Luckylink Secures Over $100 Million in Series B Funding, Aims to Become the 'Alibaba of Healthcare'

Pharmaceutical e-commerce brand 7lecare has officially confirmed the completion of its Series B financing, raising over USD 100 million. Previously, 7lecare recruited former JD.com Vice President Jiang Haidong as CEO and formally entered the mobile healthcare sector with the “Da Bai Yun Zhen” app. (For details, see the article by VCBeat)“Former JD.com Star Takes the Helm in Mobile Healthcare Push: Is 7LeKang Challenging BAT Giants with Its ‘Da Bai Yun Zhen’ App?”）

After securing over $100 million in financing, 7lekan’s strategy for entering the mobile healthcare sector has gradually become clearer. “In the future, 7lekan aims to become the Alibaba of the healthcare industry,” revealed Shi Zhenyang, Chairman of 7lekan. He stated that 7lekan plans to integrate all platforms across the healthcare industry chain—including pharmacies, physicians, patients, insurance providers, and health examination services—to create a “comprehensive health” ecosystem.

Shi Zhenyang, Founder and Chairman of Qilekang

Given such a substantial “appetite,” Qilekang may once again initiate fundraising. According to Shi Zhenyang, Qilekang aspires to become an outstanding internet enterprise akin to Alibaba.

Secured Over RMB 1 Billion in Financing Within One Year

It is reported that this financing round was not Qilekang’s first within the past year. As early as January 2015, Qilekang secured RMB 300 million in its Series A financing. This indicates that Qilekang’s total financing amount last year reached the billion-yuan level. Following the Series A round in January 2015, third-party institutions valued Qilekang at approximately RMB 2.5 billion, doubling its pre-financing valuation. With the support of the Series B financing, Qilekang’s valuation is expected to increase several-fold. Qilekang has not disclosed the investors behind this financing round.

Jiang Haidong stated, “Qilekang possesses DNA rooted in e-commerce and the Internet. Investment firms are optimistic about Qilekang’s strong operational performance and its promising growth potential.”

The “Imaginative Space” of Mobile Healthcare in Connecting the Entire Industry Chain

Capital is aggressively targeting mobile healthcare projects. In early December, Zhangshang Yaodian (Pocket Pharmacy) secured tens of millions of dollars in financing; the mobile healthcare new media platform “Yixuejie” (Medical World) raised RMB 20 million in Series A funding; and “Taijiliao” obtained several million yuan in angel investment. In late December, the “Kan Zhongyi” (See a TCM Doctor) app, the home-based medical O2O platform “Li Dashi,” and the mobile healthcare application WellDoc announced that they had raised $50 million, $16 million, and $22 million, respectively.

Why Did 7lecare Secure Over $100 Million in Financing? Jiang Haidong Believes This Is Because Pharmaceutical E-Commerce Should Not Remain Purely Transactional in the Future; With Industry-Wide Resource Integration Underway, the Sector Holds Substantial Growth Potential.

Previously, Qilekang entered the mobile healthcare market with “Da Bai Yun Zhen.”

In Jiang Haidong’s view, there are currently four approaches to entering the mobile healthcare sector: first, leveraging hospitals as a breakthrough point by advancing hospital informatization; second, focusing on medical services, such as providing appointment registration; third, targeting physicians by attracting them onto platforms; and fourth, using pharmaceuticals as the entry point.

“Everyone is in an exploratory phase, with hospitals, physicians, and medical services all potentially serving as entry points. However, data indicate that online pharmaceutical retail and mobile consultations currently account for the largest share of the mobile healthcare sector,” pointed out Jiang Haidong.

Meanwhile, Dayunbai Clinic has chosen to enter the market through health information and health management services, primarily targeting doctors and patients to bridge the gap between them. Compared with its competitors, Jiang Haidong believes that Qilekang, having entered the pharmaceutical e-commerce sector in 2010, possesses greater advantages across the industrial chain.

However, Jiang Haidong also pointed out that transformation in the healthcare industry cannot be achieved by changing just one segment; rather, all segments must be interconnected through a new order to complete the closed-loop chain. According to Jiang Haidong, Dayun Baiyun Clinic is positioned as a “public inclusive project,” leveraging mobile internet technologies to provide patients with health consultation and management services via multiple channels, including text-and-image and voice-based interactions, thereby meeting their needs for medical consultations, chronic disease management, and self-health management.

This whole-industry-chain layout aligns closely with the remarks made by Zhang Li, Vice President of CDH Investments, at the “China Venture 2015 China Investment Annual Conference.” Zhang Li pointed out that while many wearable device companies have emerged in vertically segmented niches, merely addressing equipment sales does not equate to an overall enhancement of services. In her view, leveraging big data analytics can deliver greater benefits to patients and provide physicians with valuable data insights; furthermore, it impacts the entire healthcare industry, ranging from point-of-care payments to insurance cost containment. If such a level of service is not achieved, and the business model remains limited to selling devices or building platforms, a cautious stance is warranted.

Jiang Haidong revealed that Qilekang will, in the future, integrate all platforms across the healthcare industry chain—including physicians, patients, pharmacies, insurance providers, and health examination services—to build a comprehensive health ecosystem.

