Dental investment company Care Capital, which succeeded in angel alignment in China, landed in Korea… Comprehensive support that does not stop at investment

[메디게이트뉴스 박도영 기자] CareCapital is a Hong Kong-based dental investment firm focused on the global dental and oral care industry, with significant investments in technology, training, brands and companies across the dental industry. The upstream, the invested company, provides products and technologies, the midstream supports software, education and distribution, and the downstream supports dental hospitals and clinics. It is investing across DSOs and research hospitals.

A representative company owned by Care Capital is Angel Align, a Chinese transparent orthodontic company. Founded in 2003, Angel Align currently holds the No. 1 market share for transparent aligners in China, and was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June.

In addition to this, as a medical institution, we have a number of famous dental chains, such as ▲ Guangdong Jinan University Affiliated Dental Hospital ▲ Shaanxi University Industry-Academic Cooperation Hospital Henglun Dental ▲ Shanghai Network Dental More Dental ▲ Shenzhen Network Dental Top Dental. .

Care Capital established a corporation in Korea last year and took its first steps in Korea by investing a stake in Purgo Biologics, a global dental bone regeneration company. Medigate News interviewed Perter Yun, CEO of Care Capital Korea, to hear what kind of company Care Capital is and what its plans are in the Korean market.

CEO Yoon is a dentist who graduated from Peking University in China with a degree in oral surgery and received a master’s degree in oral implantology from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined Care Capital in 2016 and is currently serving as an executive of Care Capital Group and the head of the Korean branch. He is responsible for linking various network resources for investment in dental implants, bone graft materials, imaging equipment, education, and successful localization of Korean dental companies in China. are doing

Q. What kind of company is Care Capital and what is the main portfolio in which it is investing?

Care Capital is an investment company specializing in the dental industry, which was created for the first time in the world, and has a business scale of several trillion won. The investment is not limited to a specific field or region, and it invests in everything related to dentistry, from manufacturers to distributors and hospitals globally.

Although the head office is in Hong Kong, the Shanghai branch has the largest number of employees, with only about 100 employees engaged in investment-related tasks. In China, including equipment distributed to dentistry, the current market share is more than 30%, and as M&A continues to take place, the market share will increase more and more. As for dental hospitals, it took over 130 private clinics, 9 dental hospitals, and 1 research hospital in China.

Q. What is the goal of Care Capital?

It is most important to become a company/group that leads the global dental market. As an investment company, profit is important, but Care Capital is also supporting R&D and technology to contribute to the dental industry, and is particularly interested in the education industry.

For example, in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, there is Gangnam University under the direct control of the Chinese Ministry of Education, which has a Faculty of Medicine but no Faculty of Dentistry. So, we are currently discussing the establishment of a dental department with Care Capital. China is also investing in establishing and cultivating educational institutions because the number of dentists relative to its population is very low.

Globally, we are cooperating with leading universities. The Forsyth Institute at Harvard School of Dental Medicine in the United States was established 120 years ago. The co-founder of Care Capital is participating in the institute’s board of directors. It is also very close to UCLA in the US and supports research.

Q. Are there any areas that are expected to be promising in the dental industry in the future?

The first is a bone graft material. When planting a tree, the soil must be strong and good for the tree to grow and bear fruit. Bone graft material is important as it is the most basic material in all dental treatments that allows patients to receive implant surgery or other treatment within a short period of time. There are a lot of good companies, but we still need more technology that can create stronger and faster goals.

Next comes digital solutions. In the past, teeth were very uncomfortable, but now they can be scanned with an oral scanner and inserted into the patient in one day. The treatment, which previously took two treatments or took about a week, has changed a lot to a one-day treatment. Although there have been many changes, the technology still needs to be further improved in terms of software and hardware in order to increase accuracy and generalize it. Digital solutions are considered to be an area to keep an eye on in the future.

Q. What motivated you to enter the Korean market, and what portfolio do you plan to focus on?

In terms of products and manufacturers, the 3 countries in the dental market are the United States, Germany, and Korea. In Korea, there are only 5-6 listed dental companies, and they are doing very well in terms of growth and sales. Korean dental-related companies have excellent doctor training and marketing, and there are even companies that show good results in the United States. A branch was established to focus more on the dental industry in Korea, which is one of the countries with global leading companies.

While investing, they are looking at the whole of dentistry, not just one part. Among them, there may be products that have been released before, but we are seeing a lot of more innovative products. I also value digital solutions, and I like to discover innovative products in implants and orthodontics, which are important parts in dentistry. So, the company I invested in was Purgo Biologics. The field of bone graft materials can be continuously improved and there is much to be done in the future. In the long term, I think that it can change the industry a little bit in that the possibilities are endless.

Q. As you entered Korea, you invested in Purgo Biologics for the first time. Why did you decide to invest and what are your plans for the future?

Unlike other products, Purgo’s products are quite excellent in terms of bone formation and time. In addition, it is possible to develop and mass-produce bone graft material products on its own, which is a big advantage. There are many types of bone graft products, but Purgo has a full production line. I decided to invest in this company because the quality of the product is quite good and it is a very good company in that it can be upgraded and new things can be added through continuous research.

The goal is to make Purgo into a global company first, with investments already at the level that brings management rights. Care Capital is a long-term investment company. It does not simply help in the financial part, but also considers and solves various difficulties that founders have, such as sales, HR, and marketing. If you have enough time, you can connect with overseas universities or make other business connections, such as helping you advance overseas. You can think of it as a kind of companion role that leads the founder together rather than walking alone after receiving the investment.

Q. Is there any business you can do with Korean companies other than equity investment?

There are many ways to do business together as well as invest in equity. For example, MediScan is working with distribution and sales in China. As such, there is a way to take charge of manufacturing, selling, and distributing products in China, so you can talk with companies that do not want to invest but want to start a business in China in a variety of ways.

The average annual growth rate of the Chinese dental market is much higher than that of other countries, and this trend is expected to continue for more than 10 to 20 years. Since the domestic market is so large and dental companies and hospitals are gradually taking their place, Korean companies can enter the market and receive good reviews. Care Capital is a company that knows China best, so it can be of great help in advancing into China, and there are companies that have also invested in Europe and the United States, so I think we can create good synergy together. I hope that Korean companies do well globally.