Recently, according to the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Zhejiang Norkang Neuro Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Norkang") has registered for coaching with the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, and the coaching securities firm is Guotai Junan.

Three Battles IPO
Norkon was founded in 2006 and is a high-tech enterprise that produces and operates neuroelectronic medical devices. It integrates independent research and development, production, and sales. The company focuses on the field of neural electrical stimulation, adhering to independent research and innovation. Its products are divided into two directions: neural prostheses and neural regulation. Currently, it has formed a development layout of four product lines: auditory reconstruction products, visual reconstruction products, urinary system regulation, and brain system regulation.

According to the coaching filing report, Chairman Li Fangping directly holds 13.43% of the shares of Norkang, indirectly holds 2.41% of the shares of Norkang through Hangzhou Chengyuan, and indirectly holds 0.32% of the shares of Norkang through Hangzhou Nuosen. Li Fangping holds a total of 16.16% of the shares of Norkang directly and indirectly, and is the controlling shareholder of the company.

This Chairman Li Fangping is also a legendary figure. As early as the beginning of the reform and opening up, he was a prominent figure in the local business community and was once the "Contract King" among the "Eight Kings of Wenzhou". His career started with the sales of electrical components and later shifted to the real estate industry. Entering the 21st century, Li Fangping once again resolutely transformed and devoted himself to the cochlear implant industry, acquiring multiple cochlear implant patents and forming a research and development team.

Due to years of sustained high investment in research and development, Norinco suffered losses for over a decade until it turned a profit in 2019. Under the leadership of Li Fangping, Nuoerkang has become the fourth cochlear implant company in the world and the first in China to fully cover all age groups.

It is worth noting that although Norcon has a great reputation in the field of cochlear implants, its path to market has been somewhat bumpy. As early as 2017, Norinco signed a coaching agreement with Oriental Citigroup, but in November 2020, Oriental Citigroup and Norinco terminated the listing coaching due to a lack of agreement on the follow-up work arrangements for the listing application. Subsequently, Norkang signed a coaching agreement with Guotai Junan and completed the coaching plan in 2023.

However, Norkang has not yet progressed into the formal IPO process. Li Fangping stated in an interview with Caixin that due to limitations in capital investment and a lack of talent, Norkang has missed many opportunities. He hopes that the capital market IPO can be promoted as soon as possible to facilitate faster and better development of the enterprise.

The cochlear implant market is about to undergo a reshuffle
Cochlear implant is an implanted auditory assistive electronic device that converts sound into electrical signals through an external speech processor. The implanted electrical system directly stimulates the auditory nerve, restoring or improving the auditory function of deaf patients. In recent years, with the development of new technologies such as Wi Fi and Bluetooth, cochlear implants have entered the clinical application stage from experimental research. They are currently one of the most successful biomedical engineering hearing aids and a blessing for people with hearing impairment.

As the first domestic enterprise to launch and sell cochlear implants on a large scale, Norkang's product pipeline in the field of cochlear implants is also quite outstanding. According to the official website of Norcon, there are currently four hearing solution products: CS-10A slim electrode (TE) implant, CS-20A implant, Enduro cochlear implant system, and Voyager cochlear implant system.

Among them, the Voyager cochlear implant system is its representative product. It is understood that this product is the world's first speech processor that can be compatible with both IOS and Android systems, and can perform operations such as making calls and adjusting volume through a mobile app.

The system consists of a new generation implant CS-20A and a new generation speech processor Voyager, with an overall volume reduced by 20% compared to the previous generation. The processor has a dual core chip and applies Tencent Teana technology to achieve intelligent scene recognition and other intelligent functions.

In addition, the system adopts eVoice single microphone and ABeam dual microphone noise reduction technology, which can accurately track and estimate the energy of noise signals in different frequency bands, greatly preserving the detailed information of speech signals and greatly improving the listening effect in noise.

Looking ahead to the market prospects of cochlear implants, domestic brands still have a long way to go. Currently, the three major companies in the global cochlear implant market, Cochlear from Australia, Advanced Bionics from the United States, and MED-EL from Austria, hold over 90% of the market share. However, domestic forces are gradually rising, and in addition to Norkang, brands such as Lisheng Te and Aiyi Sheng are also thriving and developing. And Norcon's performance is particularly outstanding, currently accounting for about 20% of the domestic market share.

In addition, there is still a problem of low penetration rate in the domestic cochlear implant market. According to the Shanghai Securities Research Report, the market penetration rate of cochlear implant in China is only about 10%. However, from the market perspective, the development potential of cochlear implants in China is not bad. The total number of patients suitable for cochlear implants in China is about 7.4 million, but currently there are only 110000 cases of cochlear implants in China, with a demand ratio of only 14.9%. Among them, the high price is one of the main reasons for its low penetration rate.

However, on November 29th, the National Healthcare Security Administration issued the "Announcement on Centralized Quantity Procurement of Medical Consumables for Cochlear Implants and Peripheral Vascular Stents Organized by the State" (No. 2). Compared with Announcement 1, Announcement 2 clarifies key information such as procurement demand, selection rules, and the highest effective bidding price for each centralized procurement product, and will open bids on December 19th.

And on December 1st, "cochlear implant surgery" and "artificial cochlear implant" were officially included in the medical reimbursement and work-related injury insurance fund payment scope of Hunan Province, becoming the 14th province in China to include cochlear implants in the local medical insurance reimbursement scope.

Conclusion
With the advancement of various policies, price will no longer be the maximum threshold for cochlear implantation. The national adoption of cochlear implants has begun, and based on the average decline in national adoption in the past, the market pattern of cochlear implants will also undergo significant changes. With the reshuffling of the domestic cochlear implant market, Norkon will also face new challenges and opportunities.

Source: https://news.yaozh.com/archive/44622.html