Diabetes Care Device Maker Debuts On Hong Kong Exchange

MicroTech Medical, a Chinese medical device maker specializing in diabetes care, has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In the Tuesday initial public offering, the company sold 63.53 million shares at a mid-range price of $30.5 ($3.92), raising around $250 million. The stock opened at $31 per share, representing a market cap of HK$13.1 billion.

MicroTech’s prospectus revealed that the company has secured subscriptions worth an aggregate amount of $153.5 million from a number of cornerstone investors. The subscribers include Chinese tech giant Tencent and its subsidiary Tencent Mobility, Invesco, UBS AM Singapore, and US-based healthcare investment fund OrbidMed, among others.

MicroTech expects to use proceeds from the IPO to advance its diabetes care portfolio.

A sizable chunk of the funds will go into expanding indications for their core product Equil, a patch insulin pump, as well as registering it in markets worldwide. The company will also work on developing its continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS).

The remaining funds will go into upping product R&D, funding preclinical and clinical trials, and improving manufacturing and commercialization capacity.

“MicroTech Medical provides diabetes treatment and diabetes monitoring medical devices to improve diabetes management in China and globally,” said Dr. Pan Zheng, Founder, and Chairman of MicroTech Medical. “We will build a cloud-based diabetes management platform and advance diabetes monitoring, treatment, and management to benefit more diabetes patients globally.” 

MicroTech’s Backers 

In December 2020, MicroTech raised $88 million in series D financing, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, Tencent, IDG Capital, and China Everbright Group, among other investors.

Qiming in particular is a longtime backer of MicroTech. The venture’s first investment dates back to 2016 when it led the company’s Series B round, and has shown up in subsequent rounds ever since.

Growing Market for Diabetes Care  

According to the China Insights Consultancy report, the prevalence of diabetes in China was 118.8 million people in 2019 and is expected to reach 143.2 million people in 2030.

The same report found that the Chinese market for diabetes management medical devices increased from $800 million in 2015 to $2.2 billion in 2020 and will continue to increase to US$10.2 billion in 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7% from 2020 to 2030.

MicroTech currently has two commercialized products. Their core product Equil is a semi-disposable patch insulin pump that has received regulatory approval in China and EU markets. The patch pump has been sold in over 20 countries.

While Equil only accounted for around 3% of the insulin pump market in China in 2020, the company expects to increase its market share with reimbursement schemes and marketing initiatives. MicroTech expects Equil to obtain FDA approval in the first half of 2022.

The company’s other product is AiDEX G7, a CGMS which focuses on patients with Type 1 diabetes and severe Type 2 diabetes. The device received CE approval for marketing in the EU last September. It is awaiting approval from China’s NMPA, which accepted MicroTech’s application in the first quarter of 2021.

Besides the two products, MicroTech’s pipeline candidates include a closed-loop artificial pancreas, a second-gen patch insulin pump system, AiDEX X, and IVD devices.

Author

Joy Lin

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