Qiming Newsletter November 2023

What's New at Qiming

Qiming Venture Partners 15th CEO Summit successfully concluded

Qiming Venture Partners successfully held the 15th CEO Summit. This time in Shanghai, over 200 guests including LPs, portfolio CEOs and executives have reunited to network and exchange views about macro trends, innovation strategy, going global, etc. The 7-hour summit agenda included one main forum and two parallel forums in Technology & Consumer and Healthcare respectively. 4 external guests, 7 Qiming investors and 14 entrepreneurs shared their insights as well as their experiences and insights into entrepreneurship.

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Duane Kuang Foresees a Future of Resilient Entrepreneurs Thriving in Uncertain Markets

During the 17th DEMO CHINA, Duane Kuang, our Founding Managing Partner, gave an insightful keynote titled "Resilient Era: Anticipating Certainty". He emphasized that entrepreneurship, regardless of the macro-environment, is essentially a micro-level endeavor. With preparation, ambition, and accumulated capabilities, any moment can be the right time for entrepreneurship. Having a strong project can make entrepreneurship more advantageous now than during times of market exuberance.

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William Hu Encourages Global Expansion for Chinese Healthcare Companies with Optimistic Outlook

In addressing the global expansion trajectory of Chinese healthcare companies, our Managing Partner William Hu underscored the opportune timing for these firms to embark on going global journey at the Qiming Venture Partners Healthcare International Expansion Forum. "The evolving quality of innovation originating from China is pivotal in shaping the global healthcare landscape. Looking ahead, Chinese innovation stands poised to elevate global biopharmaceutical advancements and contribute to the optimization of healthcare system expenditures."

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Gary Rieschel Shares Insights on China's Economic Landscape and Innovation Ecosystem at Bloomberg New Economy Forum

Our Founding Managing Partner Gary Rieschel joined a panel at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and shared perspectives on differences in China and Japan's economy and highlighted China's maturing innovation ecosystem and areas to revive economic energy. He also spoke with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, discussing early-stage investments, fundraising and venture capital outlook in China.

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Kan Chen Discusses Evolving Emphasis on Technology During Biopharma Investment

At the 2023 REAL Tech Conference held by Jiemian News, Kan Chen, Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, spoke about the trends of digitalization and automation in life sciences during his keynote address. He believed that while technology is still a barrier, developing good products with technology has become the key to the success of entrepreneurship.

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Awards

Qiming Venture Partners was ranked No.5 among top global investors in the VCJ 50 2023. The VCJ 50, an annual ranking published by Venture Capital Journal, evaluates VC firms based on the amount of direct investment capital raised for seed, early, and multi-stage deals, excluding growth deals. This esteemed list includes funds that closed between January 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023. To provide a more precise representation of the VC industry, this year's list highlights investments in the early stages of companies.

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Qiming won a total of six awards at the 2023 Sandlake VC-Investment Annual List, including Best Firm in Fundraising, Best Firm in Exit, Best Firm in IPO (Overseas Listing), Most Active Firm in Healthcare, Innovation in Exit Models, and ESG Award.

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Qiming was selected as one of the Top 10 ESG Enterprise of the Year by Phoenix Action League for its China Rural Revitalization Entrepreneur Support Program, which was initiated by Qiming in collaboration with the China Rural Development Foundation.

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Qiming Venture Partners was recognized as Top 30 VC/PE Firms of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Investment Competitiveness published by the 21st Century Business Herald and the 21st Century Venture Capital Research Institute.

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Our Founding Managing Partner Duane Kuang was recognized as one of the 30 Most Influential Investors in China for another consecutive year by Fortune China.

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China's leading business publication 36Kr named our Managing Partner Nisa Leung as "Female Investor of the Year".

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Four Qiming investors were honored in the acclaimed 2022-2023 ChinaVenture Annual Top Investor list. Our Founding Managing Partner Duane Kuang, Managing Partners Nisa Leung and William Hu, were named to the TOP 100 China's Best Venture Capitalists of the Year; Nisa and William among TOP 20 China's Best Healthcare Investors of the Year; Partner Kuantai Yeh among TOP 20 China's Best AI Investors of the Year.

