WeDoctor Secures $500M Pre-IPO Funding, WuXi AppTec Lists on SSE, and Ascletis Pharma Files IPO Prospectus
Artwork | Napoleon Visiting the Plague Hospital in Jaffa
Author | Ann Jean Gro
Medical History in Pictures | Issue 20180513
This painting is based on historical events from Napoleon’s eastern campaign in Syria in 1799. Jaffa was a key military stronghold in Syria at the time; had Napoleon eliminated the main enemy forces in Jaffa and Acre, he would have accomplished the major objective of this eastern expedition. However, during the fierce battles, plague broke out throughout the army, creating an extremely grave situation. The painting depicts Napoleon and his officers personally visiting the hospital to care for their soldiers.
Illumina’s China Strategy: Bullish on Consumer and Clinical Markets, with Upstream Market as the Focus
An increasing number of companies are choosing to collaborate with universities, hospitals, or medical experts to jointly develop AI-assisted diagnostic and treatment systems for dermatological conditions. So, how many skin-related AI projects currently exist worldwide? How effective are they? What challenges do they face? And how do policies provide guidance? VCBeat has compiled an overview of these issues.
WeDoctor has become the largest unicorn in the industry and is making its final push toward an initial public offering.
Recently, to promote the interoperability and sharing of medical and health information, the National Health Statistics Information Center, in accordance with the requirements of the “13th Five-Year” National Plan for Population Health Informatization Development, organized the 2017 national assessment of the standardization maturity level of medical and health information interoperability. This initiative conducted technical evaluations of the informatization construction levels in relevant regions and hospitals that voluntarily applied to participate, and publicly disclosed the assessment results for 15 regions and 50 hospitals.
Friday:Major Announcement: China Health and Medical Big Data Industry Innovation Competition Launches
This competition extensively invites domestic startup projects in the health and medical sectors that focus on technological innovation or business model innovation, as well as broad data-related projects in the TMT sector. Technological innovation projects include, but are not limited to, those in the fields of internet, big data, artificial intelligence, data governance technologies, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), genetic testing, and smart devices.
The commercial deployment of medical AI in China is facing numerous bottlenecks. How can these challenges be overcome? Let us now turn our attention to major hospitals in the United States to examine how they are applying AI.
On the evening of May 6,China Everbright Limited(“Everbright Limited”, stock code: 165.HK) announced that its healthcare fund has entered into an agreement with Medtronic to acquire Medtronic’s 22.4% equity stake in Lifetech Scientific Corporation (stock code: 1302.HK). Upon completion of the transaction, Everbright Limited will replace Medtronic as the largest shareholder of Lifetech Scientific.
May 7,Ascletis Pharma(Ascletis Pharma Inc.) has formally submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first pre-revenue biotechnology company from mainland China to list in Hong Kong under the new rules.
On the morning of May 8,Yinchuan Big Data Management and Service BureauJointly held a press conference with the Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission to announce the official launch of the Yinchuan Internet Hospital Supervision Platform.
May 8, WuxiWuXi AppTec NewWuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. (stock abbreviation: WuXi AppTec; stock code: 603259) was officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange today. The issue price for WuXi AppTec’s initial public offering was RMB 21.60 per share, with a total of 104.1986 million shares issued.
On May 9, China's leading healthcare technology platformWeDoctor Holdings LimitedToday, the completion of a $500 million strategic financing round was announced. This round represents the largest pre-IPO financing completed to date in China’s healthcare technology sector, bringing WeDoctor’s valuation to $5.5 billion post-financing.
May 9,CStone Pharmaceuticals(Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CStone Pharmaceuticals") announced the completion of a $260 million (approximately RMB 1.65 billion) Series B financing round, marking the largest single Series B financing in China's biopharmaceutical sector to date.
On May 9, the ... that had lasted for more than a monthTakeda(Takeda) The plan to acquire Shire has finally been settled: the boards of directors of both companies have reached an agreement on the recommended offer, with Takeda acquiring Shire for £46 billion (approximately $62 billion). This marks the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company in history.
