Bayer Grants4Apps Shanghai 2016 Accelerator Cohort Unveils Final Projects

Following the national launch of the innovation and entrepreneurship strategy, coupled with policy support and a favorable market environment, an entrepreneurial wave has swept across various industries, including healthcare. In February 2016, Bayer launched its open innovation program, Grants4Apps “Bayer Start-up Program · Shanghai 2016,” in China. As the Chinese counterpart to the global “Bayer Start-up Program,” this initiative targets local digital health startups. After a series of screenings and evaluations, three startup projects were ultimately selected: Huasheng Mi, Wubei, and Ruijia. VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) previously reported on this startup competition in May.

On August 12, after an 88-day incubation period with Bayer, three digital health startups made their renewed debut. Following the competition, Bayer provided these startups with critical support—including funding, workspace, and training—to help advance their projects and refine their business models. Bayer assigned mentors to the selected startups and offered related coaching, while also inviting them to participate in a series of activities, such as workshops on design and business modeling, where they received professional guidance and training. Over the course of these 88 days, the startups advanced their respective projects within Bayer’s “accelerator.” VCBeat was invited to attend this project showcase and witnessed the achievements of the three startups.

At the project showcase, the products displayed by three startup companies were more mature and refined. Huasheng Mi’s product initially focused solely on temperature monitoring devices for infants and toddlers; its target user base has now expanded to include infants and toddlers, women, and the elderly, with enhanced functionality as well. Wubei’s smart pillbox has reached a high level of refinement in both design and product features, and incorporates novel data collection methods and algorithms.

Peanut Mentor Zhou Huili (left), Project Lead Jiang Botao (center), and Bayer GroupZhu Lixian, President of Greater China (right)

Peanut Mi

Huasheng Mi is dedicated to enhancing your life through technology and design. The company is poised to launch a globally ultra-thin, flexible wearable device. Currently capable of monitoring key health metrics such as body temperature, the device will progressively incorporate functionalities for heart rate, bodily fluid analysis, activity tracking, and sleep monitoring. Designed to be seamlessly integrated into close-fitting apparel, it is suitable for infants and young children, women, as well as bedridden elderly individuals and patients. The core team’s extensive knowledge base and broad expertise in technology and design provide the essential foundation for the project’s development.

Wu Yi, mentor of Wubei (left); Huang Wenjia, project leader (center); and Bayer GroupPresident of Greater China, Zhu Lixian (right)

Wubei

Ubei is committed to achieving real-time monitoring and improving medication adherence through affordable and reliable solutions. Each year, non-adherence to prescribed medications results in hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. Through comprehensive market research, patient behavior studies, and integrated technology and product design, Ubei has launched this smart management solution—combining hardware and software—to enhance future medication adherence.

Ruijia Mentor Che Yan (left), Project Leader Yuan Rong (center), and Bayer GroupZhu Lixian, President of Greater China (right)

Ruijia

Ruijia is a medical image processing platform built on a SaaS architecture, serving physicians and healthcare institutions that require image processing capabilities. By hosting computational hardware and core algorithms for medical image processing in the cloud, Ruijia delivers services to physicians who need to process images. Its medical image processing solutions are expected to reduce costs to one-tenth of those associated with existing conventional methods, including both hardware equipment and software systems.

In addition to the three companies mentioned above, three other outstanding projects that ranked among the top 20 in the competition were showcased at the project promotion event: Lanxinkang, Scientific Mom, and Yiwen Yida.

Lanxin KangIt is a product of Shanghai Keling Medical Technology. The company is dedicated to the research, development, and promotion of chronic disease management systems with independent intellectual property rights, assisting pharmacists in delivering health management and pharmaceutical care services in retail pharmacies. Its core technological innovation lies in a series of cloud computing models and clinical decision support systems, which have been deployed across more than 5,000 chain pharmacy stores, serving 1.4 million patients with hypertension and diabetes. Keling Medical was founded by a multidisciplinary professional team whose core members possess extensive expertise in clinical medicine, information science, and business. The company has completed its Series A financing round.

“Scientific Mom”Beichun’s first mobile product, a pregnancy management app. Since its launch in January 2015, “Scientific Mom” has achieved 800,000 downloads. In 2015, the team was nominated for Best Mobile Internet Startup Team at the Global Internet Conference.

Medical Q&ADeveloped and operated by Shanghai Pingni Business Consulting Co., Ltd. In collaboration with hospital medical associations, it provides management, information technology, and promotional support. The first new specialty developed is Cardio-Oncology. Key activities include: 1. Mobilizing experts to drive the development of emerging medical fields; 2. Disseminating expert knowledge to a broader physician audience through educational materials; 3. Facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration among physicians; 4. Collecting clinical evidence.