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Portfolio Highlights

ESG

InferVision provided mobile DR van + AI image diagnostic system support to offer free tuberculosis screening services for more than 4,000 local people in Gongshan County, Yunnan Province.

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Prof. Songyang Zhou, Founder of Pluslife, was invited to attend the 54th Union World Conference on Lung Health 2023 in Paris to present the company's innovative R&D results - molecular POCT solution for tuberculosis, which provides affordable molecular diagnostic tools for healthcare organizations in low- and middle-income areas.

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Financing

Qiming exclusively invested in Complete Omics' Series A round of financing. The funds will support Complete Omics' innovative clinical proteomics and multi-omics assays, clinical studies, and market promotion efforts.

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Boner Orthopaedics, a company that invests in and runs a chain of orthopaedic hospitals, has raised over 800 million yuan in funding before its initial public offering. The company plans to use the funds to speed up its digital transformation, expand its presence in the Chinese market, and increase its workforce. Qiming previously led the company's Series C round.

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Technology & Consumer

Xiaomi (SEHK:1810) and UBTECH joined hands with other institutions to set up Beijing Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. The center will focus on the general humanoid robot body prototype and other core research areas.

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During the 6th China International Import Expo, Roborock (SHSE:688169) and Covestro signed a memorandum of cooperation, working together to explore more cooperation in intelligent hardware and material technology, exploring more possibilities for the sustainable development of the industry.

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Hesai Technology (NASDAQ: HSAI) announced an automotive lidar design win with leading Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor. Hesai Technology will supply ultra-high resolution long range lidar AT128 for Leapmotor's upcoming series production vehicle model.

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DeepWay supported the first driverless test in Xiqing District and Dongjiang Tianjin, gaining recognition of the technical strength of DeepWay's smart new energy heavy trucks. The company also joined hands with Lion Bridge Group to provide smart new energy heavy-duty trucks for China's leading logistics provider SF Express. The two companies worked together to support SF's logistics tasks in Tianjin during the Double 11 period.

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Kingsware and carbon neutral technology service provider Tanqicheng formed a strategic cooperation. The two companies will jointly help enterprises better practice carbon governance and promote digital dual-carbon construction.

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Hyperstrong and Schneider Electric struck a partnership. The two companies will work together to promote the energy storage market and facilitate green energy transformation, through various collaborations in the fields of zero-carbon intelligence, carbon footprint, industrialized design, intelligent manufacturing, etc.

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Insta360 released Insta360 Ace and Insta360 Ace Pro, a pair of groundbreaking, wide-angle action cameras that deliver smarter action capture powered by AI and incredible image quality.

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NASN Technology's Onebox 2.0 NBC Integrated Intelligent Braking System has been put into mass production. Onebox 2.0 NBC adopts fully decoupled braking technology, integrates all the functions of driving brake, parking brake, vehicle stability control and others.

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XSKY released the new distributed all-flash architecture "XSEA (eXtreme Shared-Everything Architecture)" and XINFINI all-flash distributed storage.

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WeRide was approved to carry out Robotaxi self-driving commercial service in Yizhuang, Beijing, accelerating its commercialization footsteps. In addition, WeRide's Robotaxi fleet completed one and a half months of open test operation and will continue to drive on the streets of Kangbashi District in Ordos City, bringing a brand-new experience to local citizens.

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On November 25, Polestone started the delivery of the first batch of Polestone 01 SUVs and hosted an event with the first group of Polestone 01 owners.

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Healthcare

Two Qiming portfolio companies Ashermed and Aistarfish joined hands to provide a full range of services based on real-world data for pharma and medtech companies in the field of oncology, utilizing Ashermed's real-world research capability and Aistarfish's full-course patient management service systems.

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Two Qiming portfolio companies Venus Medtech (SEHK:2500) and Valgen Medtech have announced an exclusive strategic partnership for the commercialization of DragonFly? Transcatheter Mitral Valve Clamping System (DF).

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Insilico Medicine and its global partner Fosun Pharma unveiled Life Star1, the first intelligent robotics lab that utilizes AI in decision making at the Sixth China International Import Expo. The two companies also organized a sharing session on the theme of "Next Generation AI and Automation Technology to Transform Biopharmaceuticals" and released a report on the development of drug R&D labs along with industry partners.

