Yian Health Files Prospectus to Offer Global, Affordable, and Safe Precision Medicine Solutions
When it comes to cross-border healthcare, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has previously reported on initiatives such as traveling to Thailand for assisted reproductive technology and to India for hepatitis C treatment. While the United States is undoubtedly the premier destination for oncology care, only a small minority of families can afford the treatment costs, which often exceed RMB 600,000.
In fact, we have overlooked one destination—Macau. The launch of new drugs in Macau is largely synchronized with that in Europe and the United States, yet prices are generally only half of those in Western markets. Additionally, travel, language, and visa arrangements are far more convenient. Yi’an Health is a cross-border healthcare company that has designated Macau as one of its key medical service destinations. To gain deeper insights, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has conducted follow-up reporting on the company.
Beijing Yi’an Health, guided by the principles of precision medicine, integrates the superior resources of over 50 leading domestic hospitals and more than 10 top-tier international medical institutions. It provides Chinese patients with comprehensive, one-stop solutions to seek the most cost-effective and efficient pharmacological treatments globally, covering services such as medical travel to Hong Kong and Macao, international remote consultations, international referrals, and medication monitoring.
Li Yuan, founder of Yi’an Health, has over 13 years of experience in venture capital and financial advisory within the healthcare and high-tech sectors. Li revealed to VCBeat that she turned down an offer from MIT to pursue her entrepreneurial venture, relocating her entire family from Hong Kong back to Beijing. This startup represents a completely new endeavor for her, driven not only by empathy derived from her personal experience as a patient’s family member but also by a genuine determination to make a difference in the field of oncology.
In 2002, her grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Like most Chinese patients, she was already at an advanced stage upon diagnosis. Before the diagnosis, her grandmother had been remarkably spirited—an elderly woman who could play mahjong for two consecutive nights and walk even faster than her granddaughter. Yet she suddenly collapsed. The disease progressed at an unimaginable pace; within a few months, she had wasted away to half her former self. Her grandmother passed away in 2003. At that time, targeted therapies were largely unavailable, and her final days were sustained solely by Dolantin (pethidine).
This was one of the reasons why she decided to found Yi’an Health after many years. Another major reason was her recognition, during her tenure in medical investment, of the significant potential within China’s healthcare services market, particularly in the field of oncology, which was still in its early stages. Initially, Yi’an Health positioned itself to help patients worldwide seek cost-effective and convenient treatment solutions, with a particular focus on matching cancer patients with the latest drugs already approved in foreign markets.
Most other members of the Yi’an team possess medical backgrounds. Xue Yuwei, the Marketing Director, has 13 years of experience in pharmaceutical marketing and sales, having previously worked at multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Roche, Abbott, and AstraZeneca. He has participated in the launch and promotion of multiple targeted oncology drugs. Ms. Sun Yufen, the Operations Director, served for many years at Ping An Leasing and brings extensive medical resources and expertise. The Medical Department is primarily composed of physicians from the oncology departments of well-known Grade A tertiary hospitals in China.
In many respects, China’s medical technologies and equipment are by no means inferior to those abroad. However, many people perceive the domestic healthcare environment as worse than that in other countries. In fact, beyond technical considerations, there are numerous other factors at play:
Due to the lengthy approval process by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), drugs are launched in China 3–5 years later than in the United States.: According to industry research data from Shenwan Hongyuan, the average review time for Class 1.1 new drugs (i.e., chemically synthesized drugs marketed for the first time both domestically and internationally), Class 3.1 new drugs (i.e., formulations and their active pharmaceutical ingredients that have been marketed abroad but not yet in China), and Class 6 new drugs (i.e., active pharmaceutical ingredients or formulations with existing national drug standards) was 42 months, 42 months, and 25 months, respectively; the average review time for clinical trial applications was 14 months, 28 months, and 28 months, respectively.
In comparison, the median approval times for new drug production applications in the United States, the European Union, and Japan were 10 months (304 days), over 15 months (459 days), and over 16 months (487 days), respectively.
Take targeted therapies for lung cancer as an example: It is understood that the latest domestically available targeted drug for lung cancer, crizotinib, was approved in the United States in 2011. Between 2012 and 2015, several additional targeted lung cancer drugs were launched in the U.S., including the well-known AZD9291 (osimertinib). During that period, Chinese patients could only look on as these new medications remained unavailable to them; for critically ill patients, a delay of three to five years often meant the end of life. In contrast, nearly all of these drugs have already been approved and made available in Macau.
