Medlinker Files for IPO: A Leading Chinese Internet Healthcare Platform with 450,000 Verified Doctors and a RMB 5B Valuation Seeks Strategic Tech-Driven Partnerships

In the "Internet + Healthcare" sector, Medlinker was established relatively late but has achieved rapid growth.

In just four years, Medlinker has amassed 450,000 real-name verified physicians and secured strategic investments from prominent Chinese firms including Ceyuan Ventures, PreAngel, Sequoia China, Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, Huaxing New Economy Fund, and CEIC Health Fund. With total investment reaching RMB 600 million and a valuation of RMB 50 billion, Medlinker has rapidly emerged as a leading player in the mobile healthcare industry.

Medlinker, as China’s leading real-name physician platform and a pioneer in the “Internet + Healthcare” industry, aims to leverage its growth experience and accumulated resources to foster the joint development of outstanding startup teams within the sector.

By co-hosting the China Health and Medical Big Data Industry Innovation Competition with China Electronics Corporation (CEC), the aim is to identify and support outstanding innovative projects and teams in the “Internet + Healthcare” sector. “We believe that only with the participation of more high-quality projects and teams can the entire ‘Internet + Healthcare’ industry develop faster and better,” Tang Yin, Vice President of Investment at Medlinker, told reporters.

At the "2017 Top 100 Future Healthcare" Forum,Founder of Medlinker and Penguin Doctor, andCEO Wang Shirui,Delivered a presentation titled “Exploring the Commercialization of Physician Platforms.” He shared the initiatives undertaken over the past year on the physician community platform, noting that it had achieved break-even across all business lines, thereby recouping all prior cash burn. “We aim to refine each business model and ensure its maturity before scaling up.”

He divided the Medlinker APP into two major modules: Module One is to build a platform for physicians' multi-site practice, and Module Two is to sign collaborations with pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers or commercial insurance institutions.

A Platform for Physicians’ Multi-Site Practice: In addition to offering traditional online services, Medlinker provides O2O (Online-to-Offline) services that enable physicians to perform surgeries through its platform. Leveraging partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, Medlinker allows surgeons to access prescribed medications via the platform and integrate comprehensive hospital infrastructure, thereby creating a sense of having an “online hospital” even after physicians leave their physical institutions.

In the process of providing services to physicians, Medlinker has identified significant potential for monetizing medical expertise. In fact, income derived from knowledge monetization accounts for nearly half of some physicians’ earnings, which typically amount to several thousand yuan. By enabling physicians to share clinical cases, professional insights, or recent research data, Medlinker helps them establish revenue streams and build their personal brands (IP).

As healthcare reform deepens, Medlinker has observed an increasing trend of in-hospital prescriptions being filled outside hospitals. This presents a significant opportunity to build a comprehensive online platform. By connecting with chain pharmacies and clinics, and leveraging its own clinic network (Penguin Doctor), Medlinker aims to facilitate the shift of more prescriptions to out-of-hospital settings.

Collaboration with pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. Taking the partnership with Gilead Sciences, a global leader, as an example, the company holds a leading, even monopolistic, position in the fields of hepatitis C, hepatitis B, fatty liver disease, and HIV/AIDS.

Medlinker aims to help them rapidly enter the Chinese market. First, by promoting pharmaceuticals through academic channels, Medlinker will establish both online and offline academic promotion platforms for them. Second, Medlinker will leverage physicians to build a continuing education academy tailored to each disease specialty within every medical department.

In the realm of commercial insurance partnerships, surgical accident insurance has completed its claims payouts, marking a significant shift. This demonstrates that over the years, Medlinker has accumulated resources from various stakeholders and possesses the inherent capability to leverage its growth experience and amassed resources to foster the joint development of outstanding startup teams within the industry.

Therefore, Medlinker will focus its efforts on industrial investment this year. The competition held in partnership with China Electronics Corporation (CEC) presents a timely opportunity, leveraging favorable timing, geographic advantages, and strong collaborative synergy.

Timing:Currently, the "Internet + Healthcare" sector is experiencing rapid growth. Medlinker aims to leverage this opportunity by integrating its accumulated resources across physicians, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and commercial insurance providers to identify and collaborate on high-quality healthcare projects within the "Internet + Healthcare" industry.

