Medical Partners Innovation Competition Selects Top 52 Finalists, Unveiling Emerging Innovators in Healthcare

On March 2, 2016, the first closed-door session of the highly anticipated Medical Partners Innovative Collaboration Proposal Competition officially commenced at the Beijing office of Legend Capital. Fifty-two teams, selected from nearly 400 participating teams across China, took turns presenting and discussing their projects’ business models and collaboration proposals with representatives from the organizing committee, including Pfizer, Ping An Insurance, Tencent, and Legend Capital.

Nearly 400 companies registered

Ultimately, 52 companies were shortlisted for the closed-door discussion session.

Since the launch of the Medical Partner Competition on December 22, 2015, the four organizers and strategic partners—Pfizer, Ping An Insurance, Tencent, and Legend Capital—have demonstrated great sincerity and openness by clearly listing the resources available to startup enterprises. These opportunities were widely disseminated through healthcare media outlets such as VCBeat. Many startups responded with considerable enthusiasm, resulting in nearly 400 applicant companies by the registration deadline, making it the most popular competition of its kind in recent years.

After nearly two weeks of selection, the organizers ultimately chose 52 companies to participate in closed-door discussions. These included companies that had reached Series B financing as well as angel-stage startups, spanning multiple sectors such as internet healthcare, medical services, healthcare big data, healthcare management, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and in vitro diagnostics.

Selected Enterprises from the Top 52 Medical Partners

March 2nd for five consecutive daysBeijing and Shanghai Launch Closed-Door Talks

Closed-door sessions, as a key component of this competition, provide an excellent opportunity for startup teams to engage in face-to-face discussions with the organizer’s business team, potentially leading to preliminary cooperation agreements.

At the same time, participating teams may also choose to engage with partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Peking University First Hospital, United Family Healthcare, WeDoctor Group, DXY, VCBeat, and Cyzone, based on their own preferences, to gain broader resource support.

It is reported that the closed-door talks commenced on March 2, spanning five days, and were held separately in Beijing and Shanghai.

During the meetings, each team is allotted time to present itself. If a team can capture the attention of the organizers’ business and investment professionals within this brief window, subsequent discussions will be more conducive to fostering collaboration between both parties. To this end, teams spare no effort, streamlining industry overviews in their business plans (BPs) while focusing on their business models, competitive barriers, operational performance, founding teams, and development roadmaps.

Furthermore, the team will present to the organizers and partners their intent to collaborate, the original motivations and objectives behind seeking partnership or financing, the scope and vision for future operations, and strategies for achieving mutual benefit.

The organizers and partners will engage in in-depth discussions with the selected teams regarding their intent to collaborate.

Leveraging Unique Corporate AdvantagesActively Facilitate Multi-Party Collaboration

VCBeat participated in the discussions and engaged in in-depth exchanges with three of the teams, experiencing the atmosphere of the closed-door meeting.

Hangzhou Lianzhong Medical

"Global Imaging," a platform developed by Hangzhou Lianzhong Medical Technology Co., Ltd., allows patients to upload their medical imaging data, after which experts from major hospitals across China provide online consultation services.

“Regional imbalance in medical resources is a key cause of the difficulty in accessing healthcare. The sharing of medical images forms the foundation for resource sharing, yet this remains a weak link for current medical institutions. Patients often have to travel long distances, carrying their imaging films, to seek medical advice and treatment. Their time, energy, and money are wasted on this arduous journey, while experts’ time and energy are sometimes squandered on excessive informal consultations. There is a lack of a direct and efficient interaction model between doctors and patients.” This is precisely the rationale behind Union Medical’s launch of its “Global Imaging” platform, stated Chai Xueting, Chairman of Union Medical.

Spring Rain International

Since its launch on July 22, 2015, Chunyu International’s monthly revenue has exceeded one million yuan.

As an internet-based cross-border healthcare platform, Chunyu International is valued at nearly RMB 100 million and “will pursue an independent listing in the future,” stated Xiong Juan, CEO of Chunyu International. While Chunyu Doctor maintains close ties with Chunyu International, it operates relatively independently; Chunyu Doctor is one of the strategic investors in Chunyu International, which will continue to seek a separate public listing. Currently, Chunyu International is valued at RMB 250 million and is undergoing its second round of financing.

Yuguo Doctor

Yuguo Doctor’s business model closely resembles that of Oscar, currently the most prominent online health insurance company in the United States. Both share the common goal of thoroughly simplifying medical services and health insurance, enabling users to experience convenient processes for seeking medical care and for reimbursement and payment.

What sets Yugu apart is that it initially targets high-net-worth individuals who prioritize health, value the quality and privacy of medical services, are price-insensitive, or hold premium health insurance.

As the closed-door sessions proceeded, the organizers also expressed their expectations for the event. Wu Xiaobin, President of Pfizer China, stated that Pfizer is committed to providing young professionals with a platform to contribute to the advancement of medicine through the Healthcare Partners Competition. Zhang Lin, Deputy General Manager of Ping An Pension Insurance, noted that Ping An Insurance requires extensive collaboration to excel in the insurance industry. Mu Yifei, Director at Tencent Investment, further emphasized that Tencent is willing to serve as a connector, integrating diverse resources to contribute to the development of this sector. Ouyang Xiangyu, Managing Director at Legend Capital, expressed his anticipation that future BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) enterprises in China’s healthcare sector would emerge from this event.


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