Linson Polymer Completes Over RMB 100 Million Series B Financing to Advance Import Substitution of Precision Medical Catheters and Empower Cost-Efficient Global Minimally Invasive Devices

VCBeat has exclusively learned that Ningbo Linstant Polymer Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as“Linstant”) Announces CompletionOver 100 million yuanBround of financing, led by Haibang FenghuaLead Investor; Ningbo Tongshang Fund Management Co., Ltd. as Co-Investor. The financing proceeds will be primarily used to expand production capacity, build a robust talent team, and explore new overseas markets.

With the development of minimally invasive and non-invasive treatment concepts and advances in clinical techniques, surgical procedures have entered an era of precision. As essential consumables during surgery, medical precision catheters are critical to the smooth execution of operations, with their accuracy, stability, and safety being paramount.

However, the high material and technical barriers to entry for precision catheters, coupled with long lead times for product development and customer qualification, have resulted in the prolonged dominance of imported products in China’s market for medical precision catheters. This situation not only hinders the rapid development of China’s healthcare industry but also imposes a significant economic burden on both medical insurance payments and patients due to the excessively high costs of these medical devices.

Since its inception in 2014, Linstant, as a domestic supplier of precision medical catheter tips, has provided end-to-end services tailored to the customized needs of implantable and interventional precision catheters, encompassing conceptual product structure design, preliminary raw material selection, production process R&D, and final validation of mass-production processes.

When discussing why Linstant entered the high-gross-margin, high-growth sector in 2014, a market where over 90% of the existing share was monopolized by leading foreign enterprises,Song Xiaobo, Founder and General Manager of Linstantstated: “In 2014, both national policies and market performance in China’s medical device industry were exceptionally prominent. Physicians developed a better understanding and acceptance of innovative products, while enterprises continuously broke through barriers on the path from imitation to innovation. At this critical juncture, Linstant aims to support the domestic substitution of Chinese medical devices from the upstream supply chain, addressing the ‘chokehold’ challenge facing domestically produced precision medical catheters.”

Although China’s medical device industry was still in the development stage of absorbing innovations in 2014, its reliance on foreign core technologies and key components had not yet been fundamentally altered. However, under active government policy guidance—such as the revision of the overarching regulatory framework, the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices, and the issuance of the Special Review Procedures for Innovative Medical Devices by the National Medical Products Administration—the innovation capacity of China’s medical device industry has continued to strengthen, accompanied by increasingly robust demand.

It was at this juncture that Song Xiaobo, holding a degree in Materials Science Engineering from France’s EEIGM and boasting several years of overseas experience in the R&D, processing, and production of catheters, chose to return to China in 2014 to found Linstant. Through nearly a decade of dedication, he has shaped the company into a leading domestic supplier of medical precision catheters, distinguished as one of the earliest entrants in the field, with a comprehensive product portfolio and outstanding capabilities in R&D and stable output.

To date, Linstant’s core business covers various sizes ofSingle-lumen tubes, multi-lumen tubes, balloon catheters, spiral-reinforced sheaths, braided-reinforced sheaths, multi-layer composite tubes, specialty material tubes, and other multifunctional tubing, as well as various injection-molded components, widely used inCardiology, Valvular Disease, Orthopedics, Radiology, Anesthesiology, Reproductive Urologyimplantable and interventional devices for departments such as

Specifically, take PEEK (polyether ether ketone) precision tubing, a high-performance engineering plastic in the medical field, as an example.The PEEK precision tubing developed by Linstant can be used for long-term applications at high temperatures of 250°C while maintaining excellent mechanical properties, featuring high strength, high fracture toughness, good dimensional stability, outstanding chemical resistance, flame retardancy, wear resistance, and good biocompatibility.

PEEK Precision Tubing

Linstant also offers customized production of PEEK precision tubing with outer diameters ranging from 0.10 to 25.00 mm, wall thicknesses from 0.05 to 3.00 mm, and tolerances within ±0.01 to 0.10 mm, demonstrating strong customization capabilities.

