultation disease prevention and post-consultation health management, thereby providing holistic, life-course health services to community residents.

Meanwhile, in recent years, numerous B2B partners have been introduced to pursue shared development.For example, in 2015, “Dr. Lv” introduced a medical knowledge base and clinical decision support system derived from the U.S.-based Mayo Clinic, achieving information-based management. In 2016, Dr. Lv Chain partnered with KingMed Diagnostics, China’s largest third-party medical laboratory testing institution, to establish the Dr. Lv Cloud Laboratory Center, providing precise treatment services to community residents.

It has also established strategic partnerships with renowned institutions such as Meinian Onehealth Healthcare, Aier Eye Hospital Group, Poly Real Estate, and Greenland Group. Leveraging the advantages of community-based traffic entry points, “Dr. Lv” has sequentially rolled out services including medical laboratory testing, professional health examinations, integrated medical and elderly care, chronic disease management, outpatient insurance, and various specialized medical services.

Wang Wenpin stated that the future positioning of “Dr. Lü” is not merely as a clinic, but as a multi-dimensional community health platform.

As the investor in this round, Tongjiang expects that Dr. Lü will center its services on lightweight consultations. Through joint efforts with the project team, it aims to further strengthen communication and collaboration with large hospitals, explore cooperative models such as patient referral channels, and better demonstrate corporate value. In addition, Dr. Lü will deeply penetrate its target market (Chengdu), and after expanding to over 200 locations, gradually extend into other target markets such as Chongqing and Guizhou, thereby radiating brand awareness nationwide. Consultations serve as the core method (“the boat”), data as the foundational pathway (“the bridge”), and health as the ultimate goal (“the shore”). The combination, integration, and fusion of these three elements will create a robust closed-loop service system for Dr. Lü, delivering comprehensive care throughout the entire life cycle.

How do investment firms view Dr. Lü, and why have they chosen to invest?

Shi Xiaoping, head of the medical sector at Tongjiang, stated that since 2014, as internet-based content gradually penetrated the healthcare industry, market attention has shifted from large hospitals to primary care services. During this period, many high-quality projects were successfully incubated, leading to significant improvements in traditional primary care models. However, with the deepening integration of healthcare services, challenges such as difficulties in accessing medical care and mismatches in service quality have become increasingly prominent. The demand for timely and comprehensive medical care continues to rise, prompting market participants to recognize the critical importance of offline medical services in the current development of the primary healthcare industry.

He believes that the community-based general practice chain clinics, which are the key focus of “Dr. Lv,” have largely met the urgent and high-volume treatment needs for common illnesses. Judging by its rapid growth, Dr. Lv’s business model has also gained widespread recognition among consumers.

“Thus, in the favorable environment driven by strong national policy support for private healthcare, we have chosen to partner with Dr. Lv, leveraging capital to optimize the allocation of medical resources and accelerate the regional expansion of his community-based general practice chain clinics, thereby serving a broader patient population and contributing to the development of a more comprehensive primary healthcare system at the local level,” added Shi Xiaoping.

From the perspective of Xu Dan, Investment Director in the medical sector at Tongjiang, Dr. Lü’s core competitiveness, compared with community clinics in other markets, lies in the following aspects:

First, the corporate team possesses strong management and operational capabilities.Dr. Lv’s founder, Lü Fengping, boasts 27 years of professional experience. He previously established the largest Level II general hospital in the Chengdu High-Tech Zone and possesses extensive clinical and managerial expertise across both large-scale hospitals and small community clinics. With profound strategic insights into Dr. Lv’s development planning, he stands out as one of the few high-caliber healthcare project managers in the industry.

Secondly, Dr. Lv has consistently focused on the Chengdu market, leveraging self-owned capital to rapidly expand into the High-Tech Zone, Shuangliu District, and Tianfu New Area. This strategy has yielded strong competitive advantages in both market focus and regional expertise.Currently, the company has expanded to over 20 stores, with each store experiencing rapid revenue growth in recent years, demonstrating a stable and profitable business model.

Finally, the greatest highlight of the chain model adopted by Dr. Lv lies in the replicability of its content.Drawing on the successful development experience of previous clinics, Dr. Lv has adopted a standardized operational management model to ensure that key metrics—such as investment per clinic and the number of physicians and nurses—are maintained at consistent levels. With light-clinic consultations as the core business focus, he emphasizes brand equity and maintains a clear strategic development plan.

