Founder Simultaneously Leads Two Diabetes-Focused Companies Securing $130M Series B and $27M Strategic Funding, Aiming to Build an Integrated Diabetes Care Ecosystem

Huang Xiaomin, Co-Founder of Kailian

Huang Xiaomin has been in high spirits lately, with one piece of good news following another. Two companies focused on diabetes management—Kailian Medical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“Kailian”) and Zhejiang Kailite Medical Device Co., Ltd. (“Kailite”)—have both secured financing simultaneously. Kailite closed its Series B round at RMB 130 million, while Kailian raised RMB 27 million in strategic funding.

Kailite’s Series B financing was co-led by Tianjin Tasly Health Industry Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (“Tasly Capital”) and Suzhou Industrial Park Yuansheng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. (“Yuansheng VC”), with participation from Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Tonghua Dongbao”) and Legend Capital.

So, what are the strategic plans for Kailite and Kailian following this round of financing? What are the investors’ views on the project? To address these questions, VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Huang Xiaomin.

Judging by the names of these two companies—Kailian and Kailite—one cannot help but think of them as “siblings.” However, according to Huang Xiaomin’s introduction, their business operations do not overlap.

By covering the entire chronic disease management spectrum for diabetes—from diagnosis and monitoring to treatment—these two companies have successfully captured the market spanning daily monitoring to therapeutic intervention. Kailite’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system enables the surveillance and management of diabetes through real-time, continuous blood glucose tracking, thereby reducing the risk of diabetic complications. Meanwhile, Kailian’s insulin pumps and micro-drug infusion systems provide targeted therapeutic solutions for diabetes. Furthermore, their jointly developed diabetes management platform integrates these technologies into a comprehensive, closed-loop management ecosystem.

The most critical aspect of diabetes management is achieving a balance between hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, which constitutes the essence of true diabetes care. As the primary monitoring method in diabetes management, why has the penetration rate of capillary blood glucose testing remained at only around 15% in China over the years? Furthermore, very few patients perform frequent tests, such as four or more times daily. The reasons are fourfold: ① pain associated with blood sampling; ② high frequency of blood sampling; ③ timing of blood sampling; and ④ accuracy of glucose meters.

After four years of research and development led by Dr. Zhang Yanan, a leading expert in the field of biosensors, KellyMed has ultimately developed a novel real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system. Comprising a sensor, transmitter, and receiver, this system enables real-time, continuous blood glucose measurement over a seven-day period. It features real-time display of blood glucose values every three minutes, yielding 480 continuous readings per day. By correlating these data with daily events and logs, the system provides a comprehensive overview of glucose profiles, facilitates precise assessment of glycemic control, and offers medically valuable references for subsequent diabetes management.

The integration of Kailian, co-founded by Huang Xiaomin, with InnoDa, which he established, has created a drug infusion system centered on insulin pumps and micro-infusion pumps. These infusion systems connect to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices via BLE Bluetooth, forming a closed-loop glucose control system and paving the way for future artificial pancreas technologies.

So, how do investment institutions view Kailite and Kailian?

According to Hu Xiaofang of Tasly, “We have always been bullish on chronic disease management. Diabetes is the most prevalent condition within this category. Kailian and Kailite dominate two core segments of diabetes care. From both a strategic and financial investment perspective, Kailite and Kailian are excellent investment targets. Furthermore, they align closely with our business operations and fit well within our strategic layout.”

Tasly Grand Health Industry Fund, established through a collaboration between Tasly Holding Group, Taikang Life Insurance, and Zhongyuan Bank, has a total committed capital of RMB 5 billion from its partners. The fund is dedicated to building an ecosystem around the grand health industry and actively invests in this sector, while also focusing on emerging areas such as telemedicine, mobile health, and big data platforms for medical services.

Chen Jie of Yuansheng Venture Capital believes that “Kailite’s technology in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is on par with that of U.S. giants Medtronic and Dexcom. In the future, it is highly likely to become China’s ‘Dexcom,’ and when combined with Kailian’s insulin pumps, it can form a closed-loop system, i.e., an artificial pancreas. Currently, Medtronic is the only company that possesses both of these technologies.”

