Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Chen Zeyun
As one of the important actions of Healthy China, cancer prevention and treatment has always received much attention. This year's government work report proposes, "Adhere to the principle of prevention and deeply promote the action of healthy China." Gradually improve the level of protection services for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer and other diseases. During this year's two sessions, a number of deputies and members suggested that early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment are the key to cancer prevention and control. Early screening and diagnosis are important to intervene in cancer treatment as early as possible, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve patient survival.
How hot is the cancer screening industry? On March 18, Nuohui Health (6606. HK) released a 2021 annual performance report showing that its "China Cancer Early Screening First Certificate" colorectal cancer screening product Chang Weiqing achieved revenue of 97.2 million yuan in 2021, and the first home self-test fecal occult blood (FIT) test product Pu Pu Tube also exceeded 100 million yuan in revenue, becoming the first two major products in the cancer early screening market to rush into the 100 million-level track.
The cancer early screening market has given birth to two billion-level items
In 2018, the State Food and Drug Administration approved the first home self-test stool occult blood (FIT) test product puff tube on the market, in November 2020, Chang Weiqing won the first domestic cancer early screening registration certificate approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in the field of colorectal cancer, the domestic cancer early screening product research and development has made a new breakthrough.
How are these two early screening products currently performing in the market? According to the data of Nuohui Health's annual report, Chang Weiqing, a colorectal cancer screening product that won the "first certificate of early cancer screening in China", achieved revenue of 97.2 million yuan in 2021, and achieved shipments of more than 660,000 boxes in the whole year, with shipments increasing by 168% year-on-year compared with 2020. The first home self-test fecal occult blood (FIT) test product, Pu Pu Tube, achieved revenue of nearly 120 million yuan in 2021, and achieved shipments of more than 5.8 million copies in the whole year, with shipments increasing by 104% year-on-year compared with 2020.
The 100 billion track of cancer early screening has attracted more and more companies to pour into the field of cancer early screening, and how to achieve commercial success, the head enterprises are still actively "exploring the way".
Nuohui Health revealed that as of December 31, 2021, the company quickly completed the access and sales of more than 400 hospitals in Changweiqing within one year, and established in-depth strategic cooperation with the head platform of e-commerce, insurance and the sinking market by virtue of its compliance advantages, while deeply cultivating the private physical examination market, and working with diversified channels to create a user solution for cancer early screening "medical consumer goods", improving the public's attention to colorectal cancer screening and increasing the penetration rate of products in the clinical, consumer and insurance markets. Nuohui Health's direct e-commerce also quickly promoted user precipitation and achieved steady growth in the same period, winning the double crown of industry sales during the Jingdong Tmall 618 and Double 11 periods in 2021.
The data shows that Chang Weiqing's gross profit margin in 2021 increased from 66.9% in the same period of 2020 to 76.0%, and the gross profit margin achieved by Pu Pu Guan in 2021 rose from 45.8% in the same period of 2020 to 71.5%. Driven by the two core products, Nuohui Health achieved a total operating income of RMB210 million in 2021, an increase of 201.5% over 2020, a gross profit of RMB150 million, an increase of 315.2% over 2020, and a gross profit margin of 72.7% from 52.8% in 2020.
It is worth noting that in addition to continuing to deepen the field of gastrointestinal tract, Nuohui Health has also expanded to other cancer species in the research pipeline. At the beginning of 2022, the State Food and Drug Administration approved the "first certificate" of helicobacter pylori consumer self-testing, placing the testing scene from the hospital to the home, so that the testing that must be completed in professional medical institutions can be completed by consumers.
According to the annual report data, the company's R&D investment in 2021 increased by nearly 3 times compared with 2020, reaching 60 million yuan. The company's patents and patent applications have also increased from 71 last year to 169. In 2021, the company vigorously invested in the patented multi-omics technology research and development platform. Early screening products for HPV detection by urine will launch a large-scale prospective multi-center registered clinical trial of more than 10,000 people this year. Glycosides for early screening molecular testing for liver cancer are expected to be registered clinical trials by the end of 2022 at the earliest.
What are the more important hurdles to continue to increase market penetration?
According to data from the National Cancer Center, the number of cancer patients in the mainland is increasing year by year, and the related medical expenses exceed 220 billion yuan per year. Most cancer patients see the doctor in the middle and advanced stages, missing the best time for treatment. The tumor is small in size, no metastasis occurs, and it is easier to remove, so the earlier the malignant tumor tissue is found, the more conducive it is to increase the patient's chances of survival. Cancer screening and early diagnosis are the key means to improve the survival rate of patients and reduce the health costs of the whole society.
On March 2, the National Health Commission issued the "2022 National Medical Quality and Safety Improvement Goals", in which the quality control work improvement goal of the gastrointestinal endoscopy major is to "improve the detection rate of colonoscopic adenoma", which clearly regards the screening of precancerous lesions as an important indicator of colonoscopy, and moves the threshold forward to the prevention of colorectal cancer.
"We are vigorously promoting the development of pre-certified endoscopic screening and testing technology in many ways, and encouraging and guiding people to self-test at home to improve screening efficiency." Wang Guiqi, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Endoscopy Department of the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, previously said in an interview with the media.
Gu Jin, a deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Peking University Shougang Hospital, also said that in terms of the 5-year survival rate of colorectal cancer in China, there is still a gap between the mainland and Europe and the United States, but this aspect has gradually changed. The number of high-risk groups that Need screening in China is large, and the allocation of medical resources in cities and regions and the development of various places are not balanced.
On February 18, the National Health Commission, the National Medical Insurance Bureau, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Health Bureau of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission jointly issued the "Administrative Measures for mutual recognition of inspection and inspection results of medical institutions", pointing out that "to meet the national quality evaluation indicators and participate in the national quality evaluation qualified inspection and inspection projects, the scope of mutual recognition is nationwide." In this regard, Gu Jin said that if cancer home screening is included in the certification system of the medical structure in the future, it will be simpler for the people to see a doctor, the efficiency of doctors to see a doctor can also be improved, and the early screening at home can play a "funnel" role.
However, Gu Jin also stressed that the prerequisite for cancer home early screening results to access medical institutions is first of all to strengthen qualification certification. The national health administrative department should strengthen the certification and approval of these test kits. The second is that the R&D department of the enterprise should adjust the cost of the kit to a reasonable space, so that medical insurance can afford it. A third certified reagent product needs to be popularized and promoted among physicians in accordance with the recommendations of clinical guidelines. (For more news, please pay attention to Yangcheng Pie pai.ycwb.com)
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pie
Image | Visual China
Editor-in-charge | Hang Ying