Huaweihengyuan Raises Tens of Millions of Yuan in Series A Funding to Accelerate Cell Therapy and Assisted Reproductive Pipeline Innovation | Unity Ventures Portfolio News
Dual-engine growth powered by cell therapy and medical devices, with active expansion into consumer healthcare.
Recently, Unity Ventures portfolio company Huaweihyuan completed a tens-of-millions RMB Series A1 funding round, with investment from Yuanhe Capital and the Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Fund. The proceeds will be used to advance its assisted reproduction pipeline toward regulatory certification and production base construction, accelerate its rheumatoid arthritis cell injection into IIT clinical trials and IND filing, and advance its diabetes pipeline product development.
Huaweihyuan is an enterprise with internationally pioneering, fully independent intellectual property rights in human immune-privileged Sertoli cell technology. Its core team originates from Tsinghua University. The company has already obtained multiple qualifications including National High-Tech Enterprise, Beijing Specialized and Innovative Enterprise, and Postdoctoral Research Workstation. It focuses on developing innovative cell drugs and medical devices in the fields of autoimmune diseases, regenerative medicine transplantation, and assisted reproduction. Its existing products include assisted reproduction diagnostic kits, in vitro spermatogenesis devices, rheumatoid arthritis cell injections, and immune-privileged artificial pancreas products — all currently at stages of registration filing, preclinical animal testing, and clinical trial application.
Multiple Pipelines Achieve Key Milestones; Prioritizing Immune Privilege and Assisted Reproduction
Since its previous funding round, Huaweihyuan has made significant progress across both pharmaceutical and medical device pipelines, deepening its presence in autoimmune diseases, regenerative medicine, and assisted reproduction.
On the pharmaceutical side, cell drug development for rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes is advancing steadily. The rheumatoid arthritis pipeline achieved a critical breakthrough in preclinical research, with its cell injection receiving IIT ethics approval and entering clinical trials. In diabetes treatment, the immune-privileged artificial pancreas project has entered preclinical research and IND application preparation, with significant efficacy observed in animal models.
Huaweihyuan has successfully established clinical-grade iPSC and gene-editing platforms, as well as a universal transplantation protection vector platform — representing major breakthroughs in cell therapy product development and manufacturing. Leveraging these advanced technology platforms, the company can produce clinical-grade Sertoli cells in as fast as 10 days. Compared with traditional cell production processes, this dramatically improves efficiency while ensuring cell quality and quantity. This not only reduces production costs but also provides strong support for clinical application and commercialization of cell therapy products.
Alongside the funding process, Huaweihyuan has also adjusted and optimized its corporate development strategy. Jianlin Liang, CEO and co-founder of Huaweihyuan, stated: "We always adhere to a patient-centered, technology innovation-driven development philosophy. Strategically, we will focus more intensively on core pipeline R&D, striving for breakthroughs in immune privilege and assisted reproduction."
In 2023, the National Healthcare Security Administration, jointly with the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China and 16 other departments, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving and Implementing Active Fertility Support Measures," explicitly proposing that local authorities gradually incorporate appropriate labor analgesia and assisted reproduction technology items into fund payment scope, taking into account medical insurance (including maternity insurance) fund capacity and technical standardization. According to Frost & Sullivan projections, the assisted reproduction services market will grow to 85.43 billion RMB by 2025. A report from Huajing Industry Research Institute shows that China's assisted reproduction market is expected to reach 50 billion RMB by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate remaining above 15%.
Therefore, assisted reproduction has become one of Huaweihyuan's prioritized business segments. To enable independent operation and specialized development of its assisted reproduction business, Huaweihyuan has consolidated these operations into a newly established entity, Suzhou Sairui Medical Technology Co., Ltd., and is prioritizing R&D of five Class II IVD kits and the in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS) device.
The assisted reproduction IVD kits will provide comprehensive decision-making support for physicians and patients through precise detection of patient germ cell development status and normality of reproductive-supporting Sertoli cells, thereby effectively improving success rates of testicular sperm extraction surgery and meeting urgent clinical needs. The most advanced product, an azoospermia IVD diagnostic kit, is expected to launch in 2026.
The in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS) device is a technology with broad application prospects, potentially offering new solutions for male infertility caused by impaired sperm development or azoospermia, contributing to addressing fertility challenges. Its principle involves using Sertoli cells to simulate spermatogenesis in vitro, enabling patients with non-obstructive azoospermia and similar conditions to regain sufficient quantities of mature, high-quality sperm, thereby substantially improving their fertility success rates. Currently, Huaweihyuan's integrated IVS solution is at the prototype development, manufacturing, and registration preparation stage.
Dual-Wheel Drive of Cell Therapy and Medical Devices; Actively Expanding Consumer Healthcare
Leveraging its technological advantages and R&D capabilities, Huaweihyuan has established deep strategic partnerships with multiple top-tier domestic hospitals. For the rheumatoid arthritis pipeline, it collaborates with Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and Dongfang Hospital; for the diabetes pipeline, it works closely with Peking University People's Hospital on preclinical research and product development.
In the device pipeline, the company has signed strategic cooperation agreements with numerous renowned domestic hospitals including Peking University Third Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Xiamen University Affiliated Women and Children's Hospital, Guangxi Medical University Affiliated Hospital, and Yulin First People's Hospital, jointly conducting business development and product R&D. These partnerships not only provide solid assurance for clinical validation and promotion of the company's products but also further enhance Huaweihyuan's influence and visibility in the industry.
In market positioning, Huaweihyuan continues to deepen its layout in medical drug and device product development centered on cell technology applications, while actively expanding into consumer healthcare. According to Dr. Jianlin Liang, the company is considering developing consumer-grade products related to Sertoli cell exosomes to meet growing personalized health demands. Going forward, Huaweihyuan plans to establish close partnerships with B-end medical and aesthetic institutions to jointly drive R&D and promotion of consumer-grade products, providing consumers with more diversified, high-quality health products and services, and achieving diversified expansion from the professional medical market into consumer healthcare.
Under Dr. Jianlin Liang's leadership, Huaweihyuan continues to achieve breakthrough progress through its deep technical accumulation and sustained innovation capabilities in cell therapy. From steady advancement of pharmaceutical and medical device pipelines, to major upgrades in technology platforms, to carefully planned future R&D and market positioning, Huaweihyuan is advancing with determination toward its goal of becoming a leading enterprise in regenerative medicine, injecting new vitality and hope into human health.
Regarding this funding round, Dr. Jianlin Liang, CEO and co-founder of Huaweihyuan, stated: "This financing represents an important milestone for us. It not only provides necessary financial support for our R&D efforts but also reflects investors' strong recognition of our technical capabilities and market potential. As our rheumatoid arthritis pipeline enters human clinical trials and we achieve breakthroughs in diabetes immune-privileged artificial pancreas, we are steadily advancing the deep development of our core pharmaceutical pipelines."
"Meanwhile, multiple medical device products are also under orderly R&D and advancement, with our azoospermia IVD diagnostic kit already in the registration and certification stage, and IVS device development proceeding according to plan. Going forward, we will actively explore emerging market areas such as assisted reproduction to expand business boundaries and achieve diversified corporate development. We are fully confident in Huaweihyuan's future and committed to building it into a leading enterprise in regenerative medicine, bringing innovative treatment options to patients worldwide."
Source: VBData