Medical and Health Industry Weekly Report | "Element Driven" Secures Nearly 200 Million Yuan in Series A Financing; "Benyao Technology" Obtains Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series A3 Financing
In recent years, the healthcare industry has witnessed a continuous emergence of innovations and has developed into one of the most active sectors. 36Kr has witnessed and accompanied the growth of innovative enterprises in this field and brought professional voices to the industry.
For this reason, 36Kr has launched the "Healthcare Industry Weekly Report" column, which will be released regularly to provide readers with industry information from multiple perspectives such as capital, policies, finance, and new products.
Please check the Healthcare Industry Weekly Report for October 27. This weekly report includes financing news in the healthcare field this week.
Financing and Investment
- "Realse Intelligent" Completes Series A Financing of Over 100 Million Yuan
"Realse Intelligent" has recently completed a Series A financing of over 100 million yuan. The lead investor in this round is Xieli Investment, and several senior entrepreneurs in the dental industry have followed the investment. The raised funds will be mainly used for product research and development, capacity expansion, and global business layout. Realse Intelligent was established in 2019 and focuses on developing and providing 3D printing solutions for dentistry. The founder, Liu Zhen, graduated from the Robotics Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has over 10 years of work experience in the 3D printing industry and has worked for a large domestic 3D printing equipment manufacturer, leading the research and development and management of several core products. He has accumulated 71 patent applications and 14 invention authorizations.
- "Element Drive" Secures Nearly 200 Million Yuan in Series A Financing
The synthetic biology enterprise Element Drive has recently completed a Series A financing of nearly 200 million yuan. The investors in this round include Hangzhou Chengtou Industrial Fund, China Merchants Venture Capital, Xihu Photon, and Yunjiu Capital. Among them, Xihu Photon and Yunjiu Capital have made additional investments. The raised funds will be mainly used for technology research and development and market promotion. Element Drive was established in 2021 and is a key incubation project of the New Productivity Cultivation Platform of the Future Industry Research Center of West Lake University. It focuses on the development and industrialization of biodegradable materials and soybean meal-free diet technologies. It is reported that Element Drive has established its own research and development platform, MiNT X Platform, to achieve predictable design through enzyme engineering and metabolic pathways. Currently, driven by this platform, Element Drive has completed the entire biological manufacturing chain from research and development, production to downstream product transformation, and has collaborated with several downstream enterprises to carry out product research and development.
- "Xuanjing Bio" Completes New Financing of Over 100 Million Yuan
Xuanjing Bio has completed an Angel + round financing of over 100 million yuan. This round of financing is jointly led by Shanghai KeTou Co., Ltd. and Qihang Investment, with Xincheng Fund, Jinsha River United Runpu, Yuanxi Haihe, etc. as followers, and the old shareholder Sany Innovation Investment has made an additional investment. This round of financing will be mainly used for the clinical research of the company's first siRNA drug RG002C0106, the advancement of multiple preclinical pipelines, and the rapid development of in vivo delivery technology for non-liver tissues and corresponding pipelines. At the same time, since its establishment, Xuanjing Bio has completed a total of two rounds of financing totaling over 200 million yuan. Xuanjing Bio was established in 2022 and focuses on the research and development and industrialization of small nucleic acid drugs.
- "Benyao Technology" Secures Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series A3 Financing
Benyao Technology has recently secured hundreds of millions of yuan in Series A3 financing. This round of financing is led by Panlin Capital, with Qiming Venture Capital and Boyuan Capital continuing to follow the investment. Since its establishment, Benyao Technology has completed multiple rounds of financing totaling hundreds of millions of yuan. The raised funds will be mainly used for the company's technology research and development, product development and production, and market expansion.
- Zedman Pharma Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Series A+ Financing
Shanghai Zedman Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of nearly 100 million yuan in Series A + financing. This round of financing is led by Qingdao Guoxin, with the company's existing shareholders Baino Capital, HanKang Capital, and Betta Fund continuing to make additional investments. Kaichen Capital continues to serve as the exclusive financial advisor. The raised funds in this round will be mainly used to accelerate the research and development, clinical studies, and commercial promotion of multiple therapeutic drugs for autoimmune inflammatory diseases targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).