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Amoy Diagnostics (SZSE:300685) reached multiple collaborations with AstraZeneca and Pfizer. These include strengthening county level collaboration with AstraZeneca and another strategic collaboration on ovarian cancer diagnostics, as well as joining Pfizer Oncology's OASIS lung cancer innovation ecosystem.

InferVision reached a partnership with Hengwei Technology, a provider of computing network solutions and operation and maintenance technology. The two companies will collaborate in AI medical training and various aspects, contributing to the development of AI-powered precision assisted diagnosis systems.

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Tigermed (SZSE:300347, SEHK:3347) has strategically partnered with 17 hospitals during Q2 and Q3 2023 to establish clinical research centers, cultivating top clinical research talents, optimizing management processes, improving visit efficiency, and building a high-standard clinical research management system together.

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ArkBio reached a comprehensive partnership with Wuxi AppTec. Through this strategic collaboration, WuXi AppTec will provide one-stop services to ArkBio with an international-level comprehensive and integrated platform for drug development.

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MEDxTMC, a leader in total companion diagnostics solutions in China, announced the expansion of its existing partnership with Cell Signaling Technology. As part of the agreement, MEDxTMC will develop new companion diagnostic products based on antibodies against important companion diagnostic targets provided by CST to meet the needs of China's growing precision medicine market.

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Yuanxin Technology and Tencent Health reached strategic cooperation to advance the digitalization and upgrading of Yuanxin Technology's business. The company will also deepen the cooperation with Gilead Sciences in the fields of virology and oncology, as well as in innovative payment models for specialty drugs, in order to provide patients with better and more accessible healthcare services.

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Xellsmart officially launched a clinical study of iPSC-Derived Dopaminergic Neural Precursor Cells for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease in collaboration with Shanghai Dongfang Hospital. Xellsmart will prepare clinical grade iPS-derived dopaminergic neural precursor cell preparations under the company's GMP specifications and integrated quality management system.

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ZenCore Biologics and Med-Immune Science signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement. ZenCore will provide integrated CDMO technology services from drug development, cell line and process development to commercialization.

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The phase I clinical trial for CanSino Biologics (SEHK:6185, SHSE:688185)' Recombinant Zoster Vaccine, developed with Vaccitech (UK) Limited, was initiated in Canada and the first trial subject was enrolled.

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Insilico Medicine's Pharma.AI platform and its R&D team have successfully helped researchers from Norway and Canada identify potential dual-action targets for both aging and cancer. The R&D team validated the world's first AI-assisted discovery of dual-action targets for aging and cancer.

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Abbisko Therapeutics (SEHK:2256) announced that ABSK051, a novel small molecule CD73 inhibitor, has obtained clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. ABSK051 is about to enter the FIH phase I clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors in China.

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Antengene presented results from five programs by poster presentation, including two clinical programs on the anti-CD24 monoclonal antibody ATG-031 and the PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibody ATG-101; two preclinical programs on the LILRB4 antagonist antibody ATG-034 and the GPRC5D/CD3 T-cell engager ATG-021; and the company’s proprietary novel AnTenGager? platform, at the 2023 Society of Immunology in Cancer Annual Meeting.

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OriCell Therapeutics presented results of four clinical and preclinical programs at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2023 Annual Meeting, including a clinical-stage GPRC5D-targeted CAR-T product (OriCAR-017) for relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM), two preclinical-stage CAR-T programs: a GPC3-CAR-T secreting CD3-AFP BiTE for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (OriCAR633) and an MSLN-CAR-T secreting PD-L1 antibody for gastric/pancreatic cancer (OriCAR627), and a tumor microenvironment metabolism and immune checkpoint CD39/PD-L1 targeting preclinical dual antibody program.

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Medilink Therapeutics’ YL201 was granted orphan drug status by the US FDA for the treatment of esophageal cancer (EC), which will accelerate the clinical development, registration and commercialization of YL201.

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Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (SHSE: 603087) won the bid for Mentholatum insulin injection and insulin injection pens as a Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) and will supply the Kazakhstan market for the next full year.

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DPTechnology launched Uni-Finder, an intelligent literature database platform that aims to further improve the efficiency of reading and analyzing scientific literature.

