iQflow Establishes Joint Venture in China with SinoCare, the Country's Largest Diabetes Device Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Wearable drug delivery solution specialist EOPLAY announced on the 27th that it has signed a contract to establish a joint venture with China’s largest diabetes medical device company, Sinocare (Changsha Sinocare Inc., 300298.SZ).

EOPLAY and Sinocare have agreed to mutually cooperate for the entry of EOPLAY’s diabetes wearable solutions into the Chinese market, including EOPLAY’s disposable wearable insulin infusion solution ‘EOPatch,’ which is the second commercially successful product worldwide. To this end, they plan to establish a joint venture in China to promote the production and sales of EOPatch products dedicated to the Chinese market.

To this end, the two companies will establish a joint venture with a total capital of 90 million yuan (approximately 16.6 billion KRW), with EOPLAY investing 36 million yuan (approximately 6.6 billion KRW) to secure a 40% stake. Additionally, to strengthen the partnership, Sinocare has decided to acquire EOPLAY’s shares worth about 50 million yuan (approximately 9.2 billion KRW) through a third-party allotment.

Founded in 2002, Sinocare is China’s largest specialized company in blood glucose measurement medical devices. Since its listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SHE) in 2012, its current market capitalization is about 2.5 trillion KRW (approximately 13.7 billion yuan).

Through the establishment of this joint venture in China, EOPLAY aims to secure a stable entry into the Chinese market, where the diabetic population is continuously increasing. Sinocare has set a goal to grow into a diabetes management specialist company that includes not only diabetes diagnosis through its existing core products such as blood glucose measurement and POCT products but also diabetes treatment.

Joo-yong Jung, CEO of Vision Creator, a major investor in EOPLAY and a strong network in China who has mediated the cooperation so far, said, “We were confident that EOPLAY’s wearable drug delivery solution is an essential technology for the Chinese market, which has the largest global diabetic population, and it is very meaningful to have formed a partnership with China’s representative diabetes device company as expected. The case of EOPLAY’s entry into China will be evaluated as a benchmark model and exemplary case for Korean healthcare companies expanding into the Chinese market in the future,” he added.

Li Xiaobo, CEO of Sinocare, said, “We are very pleased to grow together with EOPLAY while envisioning a long-term vision. It is very encouraging that Sinocare’s continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) and EOPLAY’s smart wearable insulin pump come together to provide innovative and systematic smart medical solutions for diabetics in China in the future, and we expect it will greatly improve patients’ quality of life.”

Jaejin Kim, CEO of EOPLAY, emphasized, “Through the establishment of this joint venture, we will be able to introduce the excellent performance of EOPatch to the Chinese market, where the diabetic population is large but disposable wearable insulin pumps have not been commercialized. Recently, starting with the export of the wearable insulin pump EOPatch to Europe, we are accelerating our entry into the global market, and today’s announcement of entry into China is the first fruit of such efforts.”

Meanwhile, EOPatch is a wearable product attached to the body without an infusion line, capable of insulin infusion for up to 84 hours, and can be controlled via a separate controller or smartphone app. It is an innovative product that has attracted significant attention in the global diabetes market.