In addition, the wall thickness tolerance of precision catheter tubing designed and manufactured by Linstant is 0.0005'' (0.0127 mm), meeting the highest international precision standards and enabling integration into smaller and more complex medical device systems. The company also offers design and mass production services for braided or coiled sheaths with complex shapes and high geometric precision, available in sizes ranging from 4Fr to 39Fr. These products are suitable for various vascular and valvular interventional delivery systems, addressing a broader range of clinical needs.

Braided Sheath Spring Sheath

VCBeat learned in interviews that the “high” barrier to entry for medical-grade precision catheters is primarily determined by their manufacturing characteristics. In addition to complex materials and processes and stringent precision requirements, many products require custom design and demand-driven R&D, further raising the technical barriers and manufacturing challenges for medical-grade precision catheters.

“From requirements communication and process R&D to installation testing, and further to stable mass production with a 99% pass rate across hundreds of thousands of units, when a company thoroughly refines every link in the chain, the entire industrial chain operates in a stable and efficient manner. This constitutes both the entry barrier for upstream raw material enterprises and their competitive advantage,” remarked Song Xiaobo.

In the second year after its establishment, when the market share of domestically produced medical precision catheters was less than 10%, Linstant, having passed the ISO 13485 audit, secured its first sales order by virtue of its products’ superior performance and service capabilities, andNingbo Qianwan New Area Linfeng Medical Technology Industrial Park has established a medical catheter production base spanning nearly 15,000 square meters, along with a 13,000-square-meter facility at the Fenghua Life and Health Industrial Park.Over the subsequent four years, the company’s technical processes and manufacturing capabilities matured significantly. It achieved end-to-end integration and self-sufficiency across supply chains for numerous product categories, thereby breaking the monopoly held by foreign enterprises over technology and production.

Currently, Linstant has deeply laid out over a hundred process technologies for medical precision catheters and conducted extensive validation work.The company currently operates 15 extrusion production lines imported from the United States, 8 other types of extrusion production lines, 2 precision injection molding production lines, 60 units of weaving/spring/laminating equipment, and 40 welding and forming processing machines, along with cleanroom workshops covering tens of thousands of square meters.

Linstant Polymer Production Workshop

Over the past three years, Linstant has steadily refined its medical sheath manufacturing processes and gradually expanded its upstream capabilities by establishing platforms for fluoropolymer production, polyimide production, braiding technology, and specialized surface treatment.From technological innovation to stable output, driven by growing market demand and supply chain optimization, Linstant, a company deeply rooted in the upstream core catheter accessories sector, has been strategically laying out upstream raw materials and foundational processes. By leveraging economies of scale to reduce costs, Linstant delivers medical catheters with superior performance and lower costs to a broader customer base.

Song Xiaobo stated,“Compared to imported products, Linstant’s extrusion production lines can reduce costs by 60%, and its composite pipe production lines can reduce costs by 40%. Furthermore, as composite pipes—which currently rely heavily on imports—carry higher value-added, their domestic production share is gradually increasing, leading to continued cost reductions.”

As one of the earliest established companies in China with the most comprehensive product portfolio and strongest R&D capabilities, Linstant achieved annual product sales exceeding RMB 10 million in 2018. Over the four-year period from 2018 to 2022, the company realized a fifteen-fold rapid growth, increasing its sales from RMB 10 million to RMB 150 million.

Of course, in addition to market and industry recognition, Linstant, which focuses on domestic substitution, has successively receivedTwo Invention Patents, 16 Utility Model Patents, successively achieved2023 National “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” Little Giant Enterprise, “R&D Center for Precision Catheter Technologies in Minimally Invasive Implantable and Interventional Medical Devices,” and Ningbo Hangzhou Bay Engineering Technology Centerand other honors.

Notably, in September 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Medical Products Administration released the first batch of the National List for “Unveiling the Leader” Initiative on Innovation in Biomedical Materials. Linstant was successfully included in the list due to its prominent advantages and took the lead in carrying out the project titled “Research, Development, and Industrialization of Medical-Grade Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) Materials and Related Endoscopic and Orthopedic Implantable Rods and Tubes.”Furthermore, the company is also collaborating on the Ningbo 2025 Major Science and Technology Innovation Special Project titled “Research and Industrialization of Novel Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement and Repair Devices.”