On May 11, Eli Lilly and ARMO BioSciences announced a definitive agreement under which Eli Lilly will acquire ARMO in an all-cash transaction at $50 per share, for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.
This week, there were 16 financing events in the medical field both domestically and internationally.
New Jun Capital, Qin Yangwen
We are gradually shifting toward an investment approach grounded in industry fundamentals. Many RMB-denominated funds are also undergoing this transition. Previously, investments were largely driven by financial statements, leading to homogeneous strategies. In contrast, when investing based on industry logic, differences in understanding of the sector, varying preferences for specific sub-sectors, and diverse investment stages result in greater differentiation among RMB funds. (Source: Si Bai Wei)
Puhua Capital, Zhou Mi
Pu Hua’s healthcare investments follow a “track + player” logic: once a track is selected, it begins to deploy along the upstream and downstream segments, embedding at various strategic points and exploring different business models. (Source: Si Bai Wei)
1. This Wearable AI Medical Voice Assistant Allows Doctors to Spend More Time with Patients Each Day
Voice-driven healthcare company Notable released this week a smart voice-enabled watch for physicians that combines AI and speech recognition technology to capture doctor-patient conversations during consultations, automatically generating corresponding notes, codes, and orders in the background, thereby eliminating the burden of manual charting. Notable states that the tool achieves a 98.5% compatibility rate with EHR data and saves physicians one hour of work time per day.
Source of news and image: mobihealthnews.com
2. Novel Integrated Microscope Boosts Medical Research Technology
On May 7, in a paper published in the journal Nature Methods, Dr. Harry, Director of the HROI Laboratory at the U.S.-based NIBIB, described his novel improvements to traditional total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. By integrating two distinct microscopic techniques, he developed a new type of microscope that enables imaging of rapid intracellular movements at speeds ten times faster than other microscopes. This advancement facilitates more effective research into proteins associated with cancer tumor growth, thereby enhancing disease prevention and treatment.
Source of message and image: nih.gov
3. Development of vascularized human islet grafting technology for islet tissue transplantation in patients with diabetes
Researchers in Japan and the United States have recently developed a laboratory technique for generating vascularized islet tissue. Dr. Takanori Takebe stated, “This approach could serve as a primary therapeutic strategy for treating type 1 diabetes.” Although scientists also note that rapidly establishing a vascular network in transplanted tissues remains a significant challenge, there is widespread anticipation that this technology will become another miracle in the medical field.
Source of message and image: genengnews.com
4. The Discovery of Lung Cancer Biomarkers Increases the Hope for Early Detection of Lung Cancer
Recently, Japanese scientists reported the detection of elevated levels of cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4) in the blood of lung cancer patients, suggesting that CKAP4 may serve as an early serum diagnostic marker for lung cancer. Dr. Yuichi Sato, the lead investigator of the study, stated, “Using CKAP4 as a biomarker could transform current approaches to treating lung cancer patients, and combining CKAP4 with conventional markers can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy.”
Source: genengnews.com
JD Data Research Institute: 2018 Women's Health Consumption Report
Introduction: This report is based on consumption data from four categories on the JD.com platform—tonic and wellness, health services, nutritional health, and nutritional ingredients—and incorporates JD user medical consultation data and profiles of users who booked vaccines on the JD platform to outline the “JD Women’s Health Profile.”
Deloitte: 2017 Report on Investment Promotion in China’s Healthcare Industry
Introduction: This annual analytical report on the development of China’s healthcare industry was initiated by the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce and jointly prepared by Deloitte Research and Deloitte China’s Life Sciences and Healthcare team. Through statistical data analysis, as well as interviews with industry experts and enterprises, this report aims to help stakeholders understand the opportunities and risks in China’s healthcare industry.
KPMG: Outlook for Oncology—Key Factors for Winning in 2030
Introduction: The report evaluates how life sciences companies are adjusting their business and operational models to mitigate the impact of changes in the oncology treatment market.