Building Core Competitiveness for a Premium User Experience

After entering the mobile healthcare sector with the launch of the “Da Bai Yun” online clinic, Qilekang’s grand ambitions have become increasingly apparent.

Last August, the Dayun Clinic quietly launched and initiated a small-scale pilot program. However, during the testing phase, only the portal for physicians was made available, while the portal for general users remained closed.

In this Series B funding round, 7LeKang will primarily allocate the capital to expanding its Da Bai Yun Zhen online consultation platform. Jiang Haidong revealed that the funds will be mainly used for physician recruitment, payment of physician service fees, and subsidies for patient medication purchases.

“Da Bai Yun Zhen’s physician resources are primarily concentrated in Grade II and Grade III hospitals,” revealed Jiang Haidong. Currently, Da Bai Yun Zhen has onboarded approximately 100,000 physicians, with the number of participating doctors expected to multiply several-fold next year. The platform will collaborate with pharmaceutical companies and other strategic partners to accelerate its market expansion.

Regarding the patient-facing side, Jiang Haidong pointed out that Qilekang’s membership base had long surpassed ten million, and that Qilekang and Da Bai Cloud Clinic would integrate all resources to connect with more users. “In 2016, Da Bai Cloud Clinic will onboard at least one million users. Our future goal is to serve millions of doctors and hundreds of millions of patients,” said Jiang Haidong.

As capital from all quarters pours heavily into the mobile healthcare sector, how will various medical projects break through the impasse?

Jiang Haidong believes that the core elements for the success of mobile health projects are whether they can truly address users' pain points, whether they possess unique advantages that competitors cannot surpass, and whether they provide a positive user experience.

Jiang Haidong candidly acknowledged that Qilekang’s most core competitive advantage in the future will still lie in user experience.

Jiang Haidong, Co-founder and CEO of 7Lecare

Another key area for the deployment of 7Lekang’s latest round of financing is the development of its supply chain infrastructure, which underpins user experience. Jiang Haidong pointed out that 7Lekang will leverage superior logistics services to enhance user stickiness toward Da Bai Yun Zhen and 7Lekang, thereby attracting more users.

After obtaining China’s first approval for the pilot establishment of B2C pharmaceutical logistics at the end of 2014, Qilekang had already announced its entry into the pharmaceutical logistics sector and began building its own nationwide logistics network. According to Jiang Haidong, Qilekang is currently covering self-operated delivery in the Pearl River Delta region, with full coverage achieved in Guangzhou and regional warehouses established in East China. Qilekang plans to build its own warehousing and logistics bases in North China (Beijing), East China (Shanghai), Central China (Hubei), and Southwest China (Sichuan), gradually rolling out a national logistics network to provide consumers with faster delivery services.

“Once this logistics and warehousing system is established, it will be difficult for competitors to surpass it in the short term,” Jiang Haidong pointed out. Looking ahead to the future of warehousing and logistics, Qilekang aims to become the “JD.com” of the mobile healthcare industry, optimizing every aspect of the user experience to ensure maximum satisfaction.

After Heavy Investment Paves the Way, How Will Mobile Healthcare Reap the Rewards?

The massive influx of capital from various investors has intensified competition in the mobile healthcare industry to an unprecedented level. However, the entire sector now faces a critical challenge: how to achieve monetization and consolidate gains after paving the way with huge investments? Many early O2O sectors, such as food delivery, ride-hailing, and fresh produce, have encountered this same hurdle.

Nevertheless, Jiang Haidong is brimming with confidence. “There is no need to worry about future profitability.” In his view, Da Bai Cloud Clinic has already established its own profit model; as key traffic metrics such as total user base and daily active users grow, monetization avenues will become more diverse. Furthermore, a comprehensive and high-quality service chain will drive substantial customer acquisition and boost retention rates.

Jiang Haidong revealed that Qilekang’s pharmaceutical e-commerce business is currently profitable. Although Da Bai Yun Zhen (Big White Cloud Clinic) is still in its initial investment phase, significant resources will be allocated to it in the future. As the number of users and doctors grows, the platform can generate additional revenue streams by providing services across various segments, including insurance, health check-ups, medical testing, and brand promotion and display for clients. “There is substantial room for reform from the user end to the supply chain or service providers. The internet enables disintermediation and improved efficiency, which creates profit margins,” Jiang Haidong stated.

Another noteworthy phenomenon is that the industry landscape this year may undergo significant divergence.

Taking pharmaceutical O2O as an example, platforms such as Yaogeli, Kuaifang Medicine, and Dingdang Kuaiyao have successively joined food delivery platforms like Meituan Waimai, Dianping, and Ele.me in the second half of this year. Jiang Haidong believes that industry consolidation and integration will inevitably occur within the next two years, leading to an initial stabilization of the market landscape. The sector will see more open collaborations, with an increase in mergers or partnerships among similar or different types of applications.

Nevertheless, Jiang Haidong believes that niche segments such as mobile consultations, pharmaceutical e-commerce, and appointment registration continue to exhibit the highest utilization rates. Among these, mobile consultation platforms are likely to offer comprehensive general practice categories, while major players will emerge in specialized fields focusing on specific diseases. “The mobile health sector is evolving rapidly. Although everyone is currently exploring various models, the trend toward strategic alliances among leading enterprises for mutual benefit is inevitable,” stated Jiang Haidong.