During her multiple interactions with Dr. Lv, Xu Dan observed that although China’s healthcare industry developed later than those of some developed countries, the professionalism and reverence demonstrated by Chinese healthcare operators deeply impressed her. For instance, under the leadership of Chairman Lv Fengping, Dr. Lv’s team has remained dedicated to professional excellence and focus in medical services, operating their business in a pragmatic and down-to-earth manner. By practicing medicine with a deep respect for human nature and earning consumer trust through professional service, they exemplify the typical Chinese model of humanistic enterprise. Xu Dan believes that under this model, Dr. Lv will soon become an industry benchmark and enjoy even more promising prospects for high-quality development.

In fact, Tongjiang Investment Group is a large-scale comprehensive industrial chain group focused on financial innovation and industrial investment. Against the backdrop of China’s strong support for the development of the private healthcare sector, Tongjiang has consistently prioritized the medical field as one of its key areas for implementing an integrated industry-finance model. Currently, as China enters the “post-healthcare reform” era, with national policies encouraging incremental growth, the relevant industrial chains are poised to unlock even greater development opportunities.

“We also look forward to continuously identifying high-quality projects that align with China’s medical industry development plan, centering our strategic planning on building a comprehensive medical industry chain model, fostering diversified drivers and varied forms of medical offerings, and better meeting the healthcare consumption demands in China,” said Shi Xiaoping.

Taking the investment in the “Dr. Lü” project as an example, they not only provided Dr. Lü with robust financial backing but also leveraged the financial development advantages of Tongjiang, offering long-term support to Dr. Lü across multiple dimensions.On one hand, we will collaborate with Dr. Lv to develop more pragmatic strategic plans and implementation pathways, clarifying the company’s future direction and specific execution measures. On the other hand, we will assist Dr. Lv in financial management, risk control measures, and human resources development, thereby enhancing the company’s internal level of refined management. Furthermore, we will integrate additional internal and external resources, such as pharmaceutical suppliers and third-party customized medical information management systems, to provide high-quality resources that support Dr. Lv’s growth.

In addition to investing in “Dr. Lü,” Tongjiang has also been focusing on community healthcare for a long time.Shi Xiaoping stated that this year we have successfully completed the exit from Moore Dental. Currently, projects in ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and traditional Chinese medicine clinics are still ongoing. We aim to center our efforts on the Tongjiang Medical Industry Development Plan, integrating the distinct business models of each project. By optimizing resource allocation across upstream and downstream segments of the industry chain, we seek to mitigate operational risks for various projects while providing broader opportunities for synergistic development.

For each healthcare investment project, Shi Xiaoping believes that investing in the healthcare industry differs from other consumer sectors, with more explicit requirements for core technologies and operational models.During the project implementation, they primarily adhered to four principles:

First, the industry's content aligns with policy guidelines and can contribute to the improvement and development of China's healthcare system;

Second, the industry is in an upward growth phase, offering broad development space and promising investment prospects;

Third, the project founder possesses a strong strategic vision, robust execution capabilities, and extensive development experience;

Fourth, the enterprise has a clear business model and, under the operation of this model, possesses stable profitability and favorable profit expectations.

From the current domestic perspective, although aging populations and the prevalence of common and chronic diseases necessitate community-based medical care, existing community healthcare services remain inadequate. On one hand, community health centers lack sufficient qualified medical personnel and equipment; on the other, there is a deficiency in service orientation within traditional models, making it difficult to meet the current demand for primary healthcare among consumers.

Since the new healthcare reform in 2009, a series of policies have been implemented to strengthen primary healthcare services, with intensive policy measures introduced in 2017 to enhance the involvement of general practitioners. Meanwhile, the proportion of community medical institutions designated as health insurance providers has gradually increased, currently exceeding 60%.

In this context, Shi Xiaoping believes that hospital outpatient services may increasingly shift to community healthcare on a large scale in the future, and the revenue share of primary care within the overall healthcare sector is likely to rise further, becoming one of the key components of China’s competitive tiered diagnosis and treatment system.