Imported Drug Prices in Mainland China Are Higher Than Those in Hong Kong and Macao：
Image data sourced from the internet
As shown in the figure, domestic drugs are indeed more expensive. The reasons for this include not only taxes but also institutional factors; new drugs must undergo various regulatory procedures to enter the Chinese market, a process that takes at least one year. Given that drug development already entails substantial costs and lengthy timelines, each additional year adds to the overall expense, making price increases reasonable. Yi’an Health primarily provides cross-border medical services to patients with lung cancer and other tumors, facilitating access to healthcare in Macau, Hong Kong, the United States, and other regions, with a particular focus on the market for medical treatment in Macau.Yi An Health aims to capture at least 80% of the market share in the medical travel-to-Australia sector within two years.
Why choose Macau? Li Yuan stated: "First,TimeCompared with mainland China, Macau synchronizes the market launch of many oncology therapeutics with Europe and the United States, ensuring that patients in Macau have access to the most advanced medications available in these regions. Furthermore, all pharmaceuticals sold in Macau are subject to stringent regulatory oversight to guarantee their authenticity, thereby ensuring that patients receive the safest and most effective drug treatments.
InPriceFurthermore, due to regional market pricing differences, certain medications in Macau are more affordably priced, costing nearly half as much as their counterparts in the United States. Additionally, wait times for medical appointments in Macau are shorter. Physicians practice with rigor and professionalism; when challenges arise, they provide thorough explanations and empower patients with the right to make informed choices, thereby ensuring a high-quality healthcare experience.
InCommunicationIn terms of language, Macao is a Special Administrative Region of China where most people can communicate in Mandarin and read simplified Chinese characters. This minimizes language barriers, ensures smooth communication, avoids unnecessary misunderstandings, and better safeguards the patient’s medical experience. Furthermore, it is significantly more convenient than seeking medical treatment in the United States regarding both transportation and visa requirements.
Cross-border healthcare providers must possess high-quality medical resources both domestically and internationally, and Yi’an is no exception. Li Yuan stated that Yi’an Health has established partnerships with nearly 50 top-tier (Grade 3A) specialized oncology hospitals in China, the top ten comprehensively ranked medical institutions in the United States, as well as multiple hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong and Macau. In addition, Yi’an boasts other advantages:
First, the staff from Yi'an's Medical Department and Customer Service Department who are responsible for communicating with patients all have medical backgrounds and undergo regular medical training. This ensures greater professionalism in patient interactions, thereby enhancing patient trust.
Moreover, professional medical personnel play a crucial role during the follow-up phase. They regularly monitor patients’ subsequent medication adherence and disease progression, provide timely feedback to physicians in China, and share first-hand experience and clinical data on the use of new international drugs. This integrates overseas medical care into the domestic diagnosis and treatment process for patients.
Second, Yi An can monitor the pricing of medical institutions in Hong Kong and Macau on a daily basis to identify optimal partners. Yi An maintains extreme price transparency, charging only an intermediary service fee during patient care, while medication costs are settled directly between patients and medical institutions, thereby fostering patient trust. As of October this year, Yi An has provided services to more than 200 patients.
Third, Yi’an has launched the “Yi’an Expert Lecture Hall” WeChat Official Account as a mobile professional patient education platform. It has currently initiated various public-welfare patient education activities in collaboration with top-tier oncology hospitals and experts both domestically and internationally, including offline patient education sessions and online live broadcasts, with the aim of providing more comprehensive oncology information services to patients in need.
Fourth, Yi’an’s “Medicine Search Bible” WeChat Official Account has become China’s most comprehensive database of new targeted and immunotherapy drugs. The account has served thousands of physicians and patients, providing timely access to the most complete and up-to-date drug information for healthcare professionals and patients across China.
Yi’an Health has currently established partnerships with leading global pharmaceutical companies. For these companies, beyond conducting market education, the 2–5 year window between U.S. approval and Chinese approval of a drug can be utilized to pilot programs in Macao, thereby enabling more Chinese patients to access advanced pharmacotherapies.
It also provides first-hand information for pricing products launched in mainland China, enabling precise pricing. This approach helps pharmaceutical companies build market reputation and promotional momentum for their new products in advance, thereby shortening the period required for market education and pre-launch warming. For Yi’an, collaboration with pharmaceutical companies allows early access to the latest drug and diagnostic information, enhancing its professional expertise and brand visibility.
In April this year, Yi'an Health completed a RMB 17 million angel financing round led by Western Capital. The funds will be primarily used to enhance its knowledge base and drug information, establish a follow-up management system, develop a mobile app, and expand its team.
The patient follow-up management platform project has been launched. By collaborating with multiple top-tier cancer hospitals and experts in China, this project provides patients with optimal disease follow-up management and monitoring. It also offers a range of services, including cancer patient education, multidisciplinary consultations, rehabilitation, and psychological counseling, aiming to create the most convenient new platform for self-management and physician-led management of critical illnesses.