Joining hands with So-Young, Dongfang Yanmei's "Youthful Needle" is about to get involved in a price war?

Upstream medical beauty material suppliers and downstream medical beauty institutions are engaged in a "war of words" over the "price-cutting" of the "childlike beauty needle."

The cause of this dispute is that the childlike beauty needle product "Aivilan" (also known as "Miracle Childlike Beauty") sold at the self-operated clinic of So-Young is priced at only 5,999 yuan, which is one-third of the market price, leading to dissatisfaction from the brand owner, Changchun Shengboma Biological Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shengboma").

Shengboma stated that it does not guarantee the authenticity of the Aivilan sold at So-Young clinics; So-Young emphasized that all its products are genuine and accused Shengboma of "groundless defamation."

A price war over childlike beauty needles is imminent.

On June 19, So-Young CEO Jin Xing revealed that some domestically produced childlike beauty needles to be listed will be priced more reasonably.

So-Young is indeed "not fighting an unprepared battle."

Xinfeng noted that as early as 2023, So-Young reached a strategic cooperation with upstream medical beauty material supplier Dongfang Yanmei (Chengdu) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfang Yanmei"), which exclusively authorized the domestic commercialization rights of several unlisted childlike beauty needle products, including XH301, to So-Young.

With Dongfang Yanmei embarking on the path of an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the progress of XH301's listing has been disclosed.

As the core product of Dongfang Yanmei, XH301 is expected to complete domestic listing review in the second half of this year, while the EU listing registration process is in the submission stage.

Due to the lack of commercialization, Dongfang Yanmei's revenue in 2024 is only expected to be 13 million yuan, while the loss during the same period is still expected to reach 64 million yuan.

The core product has not yet been listed and is already facing a price war, putting Dongfang Yanmei's future performance growth space to the test.

Binding with So-Young

Dongfang Yanmei, which specializes in regenerative medical material injectables and related dressings, has a total of 13 injectable products, none of which have been listed.

The fastest progress is being made by XH301 and XH305, which are in the listing review stage.

XH301 is the "childlike beauty needle" that has attracted significant market attention, composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), used for treating nasolabial fold wrinkles.

PLLA is injected into the dermis in the form of microspheres, activating the activity of fibroblasts in the skin, thereby inducing the regeneration of collagen and elastic fibers, filling depressions, and enhancing skin firmness;

CMC mainly serves as a carrier for PLLA microspheres, initially providing a physical filling effect, which will later be degraded.

This material combination is basically consistent with Aivilan, which also uses CMC as the core raw material carrier for PLLA.

"Although the materials are similar, the differences in process routes and technology will also affect the final efficacy. Each manufacturer has different processes and technologies, such as the molecular particle size of the microspheres, content, smoothness or roughness, etc., which will affect the final effect differences," a person from a medical beauty materials company told Xinfeng.

Dongfang Yanmei stated that XH301 mainly optimizes the microsphere manufacturing process, using spherical microspheres instead of irregular particles, resulting in a rounder appearance and more uniform particle size distribution, which can reduce product irritation and adverse reaction risks "Our patented ball-making process also results in lower organic residue in the microspheres, enhancing safety," said Dongfang Yanmei.

However, in the control group for XH301, Dongfang Yanmei did not choose Aiweilan or similar products but instead opted for imported hyaluronic acid—according to the experimental results, XH301 had a severe wrinkle correction effectiveness rate of 95.5%, significantly higher than the 59.83% of the control group using imported hyaluronic acid.

Dongfang Yanmei expects XH301 to be approved in the second half of the year, which is expected to reverse the current loss situation.

Unlike many domestic medical beauty material companies such as Aimeike (300896.SZ) and Jinbo Biological (832982.BJ) that adopt direct sales, Dongfang Yanmei plans to use an agency sales model.

In 2023, Dongfang Yanmei authorized three products, including XH301, XH305, and XH311, to So-Young.

This is an exclusive, 10-year (renewable) collaboration that requires payment, allowing So-Young to promote, sell, and commercialize these products in Greater China.

After the products are launched, So-Young promises to purchase the minimum quantity of related products from Dongfang Yanmei at an agreed price (which can be adjusted).

This may be a reluctant move.

Given Dongfang Yanmei's current financial situation, authorizing an agency for commercialization is indeed a safer approach—by the end of 2024, cash and cash equivalents are expected to be 33 million yuan.

However, Dongfang Yanmei also emphasizes that it will prepare for independent commercialization in the future.

"In the long run, we have been working hard to build an internal sales team, ready to commercialize candidate products at what we believe to be the right time and place. Once we establish a complete sales channel and our products gain broader market recognition, we expect to rely more on our internal sales and marketing team," said Dongfang Yanmei.

The Battle is Imminent

The "youthful needle" stimulates the regeneration of autologous collagen to achieve a gradual and natural effect, which is one of the main reasons for its rise in recent years.

According to market research firm Global Growth Insights, the market size for youthful needles is expected to reach USD 1.488 billion in 2024 and grow to USD 2.082 billion by 2033.

Due to limited supply, "youthful needles" are quite expensive. For example, the market price of Saint Boma's Aiweilan (340mg) reaches 18,000 yuan.

However, with the launch of similar products, competition is becoming fierce.

In 2021, there were only two "youthful needle" products on the market: Aiweilan and Aimeike (300896.SZ)'s Ru Bai Tian Shi.

But just three years later, approved "youthful needle" products have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

In just 2024, three youthful needles—Aisufe, Su Yan Cui, and Pu Li Yan—were approved for market, with prices ranging from 13,000 to 24,000 yuan.

This year, two more youthful needles from Sihuan Pharmaceutical (0460.HK) and Lepu Medical (300003.SZ) have been approved.

This means that there are currently no fewer than seven youthful needles approved for sale in China.

Moreover, two more youthful needles from Hangzhou Gaizhi Biological Technology Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Xihong Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. are also in the registration approval stage alongside XH301 In this context, whether the price of the "youthful needle," which easily exceeds ten thousand yuan, can continue to remain strong is questionable.

Recently, Shengboma "attacked" So-Young's self-operated clinic because the latter priced the miracle youthful product with Aiweilan at only 5,999 yuan.

It is difficult for upstream medical beauty material suppliers like Shengboma to impose price constraints on downstream institutions.

Although Shengboma fired the first shot at So-Young, it is not the only downstream institution experiencing a price drop for the "youthful needle."

The prices of Aiweilan at medical beauty institutions in Hangzhou, Chengdu, and other places have already dropped to around 5,900 yuan.

This puts the ten-thousand-yuan price of the "youthful needle" in jeopardy.

Moreover, So-Young's CEO Jin Xing recently stated that "we have roughly discussed the pricing of several domestic youthful needles that are about to be listed, and they are relatively rational, with more reasonable pricing."

From this perspective, XH301, which is tied to So-Young, is likely to find it difficult to enjoy the "good days of predecessors."

However, XH301 is indeed the best card that Dongfang Yanmei can play at present, and the market's imagination for other upcoming medical beauty products is limited.

XH305, which is also in the listing review stage, has core materials of hyaluronic acid and amino acids, mainly used to improve skin dullness and dryness, similar to "water light needles."

However, the current price of water light needles has already reached "cabbage prices," with terminal prices basically around several hundred yuan.

Nevertheless, Dongfang Yanmei plans to "test the waters" in overseas markets, which is expected to bring more incremental space.

In this IPO, Dongfang Yanmei plans to use the raised funds to promote the registration and commercialization of XH301 in the European and Southeast Asian markets.

Whether Dongfang Yanmei can break through in the fierce market competition is under continuous market attention