High

EqualOcean has learned that high-end medical ceramics manufacturer Arthrone(Chinese: 安颂科技) has recently completed a CNY 100 million Series C round of financing.

Founded in 2017, Arthrone focuses on the development of high-end consumables in orthopedics, sports medicine, and dentistry, and is one of the few joint ventures in China that currently masters the production technology of both zirconia and alumina ceramic materials. Founder Zhang Jifeng graduated from Peking University School of Medicine and has more than 10 years of experience in the orthopedic industry.

According to reports, material selection is an important part of the development of high-quality medical devices. In the field of artificial joints, the traditional metal ball head will lead to osteolysis, in patients implanted 7-10 years or so, we must consider the second surgical revision; compared to ceramic as an inorganic non-metal biological inertness is better, will not and the human body to produce complex electrochemical reactions, higher safety; at the same time, ceramic is very hard, after special polishing and grinding of the coefficient of friction is lower, the product service life is longer, which also makes the ceramic This has made ceramics a global technology trend to replace metal.

However, due to the complexity of the process, the production of ceramic femoral heads is monopolized by a single overseas company, with demand from China accounting for 20-30 percent of the global market. "The R&D and manufacturing of ceramic consumables require the combined efforts of at least three specialized teams in product structure design, material science and machining, and the traditional domestic consumables companies do more machining, and now they are expanding upstream again, and even have to start from the material end, which is actually very difficult." Zhang Jifeng explained.

In terms of products, Arthrone's current core product is a zirconia ceramic hip prosthesis, which is the core component that affects the life of hip prosthesis. National artificial joint purchasing statistics show that the proportion of ceramic joints used has reached 89%, and ceramic components are in high demand. In terms of performance, the production of Arthrone products involves dozens of production processes, bending strength, fracture toughness, friction and wear and other key indicators are significantly excellent, while its cost to achieve a significant reduction.

In addition to joints, Arthrone in the spine, sports medicine and dental supplies have layout, with "innovative products and traditional products complementary" mode, such as the initial pipeline along the joints to expand in the exploration of ceramic joints at the same time will also lay out the traditional joints and spine products, of which the traditional spine products have been won the bidding for the national collection and procurement in 2022. National collective purchasing. "The development cycle of innovative products is usually more than five years, while traditional products can help us quickly build our entire product line and bring stable revenue."

Currently, most of Arthrone's products are in late-stage registration and the company expects its products to be approved in the near future.

This round of financing was led by SAIF Partners(Chinese: 赛富基金), followed by CDIB Capital(Chinese: 中华开发资本) and other investors, and the funds raised will mainly be used to accelerate the sales landing of ceramic joint products as well as the development of the subsequent product pipeline.