R&D of innovative stem cell drugs for pets, using technology to prolong the companionship of furry babies.
The lifespan of dogs and cats is extending, but the quality of their senior years is not improving correspondingly. After the age of 8, the detection rate of osteoarthritis in dogs rises significantly with age, while clinically available treatment options remain limited: long-term use of painkillers will damage the liver and kidney, and joint replacement has a very low penetration rate in China. Both methods can only relieve pain, but cannot repair the worn cartilage. Chronic kidney disease in cats is another intractable problem. Existing therapies can only delay the progression of the disease, cannot reverse the damage to nephrons, and there are almost no available interventions at IRIS stage 3 to 4, while end-stage dialysis is basically inaccessible in China.
Mesenchymal stem cells and stem cell derivatives provide an alternative path. Their function lies not in replacing damaged tissues, but in altering the local microenvironment of the injury through anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-fibrotic effects and promoting tissue repair. Established in 2026 in Chengdu, Zhonglaochong Life Science Research (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. takes this path as its core development direction: the company has jointly built the Pet Regenerative Medicine Research Center and the Zhonglaochong Health Research Center with the College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University, focusing on three technical lines of stem cells, stem cell derivatives and NK cells, to carry out clinical transformation for canine and feline osteoarthritis, chronic kidney disease, ophthalmic diseases and skin wounds. At present, the company has launched its seed round financing, planning to raise RMB 5 million, offering 20% of its equity, with a post-money valuation of RMB 25 million.
From "Delaying" to "Repairing"
The premise for this path to be feasible is a clear regulatory framework. In China, mesenchymal stem cell preparations for canine arthritis have been clearly defined as therapeutic veterinary biological products, which means it is no longer a vague health care concept, but a drug with a clear registration channel. For start-ups, this channel determines whether R&D investment can be converted into payable treatments, rather than remaining in the laboratory.
Zhonglaochong does not take the RMB 86.3 billion pet medical market as its overall denominator. The company narrows down the market layer by layer into four tiers: the total pet medical market is about RMB 86.3 billion; among them, the pet regenerative medicine sector (including stem cells and their derivatives) is about RMB 4.5 billion, accounting for less than 6% of the total medical market, but it is the fastest-growing segment; further down is the stem cell therapy market, with a market size of about RMB 500 million in 2026, an annual growth rate of 35% to 50%, and it is expected to reach RMB 1.6 billion to 2.5 billion by 2030; the innermost tier covers the two core disease areas the company focuses on, with canine osteoarthritis accounting for 45% and canine and feline chronic kidney disease accounting for 15%, totaling 60%, corresponding to a market size of about RMB 300 million in 2026. The market size gets smaller layer by layer, but the innermost layer grows the fastest.
This judgment is supported by the observational records accumulated by the team in frontline clinical practice over the past few years. For dogs with 8mm full-thickness skin defects, the healing time after instillation of stem cell derivatives is 16 to 21 days, compared with 26 days in the control group, which is shortened by 20% to 30%; in cases of chronic renal failure, creatinine and urea nitrogen decrease significantly within 2 to 3 days after mesenchymal stem cell infusion; 7 to 8 cases of keratitis and glaucoma all showed definite relief after using stem cell derivative eye drops; improved joint mobility was observed in multiple arthritis cases after intra-articular injection.
It should be noted that the above results are based on clinical observation and diagnosis and treatment records, not standardized clinical trial data. The company plans to conduct Phase I, II and III target animal clinical trials at veterinary drug GCP institutions filed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs after obtaining the clinical approval document. With its existing scientific research conditions, the enrollment of standardized clinical trials can be completed in as fast as 3 months.
Develop marketable products first, then develop monopolizable drugs
For stem cells to move from the laboratory to the clinic, they usually need to cross two hurdles: long R&D cycle and cash flow pressure. Zhonglaochong's approach is to split the development path into three tiers, using the first two tiers to support the third one. The first tier is stem cell derivative care products, which follow the filing path for cosmetics, disinfection approval products or pet care products, with the lowest compliance threshold, and can generate revenue in as fast as 6 months; the second tier is stem cell preparations, which enter hospitals in the form of hospital-prepared preparations or technical services to accumulate data in real diagnosis and treatment scenarios; the third tier is Class 1 new veterinary drugs, which follow the new veterinary drug registration path. Once approved, there will be no similar competing products in China, which is also the source of the company's valuation ceiling.
This sequence determines that the company's business model is not simply selling goods, but a combination of products, technologies and in-hospital services. Its revenue does not come from e-commerce shelves, but from pet hospitals: hospitals lack effective treatment options, pet owners are willing to pay, and the curative effect can be quantitatively evaluated. The distribution channel is exactly what differentiates this company from similar projects. The alumni network of the College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University covers more than 700 pet hospitals across Sichuan Province, which can quickly reach clinical resources in the western region, and then complete pet owner education through offline private domain networks.
