WeMed Files IPO Prospectus: Leveraging Big Data to Power Precision Marketing and Education Across China's Orthopedic Ecosystem
The interview, originally scheduled for 9:00 a.m., was moved up to 8:15 a.m. On that day, it was just another ordinary workday.
VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat)The reporter could faintly hear the sound of Liu Zhengrong’s car driving on the road through the receiver.
During the subsequent thirty-odd minutes of limited conversation, this entrepreneur, with over two decades of experience in the investment sector, walked us through her project details.
According to forecasts in a report published by the market research firm Technavio, the global medical education market is projected to sustain continuous growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from 2017 to 2021. Given the proliferation of healthcare institutions and a workforce exceeding ten million professionals, there is substantial demand for continuing medical education examinations and related skills training, with the market size in China reaching tens of billions of yuan.
In the capital markets, “Internet + Healthcare + Education” has emerged as a new strategic focus for startups. Meanwhile, the orthopedics industry represents a vast ecosystem encompassing medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and patients.
In the view of Liu Zhengrong, founder and CEO of Weiyi, healthcare is a protracted process and “a matter of great seriousness”; therefore, he did not embark on entrepreneurship with profit as the objective.
Liu Zhengrong, Founder and CEO of VYI.com
Liu Zhengrong’s original intention in founding Weiyi carried a certain philanthropic tone; she aimed to provide orthopedic surgeons with an online platform for continuing medical education and professional exchange. However, during the course of operations, she recognized the vast commercial potential of the orthopedics industry, as the existing orthopedic market boasts a scale of approximately RMB 200 billion.
With over two decades of experience in internet and healthcare investment management, Liu Zhengrong believes that clear strategic thinking is the greatest advantage. “When entering a new industry, it is essential to have an overall judgment of its development landscape for the next five to ten years, or even twenty years. This includes having a clear understanding of the policy background and the architecture of the overall business system.”
Since the launch of its PC version in 2014, Weiyi, dedicated to “deep, focused R&D,” has hardly made a high-profile public appearance over the past three years, thanks to its continuous deep cultivation and accumulation.
Today, they have also developed their own business model, becoming one of the earliest domestic brands specializing in online training in the field of orthopedics. By focusing on physician training and education as an entry point, they have extended their reach across the upstream and downstream segments of the orthopedic industry chain, establishing a big data-driven service platform for the orthopedic industry ecosystem.
"If the educational platform is Weiyi’s entry point for building a full industrial chain in orthopedics, then 'attracting traffic' is their primary goal."
Weiyi.com PC Interface
On Weiyi.com, more than 20,000 professional instructional videos and over 40,000 case studies have been aggregated. The course content primarily includes videos from national orthopedic academic conferences in China, customized instructional videos produced by the Weiyi team in collaboration with domestic orthopedic experts, courseware voluntarily uploaded by physicians on the platform, as well as authentic surgical videos and instructional courses from international academic institutions.
From case discussions to hands-on training, the platform provides physicians with courseware, instructional videos, and case-based discussions, enabling them to engage in learning and exchange during fragmented time intervals.
Over four years, Weiyi has established China’s largest orthopedic platform, accumulating over 120,000 real-name registered orthopedic surgeons and covering 80% of the nation’s total orthopedic physician workforce.
In addition, Weiyi collaborates with 15 of the world’s leading orthopedic organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and Eurospine, to introduce global orthopedic educational course content.
In July 2017, Weiyi obtained the license for an orthopedic internet hospital, becoming China’s first specialized orthopedic internet hospital;
In October 2017, the Weiyi Internet Orthopedic Hospital was launched, with the first batch of 500 experts joining, initiating the second round of internal beta testing;
In January 2018, the first Weiyi Orthopedics physical hospital is set to open in Yinchuan.
After connecting with upstream medical device manufacturers and securing core resources—namely, physicians—Weiyi turned its focus to the offline sector, entering the specialized field of orthopedic medical services.
In 2017, Weiyi shifted its operational focus to acquiring consumer-end (C-end) customers for its online orthopedic hospital, leveraging this digital platform to establish offline orthopedic hospitals and build a connectivity platform between doctors and patients.
Weiyi Strives to Build a Full Industry Chain in Orthopedics
Liu Zhengrong believes that the value of orthopedic surgeons does not lie in long-term commitment to a single platform; the national policy on multi-site practice offers physicians more opportunities.
The previously mentioned orthopedic big data accumulated by Weiyi will serve the online intelligent triage platform of Weiyi Internet Orthopedic Hospital. By combining intelligent triage with structured consultations, the platform assesses patients’ conditions and matches them with physicians on the platform for online consultations.
Upon entering the treatment phase, Weiyi collaborates with offline hospitals to refer triaged patients from its platform to these partner institutions. In addition to partnerships, it is also expanding its offline physical presence through joint ventures, trusteeships, and self-built facilities.
By providing end-to-end services through “intelligent triage + offline specialized hospitals,” Weiyi connects doctors, medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and orthopedic patients. It is building supporting peripheral industries, including a medical R&D platform, a professional collaboration platform, clinical surgery centers, and rehabilitation centers, thereby integrating a standardized orthopedic industry chain. Weiyi offers an intelligent work platform for physicians and one-stop orthopedic diagnosis and treatment services for patients. Meanwhile, it accumulates and structures data generated during the diagnostic and therapeutic process to establish the Weiyi Orthopedic Big Data System, facilitating precision marketing and product development for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.
Weiyi's Online and Offline Diagnosis and Treatment Model
In August 2015 and August 2016, Weiyi completed its Series A and Series A+ financing rounds, raising a total of $37.7 million.
Despite the backing of tens of millions of dollars in funding, Liu Zhengrong has consistently emphasized that Weiyi’s goal is to “follow the medical pathway step by step.”
“Rigor and pragmatism are the essence of healthcare, so we exercise greater caution. Weiyi Internet Hospital encompasses services related to diagnosis and treatment, prescription issuance, and medication management, unlike typical telemedicine platforms.”
Given Weiyi’s internet-based nature, technology has become an indispensable part of the company. In an interview, Liu Zhengrong jokingly referred to his company as a “tech company,” noting that over 75% of its operating costs are attributed to personnel expenses, with technical staff accounting for 70% of that portion.
Currently, Weiyi’s revenue is primarily derived from precision marketing services for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. In the future, revenue from its internet hospital operations and from self-operated and managed offline hospitals will complement precision marketing, forming the three main pillars of Weiyi’s revenue streams.
"From online education to the establishment of an internet orthopedic hospital, and then to triaging patients at self-built offline hospitals, she admitted that the process was very long. 'We only started generating revenue this year, and we expect to achieve significant profitability by 2019.'"
Therefore, when discussing planning, Liu Zhengrong stated that Weiyi’s growth pace would not be too rapid in the first three years. Weiyi implements strict screening for physicians joining its internet-based orthopedic hospital, requiring them to hold the title of attending physician with at least five years of experience to provide high-quality online consultations.
“We maintain a strict quality-over-quantity approach in recruiting online orthopedic surgeons, with clear targets: 500 by the end of 2017, 3,000 by the end of 2018, and 10,000 by the end of 2019.”
From online continuing education with virtually no revenue to exploring the entire orthopedics industry chain, Weiyi has carved out its own path, as evidenced by market response, B2B collaborations, and physician recognition. The company is now intensively preparing for a new round of financing.
More than one entrepreneur has told VCBeat, “Healthcare is inherently a treacherous field, with challenges arising every day.” Entrepreneurs may serve as CEOs, COOs, CTOs, and other executives within their companies, but to the market, they are pioneers who press forward relentlessly.