In terms of external collaboration, Linstant actively engages with universities to integrate innovative medical technologies and resources, continuously strengthening industry-academia-research cooperation in the healthcare sector.The Company has established stable and in-depth collaborations with universities and research institutes, including Zhejiang University, Ningbo University of Technology, and the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences., and in the process of collaborating on the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, it has repeatedly overcome key technical challenges in the industry, evolving into a platform-based enterprise integrating R&D, design, and production.

In recent years, the global market for medical catheters has been experiencing rapid growth, driven by rising demand for minimally invasive surgeries and an increasing number of cardiovascular and urological cases, as well as the growing prevalence of urinary incontinence. According to data from Emergen Research, a global market research firm, the global catheter market was valued at USD 24.33 billion in 2022 and is projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% during the forecast period.

Facing a global market that is more competitive yet offers broader opportunities, Linstant has set its sights on the high-end global medical catheter market dominated by leading overseas enterprises, after nearly a decade of relentless refinement of its technological innovation capabilities and its ability to deliver safe, stable, mass production.and has reached cooperation intentions with several multinational medical giants.

At the end of the interview, Song Xiaobo remarked, “The market for medical precision catheters is relatively concentrated among leading enterprises. With the rapid development of downstream minimally invasive interventional products, demand for upstream core components will be significantly driven.”"As a Chinese supplier of precision medical catheter tips, Linstant will continue to strive to break through the constraints of domestic bottleneck basic materials and processes, achieve import substitution for high-end medical catheter components, provide more satisfactory support and assurance to innovative implantable and interventional medical device manufacturers in China and globally, and ultimately benefit patients and healthcare providers alike."

Hangzhou Haibang Fenghua Investment Management Co., Ltd. stated:In recent years, with the continuous maturation of minimally invasive interventional procedures for various vascular diseases, a number of highly competitive companies specializing in minimally invasive interventional devices have emerged in China. However, as the industry started later than its counterparts in Europe and the United States, some core materials and components still need to be sourced from foreign suppliers. Linstant focuses on the research of medical-grade polymer materials and specialized processing technologies. With an international perspective, the team has provided solutions to hundreds of domestic and overseas clients since its establishment, supporting their R&D of innovative medical devices. Meanwhile, Linstant has been selected for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Open Competition Mechanism” list for biomedical materials. Looking ahead, Linstant aims to deepen collaborations with more clients both at home and abroad, jointly promoting the continuous advancement of the minimally invasive surgery industry.

Su Weijun, General Manager of Tongshang Fund:Linstant boasts robust R&D capabilities and extensive production experience in the field of precision medical catheters. Its products consist of polymer-based minimally invasive interventional devices designed for use in multiple clinical departments, including cardiology, anesthesiology, and urology. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the significant growth potential in the upstream segment of the medical device industry, steadily capturing market share through its industry-leading capacity for domestic substitution.

Haibang Fenghua was founded by Zhejiang Haibang Investment, a renowned equity investment institution in Zhejiang Province, together with its entire investment management team. The company primarily focuses on early- to mid-stage equity investments in the fields of life and health, the digital economy, and new materials. Adhering to the investment philosophy of “Technology + Talent,” we firmly believe that technology changes the world and are committed to supporting entrepreneurs with great ideals and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Tongshang Fund serves as the primary vehicle and key instrument for capital operations and project investment under Ningbo Tongshang Holding Group. Adhering to its core positioning of “serving local strategies and leading industrial development,” the fund implements a strategic layout integrating regional and industrial perspectives. It focuses on forward-looking investments in five key industries aligned with Ningbo’s strategic direction—namely, the digital economy, intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new energy, and healthcare. By targeting the priority industrial chains that Ningbo is striving to develop, the fund deeply advances investments aimed at strengthening, supplementing, and extending these industrial chains.