According to the company's calculation, it will cover 100 partner hospitals with an annual revenue of RMB 5 million within the 12-month introduction period; cover 300 partner hospitals with an annual revenue of RMB 20 million in the 24-month growth period; cover more than 1000 partner hospitals with an annual revenue of RMB 100 million in the 36-month scaling period. These figures are supported by a set of treatment targets set at the project initiation stage: the pain score of canine osteoarthritis cases will decrease by no less than 50% within 12 weeks, weight bearing and activity level will increase by no less than 30%, painkiller consumption will decrease by no less than 50%, and the curative effect of a single intra-articular injection will last for more than 6 months; for chronic kidney disease cases, SDMA will remain stable or decrease by no less than 10%, creatinine will decrease by no less than 20%, and urinary protein will decrease by no less than 30%. These are targets, not already achieved results.
In the same track, Shanghai Mituoke was founded in 2022 and has completed Pre-A round financing of more than RMB 20 million; Tianjin Baioupai was founded in 2021 and is at the Pre-A stage. The GLP qualifications of these two companies rely on third-party outsourcing. Gallant in the United States was founded in 2016, has entered the post Series C stage, and has its own GLP platform and a nationwide chain of hospital channels. Zhonglaochong's competitive advantages lie in three points: the only veterinary drug GLP platform of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Southwest China, 10-year priority cooperation with Sichuan Agricultural University, and all intellectual property rights belong to the company during the cooperation period.
Ten years of laboratory research from a university, and a RMB 5 million financing
Zhang Zhuo, founder and CEO, has worked in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic raw material industry for more than 20 years, served more than 800 pharmaceutical companies around the world, and is also a industry-university-research cooperation supervisor at Sichuan Agricultural University, responsible for converting the professor team's technology into implementable products and standards. Kong Weibo, technical director, is a postdoctoral researcher from Germany, whose research direction is canine cancer drugs, and is responsible for the R&D, patent and standard declaration of stem cells and NK cells. On the scientific research side, four professors from the College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University take charge of different segments: Hu Yanchun, expert in animal nutritional metabolic diseases and toxic diseases and one of China's top 100 pet physicians, is responsible for the application of NK cells and stem cells in pet anti-cancer and anti-aging fields; Yu Shumin, head of the stem cell and derivative technology team and a participant in the world's first giant panda umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell line establishment, has 20 years of stem cell research experience; He Changliang, director of the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine and dean of the Teaching Animal Hospital, is responsible for the endogenous stem cell regeneration direction; Liu Haifeng, deputy director of the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine and vice dean of the Teaching Animal Hospital, is responsible for the clinical application of stem cells and their derivatives in joints and kidneys.
The company's most valuable assets are not under its own name, but belong to the university. The co-construction agreement with the College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University lasts for 10 years, during which the company enjoys the priority of cooperation and all intellectual property rights generated during the cooperation period belong to the company; the college coordinates a 200-square-meter laboratory on campus and shares the veterinary drug GLP platform of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs with the company. At present, the company holds 3 authorized invention patents, covering respectively the preparation of animal anti-anemia microcapsules, animal alopecia therapeutic agents, and compositions for alleviating degenerative neuropathy; patents in the stem cell field are under application, and group standards are being prepared. The two research centers have clear division of responsibilities: the Pet Regenerative Medicine Research Center undertakes the R&D and clinical transformation of stem cells, their derivatives and NK cells, while the Zhonglaochong Health Research Center focuses on precision nutrition, homologous food and medicine, and supplies and appliances, providing productization outlets for non-pharmaceutical formulas.
The RMB 5 million raised in this round is allocated in detail: RMB 1 million for laboratory renovation and equipment, RMB 1.5 million for core personnel salaries, RMB 1.2 million for R&D and production of the first product, RMB 500,000 for clinical data accumulation, RMB 500,000 for marketing promotion and distribution channels, and RMB 300,000 for registration declaration, exhibitions and competitions. According to the 18-month plan, the company will complete laboratory renovation and team formation in the first 6 months; from the 6th to 12th month, it will promote the launch of care products, initiate the establishment of group standards, start the application for stem cell patents, and realize the implementation of stem cell preparations and technical cooperation; from the 12th to 18th month, it will cover 100 partner hospitals, complete the collection of the first batch of clinical data, achieve annual revenue exceeding RMB 5 million, and start preparation for Series A financing. In addition to this round of financing, the company also plans to obtain more than RMB 1 million of non-dilutive funds through government subsidies and competitions.
For a company established for less than a year, it is a very tight schedule to complete product launch, hospital coverage, data accumulation and Series A preparation within 18 months. Whether it can achieve this goal ultimately does not depend on the valuation milestones on the valuation table, but on a more specific matter: can a pet owner who walks into a pet hospital with his 10-year-old golden retriever get a treatment that truly changes the course of the disease, instead of just being told "go home and observe for a while".
(The project information and data in this article are provided by Zhonglaochong Life Science, and the market data are cited according to its BP; the early curative effect data are based on clinical observation and diagnosis and treatment records, not standardized clinical trial results.)