Virtue Diagnostics Closes $100 million Series B Funding
Date: 2022-09-01
Virtue Diagnostics, an innovative IVD company, has just announced closing US$100 million in Series B funding. Virtue Diagnostics, founded in 2019, is focused on clinical tests for China and emerging markets. Sequoia China and Morningside Ventures jointly led the investment round with ORIZA Holdings. Existing investors Lilly Asia Ventures and PerkinElmer Ventures participated while HAOYUE Capital was the exclusive financial advisor.
Virtue Diagnostics is a global, platform-based IVD (In Vitro Diagnostic) company focusing on providing affordable clinical solutions at all disease stages including very early screening, initial diagnosis, treatment monitoring and minimal residual disease management.
Virtue Diagnostics Corporate and R&D headquarters are in Singapore, manufacturing is in Suzhou, China and CRO/Clinical Lab is in Beijing.
China’s future IVD market is driven by local innovation. “Virtue Diagnostics strategy is to introduce new technology platforms by cooperating with global technology companies, developing products and solutions specifically geared for the Chinese market and accelerating the time to market through our highly experienced team of R&D, registration and commercial professionals,” said Johnson Zhang, CEO of Virtue Diagnostics.
Virtue Diagnostics exclusively partnered with PerkinElmer(Revvity) for clinical mass spectrometry in China. The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, produced by Virtue Diagnostics, launched in Q3-2021 after receiving NMPA approval. Panovue, acquired in 2021, leads in multiplex pathology, providing a full range of solutions for its landscape analysis platform.
While local innovation drives the Chinese IVD market, the IVD industry in many emerging countries is still in its infancy, relying on imported products. Covid-19 pushed governments to strengthen local IVD capabilities with incentives. Virtue Diagnostics is expanding to bring high quality affordable IVD products to selected emerging markets.
Johnson added: “Virtue Diagnostics will introduce innovative diagnostic technologies in China and will concurrently launch emerging markets through mergers and acquisitions ,joint ventures and local entities. With our rich industry experience, innovation capability and international background we will succeed.”
Yunxia Yang, parter at Sequoia China, said, “Virtue Diagnostics is building competitive diagnostic technology platforms. The team is widely recognized for their global experience, strong technical know-how and execution. We believe Virtue has high potential to be a global leader. Sequoia China is helping/assisting innovative medical device and diagnostic companies grow rapidly, bringing better products to patients faster.”
Lu Huang, from Morningside Ventures said, “After 20 years of development, China’s IVD industry has completed import substitution. Incremental domestic market growth will be enabled by technology. Virtue is unique in having successful entrepreneurial experience in China and in international exposure. The company has grown rapidly, making great progress. Morningside will utilize its international background, global capital and technology resources to assist Virtue Diagnostics become the forerunner in China’s IVD industry.”
Oriza Holdings’ Project Manager said, “The best IVD companies in China in the future must be global companies. The domestic IVD industry will enter a stage of innovation-driven development, while the unmet needs of overseas emerging markets will bring about more strategic opportunities. The management team of Virtue Diagnostics led by Johnson Zhang is one of the best in the industry. We look forward to Johnson Zhang leading Virtue Diagnostics to provide effective diagnostic products and clinical solutions to China and the world.”
Ms. Jieyu Zou, managing director of Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) said, “LAV highly agrees with Virtue Diagnostics’ vision to provide the world with diversified, affordable, multi-disease, and full-stage IVD solutions-and its ‘bring in, launch out’ business model. In the past two years since its establishment, Virtue Diagnostics has demonstrated outstanding leadership and execution capabilities winning widespread recognition in the industry. LAV is honored to participate in the growth of Virtue Diagnostics. We look forward to working with investors to assist Virtue achieve continued success in the future.”
Mr. Michael Duan from PerkinElmer(revvity) Ventures said, “Under the pressure of centralized procurement policies, the development of Chinese IVD companies in the future will rely more on their innovation capabilities. They need to increase the proportion of new products to better adapt to the medical reform. In addition to the revenue from innovation, tapping overseas markets has also become a new source of revenue for Chinese IVD companies. Developing countries with smaller scale but faster growth will become the main battlefield. Virtue Diagnostics team has an international vision and multi-national management experience to better achieve the goal of innovation and overseas exploration.”
Mr. Ding Yameng, the founding partner of Hao Yue Capital, said, “Hao Yue is honored to be the exclusive financial advisor of VIRTUE Diagnostics in this round of financing. Johnson Zhang, founder of Virtue Diagnostics, is an outstanding leader in the IVD industry in China. He has a unique strategic vision and excellent commercial executive capabilities. Virtue Diagnostics’ strategy of ‘Serving the China market with innovative technologies and expanding the emerging markets by integrating industry resources’ and their innovative platform-based model will enable their products garner a foothold both in China and globally.”