YuanSheng Venture Capital is positioned as a professional venture capital firm specializing in the life sciences sector. It invests in high-potential companies engaged in novel drug development, medical devices, precision medicine, and healthcare services, while providing post-investment support and services in areas such as financing, management, and operations. To date, YuanSheng has invested in more than 20 innovative biopharmaceutical enterprises across China and the United States, with some portfolio companies achieving partial exits or initial public offerings. The fund’s overall internal rate of return (IRR) currently exceeds 50%.

According to Li Cong, General Manager of Tonghua Dongbao, “Tonghua Dongbao’s insulin business is a leader among domestically produced insulins. Through its investment in Taiwan’s Bionime, the company entered the blood glucose monitoring sector and has begun laying out its mobile healthcare strategy. With the addition of Kailite’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, an integrated chronic disease management solution covering medication, monitoring, and patient management is formed for users. This represents a highly synergistic combination, which is why we decided to invest.”

In an era of rapid technological advancement, technological innovation is transforming traditional healthcare service models. By leveraging mobile health and intelligent products, data-driven management of blood glucose levels has been achieved, facilitating the optimization of glucose-lowering regimens and enabling personalized diabetes control. Furthermore, with the emphasis placed on national healthcare reform policies, the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment models will become key priorities in the future.

“Following this round of financing, Kailite and Kailian will engage in more extensive and closer collaboration to drive the company’s future development. I aim to leverage the partnership between Kailian and Kailite to create a closed-loop ecosystem for diabetes management,” Huang Xiaomin told VCBeat.

As a true wearable medical device, the CGM system continuously monitors your blood glucose fluctuations 24 hours a day in real time. It provides immediate alerts via the receiver whenever any blood glucose abnormalities occur, with particular emphasis on alarms for nocturnal and asymptomatic hypoglycemia. Furthermore, data can be uploaded to smartphones for processing and storage, leveraging extensive datasets and algorithms to assist you in managing your blood glucose levels.

CGM systems can also facilitate early screening for diabetes among high-risk populations, enabling prevention or delay of disease onset through early detection and intervention. Furthermore, by leveraging big data analytics to characterize diverse ethnic groups and diabetes subtypes, these systems can generate distinct profiling maps and establish a comprehensive diabetes database platform.

In the field of diabetes treatment technology, Kailian is transforming existing insulin pump infusion devices through continuous technological advancement. Meanwhile, diabetes management extends beyond insulin delivery, with numerous additional therapeutic technologies currently under research and development.

While users’ concepts and habits regarding blood glucose management are still in the formative stage, the vast market worth hundreds of billions and the vision of a future closed-loop system have filled Huang Xiaomin with passion as he presses ahead in the field of chronic diabetes care.

Zhang Yanan, Founder and President of Kelite, Chief Scientist

Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas, USA, with postdoctoral training in medicinal chemistry. Previously served as Scientist III (Drug Analysis) at Oread Inc., Chief Scientist for CGM sensors and artificial pancreas technologies at Medtronic MiniMed/MRG, and R&D Director at MicroCHIPS, Inc. As the inventor of Medtronic’s CGMS Gold and a core member of the artificial pancreas development team, he returned to China as an introduced expert to advance domestic CGM technology. He formerly served as Chief Scientist and General Manager at Saint Medino Medical Devices and is the inventor of the Raylan CGM system. In 2011, he founded Kalite Corporation, dedicated to leveraging over two decades of scientific research expertise to drive technological innovation and develop novel products, thereby advancing blood glucose monitoring and point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies.

Huang Xiaomin, Co-founder and CEO of Kailian Medical; Director and Co-President of Kelite

Previously held positions at Johnson & Johnson Medical, Sanofi, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific. During his tenure at Medtronic, he led the team in advancing the clinical application of diabetes management and continuous glucose monitoring technologies in Greater China, and spearheaded the development and implementation of a customized insulin pump program for Chinese patients with diabetes. In 2009, he joined MicroPort Group as Vice President, where he established MicroPort’s Life Sciences diabetes business through mergers and acquisitions and integration efforts. He also led the research and development of China’s only pituitary hormone pump, successfully bringing it to market and pioneering novel treatment approaches for idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In 2014, he founded Innova Medical and co-founded LenoMed, collaborating with Legend Capital and other partners to build a platform for the development of innovative medical products, with a strategic focus on diabetes care. In the same year, he joined Kalite as a Director and Co-President, driving the growth of its innovative business initiatives.