Location Advantage:Medlinker has established collaborations with government industrial parks across China. In Chengdu, for instance, it consistently selects high-quality projects in the Southwest region for capital cooperation.

Renhe:In January this year, institutions that had previously invested in Medlinker’s own projects reached an intent agreement for consortium investment. Coupled with the fact that China Electronics Corporation (CEC) is not only an equity partner but also a key strategic partner, this creates favorable conditions for securing future financing for related projects.

Furthermore, in January of this year, Medlinker specifically recruited dedicated personnel for industrial investment, underscoring its strong emphasis on this area. “We aim to extend our business value chain through investment,” said Tang Yin. A seasoned professional with eight years of investment experience, Tang previously worked in investment roles at Ping An Bank and the Zhu Bajie Group, focusing primarily on M&A transactions involving listed companies.

Medlinker has previously invested in numerous projects spanning various sectors of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, including R&D, pharmaceutical distribution, medical academic media, and healthcare information systems. In Tang Yin’s view, these merely represent past investment experience and do not dictate the direction for project selection in the current competition. “Our criteria remain broad; any opportunity that aligns with our strategy and offers complementary resources and business synergies is worth considering.”

"Meanwhile, following the launch of the China Health and Medical Big Data Industry Innovation Competition, Mr. Wang (Wang Shirui) and I will serve as judges, responsible for screening projects."

During the project screening process, we also participate in investments in companies that exhibit these three key characteristics:

First, it aligns with Medlinker’s development strategy in the “Internet + Healthcare” sector;

Second, the need to form complementary advantages in resources and business operations with the existing Medlinker;

Third, we have a strong preference for technology-driven projects or teams to address our technological shortcomings.

In the later stages, Medlinker will not only provide financial support for these projects but also integrate its existing resources—including physician networks, partner vendors, and nationwide healthcare institution partners—to offer comprehensive support for incubated projects. In addition to using its own capital, Medlinker can also introduce other investment institutions to the projects.

Furthermore, certain policy supports are also available. For instance, the government provides Medlinker with tax incentives and administrative facilitation; incubation projects that maintain close collaboration with Medlinker are eligible to enjoy these benefits.

In late April, the State Council officially issued a document outlining plans to promote the deep integration and development of the internet with healthcare. This represents a significant boon for the industry, akin to a welcome spring breeze. The new policy clarifies that the integrated development model combining traditional healthcare with new technologies will become a crucial means of driving healthcare reform and enhancing health services for the public in the future.

Medlinker’s development has always closely aligned with policy requirements, actively responding to regulatory needs and deeply integrating with the “Internet + Healthcare” model. Examples include launching internet healthcare initiatives in partnership with medical institutions and engaging in cross-border e-commerce for pharmaceuticals, such as leveraging zero-tariff policies on imported anticancer drugs.

Following the integration of these policies, Medlinker will also prioritize strategic deployment in the following areas this year:

Medlinker’s core competitive advantage lies in its physician platform, with an unwavering commitment to serving physicians effectively. This year, the company will continue to strengthen the development of its physician platform to deliver a superior user experience for doctors. Leveraging this physician-centric platform, and augmented by capabilities in medical big data and artificial intelligence, Medlinker empowers partners across the industry chain, particularly by providing comprehensive healthcare solutions for the triad of healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance payers.

In its collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, Medlinker has tailored a “patient-centric holistic solution” for them, which is currently being implemented in its partnership with Gilead. Providing customized comprehensive solutions to pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers was one of Medlinker’s key strategic focuses in 2018. Currently, Medlinker is collaborating with more than twenty well-known pharmaceutical companies both domestically and internationally.

In terms of collaboration with healthcare institutions, Medlinker and Tencent are jointly rolling out offline Penguin Doctor clinics across multiple cities, with a plan to establish 100 locations nationwide. Recently, Medlinker officially launched its Winlite Smart Hospital Platform, a one-stop IT solution tailored for private hospitals. This platform provides private hospitals with a standardized and lightweight information system, as Medlinker continues to empower healthcare institutions through technological innovation.

Furthermore, Medlinker’s collaboration with local governments is also underway, as evidenced by the recent signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with the People’s Government of Rizhao City, Shandong Province. Under the terms of the agreement, Medlinker will provide Rizhao City with comprehensive smart healthcare services.