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Venus-Vitae, a new-generation aortic valve replacement (TAVR) balloon valve system developed by Venus Medtech (SEHK:2500), successfully completed a clinical application at the Modern Medical Center of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The company’s VenusP-Valve Transcatheter Prosthetic Pulmonary Valve Replacement System (TPVR) was approved for marketing in Colombia.

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AneurDoc, Shukun Technology's CT angiography image assisted triage software for intracranial aneurysms, has been officially approved by China's NMPA for Class III medical device.

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SinoUnited Health, a premium private hospital and clinic chain, just opened a new clinic in Lujiazui, a financial and commercial center in Shanghai. Currently, SinoUnited Health has 1 general hospital and 7 clinics in Shanghai, and 1 clinic each in Hangzhou and Suzhou, which are fully owned and operated by in-house teams.

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CanSino Biologics (SEHK:6185, SHSE:688185) was included in the MSCI China All Share Small Cap Index from November 30, 2023, being recognized for its business performance and potential.

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Caidya PV Systems successfully passed the FDA E2B(R3) Electronic Submission Gateway test. This means that Caidya's report templates are compliant with the FDA E2B(R3) standard and can be submitted to the FAERS database for ICSR submission, providing high-quality and reliable service.

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Awards?

Several Qiming portfolio entrepreneurs and companies have made the Hurun 2023 U35 and U40 Class. Hurun U35 China Entrepreneurial Pioneers include Chen Kuan, Founder and CEO of InferVision; Fan Xiaoxing, Co-Founder and COO of Xiaoe Tech; Hua Junwu, Founder and Chairman of Cool Academy; Kan Min, Founder of Langmu Medical; Li Zhan, Founder and CEO of Tungee; Li Xiang, Founder & CEO of XellSmart; Jennifer Li, Chief Financial Officer of WeRide; Liu Jingkang, Founder of Insta360; Shao Tianlan, Founder and CEO of Mech-mind Robotics; Sun Weijie, Chairman of DPTechnology; Wang Zhihua, CEO of Synapsor; Xu Xin, Founder and CEO of XSKY; Xu Yi, Founder of BiliBili (NASDAQ:BILI, SEHK:9626). Chang Jing, Founder of Rox Motors; Li Yifan, CEO of Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI); Liu Xiaolu, Founder of NEIWAI; and Ma Hao, Founder of Liesheng were named Hurun U40 China Pioneering Entrepreneurs.

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China's leading business publication 36Kr named Ni Ni, Vice Chairman and COO of Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, SEHK:9626) as Female Business Leader of the Year, and Haiying Zhang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of DST as Female Business Innovator of the Year.

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Transwarp, Tongdun, Kingsware, etc. were included in the 2023 China Digital Finance Unicorn List published at the annual meeting of the 2023 Financial Street Forum.

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Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI)'s ET25 and Roborock (SHSE:688169)'s Zeo One have won the CES 2024 Innovation Award. This award recognizes outstanding design and engineering in cutting-edge technology products.

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Yicai's Golden Brand List, one of the most credible public surveys on the consumer market in China, was unveiled recently. Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, SEHK:9626), Meituan (SEHK:3690) and Xiaomi (SEHK:1810) were ranked No. 1 in all categories of Golden Brand for 3 consecutive years; Xiaomi and BiliBili have been selected as the 2023 Role Models of New China Products.

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SequoiaDB, WeRide, Kingsware and Insta360 were honored as the Top 100 High-growth Companies in the Greater Bay Area in 2023. The award was part of the Greater Bay Area Innovation Development Report 2023.

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Four Qiming portfolio companies Tigermed (SZSE:300347, SEHK:3347), Sino Biological (SZSE:301047), Novo Protein, and ZenCore Biologics were ranked in the top 25 of the Top 100 Chinese Life Science Service Company Brands list, which honors life science service and CXO companies serving pharmaceutical innovation.

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In the 36Kr FUTURE 2023 list of new consumer forces, our portfolio companies Insta360 was honored as the Hardcore Brand of the Year, and Spēs was honored as the High Potential Brand.

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Cao Peng, Founder and CEO of Genlight; Li Xiang, Founder, Chairman, CEO and CSO of Xellsmart; and Ren Kang, Founder and CEO of GYENNO SCIENCE were honored on the New Brain 30 List, which is to reward young innovators in brain science and brain-like intelligence.

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