- MingCeler Completes Pre A+ Financing
MingCeler, a company focused on tetraploid compensation technology, announced the completion of Pre A + financing. The investor is GSR Ventures. Previously, MingCeler has obtained two rounds of financing, including the Angel Round and Pre - A Round, with a cumulative total financing amount of several tens of millions of yuan. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used for the construction of SPF - level animal facilities, the development of mid - to - high - end finished mouse libraries, and marketing promotion.
- Starsea Medical Completes Over 100 Million Yuan in Series B Financing
Shenzhen Starsea Medical Technology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a Series B financing of over 100 million yuan, led by Genesis Ventures, with the existing shareholders Junlian Capital and Daotong Investment continuing to increase their investments. HaoYue Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. This round of financing will help Starsea Medical further expand its production capacity, accelerate the research and development of new products, and expand the global market, promoting its rapid development in the field of disposable endoscopes. Starsea Medical was established in October 2020. The founding team comes from leading medical device companies at home and abroad, with more than ten years of experience in minimally invasive surgical product research and development, global marketing, and production management. It is committed to becoming an innovative leader in endoscopic interventional diagnosis and treatment. Its core product, disposable electronic endoscopes, covers urology, respiratory, ICU, gynecology, digestion, and other fields, and has entered the Chinese, American, European, and Asia - Pacific markets.
- Sipeng Technology Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Pre - A Round Financing
Shanghai Sipeng Technology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a Pre - A round financing of nearly 100 million yuan. This round of investment is led by SDIC Chuanghe and followed by Rugao Science and Technology Innovation Investment. Xi Qiao Capital serves as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised will be used to further strengthen the mass production and commercial promotion of biomanufacturing products. Sipeng Technology is a representative enterprise of the transformation of scientific and technological achievements of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Relying on the major scientific and technological projects at the municipal level in Shanghai and the CNSB major project (Carbon Negative Synthetic Biology) funded by the National Foundation of Singapore, Sipeng Technology will continue to optimize and iterate carbon sources to accelerate the industrial breakthrough of non - grain and carbon - negative manufacturing.
- Shize Bio Completes Over 100 Million Yuan in Series B1 Market - oriented Financing
Shize Biomedical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a Series B1 market - oriented financing of over 100 million yuan. This round of financing is led by Tailong / Taikun Capital, with Qisheng Capital and Tianhui Capital jointly investing. Fengrui Capital, Qiming Venture Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Sequoia China, and other old shareholders have made additional investments. This round of financing will be used to improve the clinical - grade iPS - derived cell drug pipeline for treating neurological diseases, further conduct clinical research, and promote multiple registered clinical trials.
The Frontline
- The Second Half of Functional Foods: Scene Entry and Technology - Driven | The Frontline
As a type of food with a significantly higher content or activity of functional factors than ordinary foods, functional foods are generally considered to be able to preventively supplement nutrients and belong to fast - moving consumer goods with certain functional values. With the rise of public health awareness, enterprises are gradually getting involved in the functional food track, and the market size is also "rising along with the tide" - according to statistics, from 2016 to 2021, the market size of the functional food industry in China has increased from 137 billion yuan to 196.1 billion yuan, and it is expected to reach 234.3 billion yuan by 2025.
Functional foods are also favored by many companies and undertake the responsibility of the "second curve" for some companies. For example, Bloomage Biotech has been frequently exerting efforts in functional foods in recent years. Currently, the company has laid out multiple functional food brands related to hyaluronic acid. According to its semi - annual report in 2024, the company also plans to launch a high - end young functional food brand "Bloomage Health" in the second half of the year to provide consumers with a more comprehensive health management solution.
However, since its birth, functional foods have faced a series of problems: At the policy and regulatory level, the identity of ordinary food rather than health supplements limits its addition amount and efficacy promotion; consumers are skeptical about whether functional foods really have functions and whether they are an intelligence tax; the low entry threshold has also created a mixed ecology.
How to establish industry recognition, come up with attractive enough products, and optimize the industrial ecology? Recently, at the functional food application seminar led by the cosmetics and food research brand Indie Pure Lele, researchers from the Nutrition Committee of the China Food Association, Jiangnan University, the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and other places have discussed this... (Click here for details)
Editor: Hu Xiangyun