Weekly Report: Over RMB 2 Billion Raised in Oncology Testing Sector; A Decade of Workplace Evolution in Internet Healthcare

Internet healthcare has weathered over a decade of challenges. Since commercial internet services entered the public eye, it has evolved from early-stage simple information queries and appointment registration into an integrated platform that now encompasses in-depth clinical processes such as online diagnosis and treatment, as well as auxiliary diagnosis.

Internet healthcare has come a long way, experiencing public rejection during its nascent stage, frantic expansion from 2013 to 2015 during its growth phase, and subsequent divergence in corporate development amid the capital winter of 2016. Internet healthcare has now completed a full cycle. Looking back, we find that there is no historical annotation written specifically for it.

Perspective

1. The Evolution of the Internet Healthcare Industry: Advancing from Pre- and Post-Hospital Care to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment

Since its emergence in the late 1990s, the internet has profoundly transformed industries such as media, communications, retail, finance, and education. However, its impact on the healthcare sector has been negligible; even as this wave of internet innovation subsided, digital health failed to catch this express train.

Riding the wave of the internet at the dawn of the new century, and addressing the information asymmetry characteristic of the healthcare industry, internet-based healthcare penetrated various pre- and post-hospital stages through information inquiries, appointment scheduling and referrals, and doctor-patient communication, thereby completing the first round of user education. Starting in 2003, internet-based healthcare began to extend into clinical diagnosis and treatment, with biotechnology, adjunctive therapies, and specialized medical services emerging rapidly. Alongside societal consumption upgrades, the healthcare industry has undergone similar transformations; consumer healthcare and medical aesthetics companies were established around 2005, becoming a new driving force in the current landscape of internet-based healthcare.

By this point, the entire internet healthcare ecosystem had assembled, making 2000–2010 the golden decade for its nascent stage. Most of the artificial intelligence, genomics, and consumer healthcare companies that currently attract significant attention were founded during this period, laying the foundation for the explosive growth of internet healthcare between 2013 and 2015.

2, Internet healthcare companies established before 2013 have reached maturity

Internet companies experienced significant growth in 2013 and 2014, reaching their peak in 2015. According to incomplete statistics, 739 companies were established in 2015 alone, with 80 internet healthcare companies founded in July 2015. Subsequently, as market space contracted, the growth rate of the number of enterprises slowed down and stabilized.

During this phase, in the field of medical appointment and consultation services, Guahao.com, founded in 2010, secured $100 million in financing. Doctor-patient platforms such as Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) and Haodf Online also obtained funding in succession, rapidly expanding the number of physicians participating in internet healthcare. In the pharmaceutical e-commerce sector, Alibaba entered the medication purchasing segment. In late January 2014, Alibaba announced a strategic investment in CITIC 21st Century Limited, in partnership with Yunfeng Capital, thereby acquiring the online pharmaceutical trading license for the 95095 Pharmaceutical Platform operated by Hebei Huiyan Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CITIC 21st Century.

3. Internet Healthcare PracticeThe Evolution of Talent: From a Preference for Technical Specialists to a Demand for Multidisciplinary Professionals

From July 2013 to March 2016, recruitment demand at internet healthcare companies exhibited rapid growth, with monthly hiring volumes increasing by approximately 1,000 positions year over year. However, after peaking at 2,491 monthly hires in March 2016, recruitment demand among internet healthcare companies declined.

Judging by the trend in total recruitment volume, it appears that the internet healthcare industry has reached a turning point. In the following section, we will examine the changing trends in talent demand among internet healthcare companies during the reporting period from six more specific perspectives: types of positions recruited, types of enterprises, differences in talent needs between technology-driven and service-oriented firms, differences in talent needs between early-stage startups (pre-Series A and Series A) and growth-stage companies (post-Series C), geographic distribution of recruitment, and compensation packages.

Report

VCBeat and Lagou Jointly Interpret Ten Years of Workplace Changes in Internet Healthcare: 2,360 Medical and Health Enterprises, 45,326 Recruitment Data Points

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