On Dec. 29th, 2022, at the fifth "Wset China Ring International Smart Medical Valley" Development Forum, Jianshu Lee, director of the Department of Medical Polymer Materials and Artificial Organs of the School of Polymer Science and Engineering of Sichuan University and dual-appointed professor of West China School/ Hospital of Stomatology, introduced the project "Oral Medical Polymer Materials and Medical Devices" on site. He and his team are committed to the research and development of oral materials and medical devices, and have developed a series of products for preventing caries, tooth desensitization and tooth repair.

Oral health has become an issue that cannot be ignored by Chinese citizens. According to data from the Ministry of Health, the number of oral patients in our country has increased year by year in recent years, and more than half of the population in the country currently suffers from oral diseases. These large numbers of oral patients have spawned a large number of oral medical needs, which can be specifically divided into oral medical devices and consumables in the upstream of the industrial chain, oral medical drug needs, and oral medical service personnel and institutions in the midstream.

Among them, the degree of domestic substitution in the medical devices and consumables link in our country is a bit low. This is because China's overall dental medical care started late, and the technical threshold of high-value oral medical devices and consumables is relatively high. Many foreign manufacturers have first-mover and dominant advantages in the Chinese market. Domestic related companies are under great competitive pressure and have difficulty in market development.

In order to improve this situation and promote the process of domestic substitution of oral medical devices and consumables, Prof. Jianshu Lee, introduced this project.

Professor Lee Making the Speech

Established four product lines of "Prevention, Treatment, Beauty and Disinfection", some of the performances are ahead of other products on the market

It is reported that the project was led by the research team of Prof. Lee. Four product lines have been established: prevention, treatment, beauty, and disinfection. A series of biomedical polymer materials and products that can remineralize and repair dental hard tissues in situ have been developed, including fluoride caries prevention materials, two-color plaque indicators, biomimetic mineralized tooth protectors, lysozyme children's toothpaste and other products on sale. Meanwhile there are more than ten products under development, such as pit and fissure sealants, phosphoric acid etching agents, etc. Prof. Lee said: "In 2023, we will obtain more than ten medical products for marketing, and the R&D line includes 8 products with Class III medical device registration certificates. These Class III medical device products will complete clinical research in 2024."

Taking the fluoride anti-caries material for oral caries prevention as an example, this product is a domestically produced high-quality product (Class II medical device) that Prof. Lee's team spent a total of three years to analyze and research. It has also obtained the EU CE certification and is the only alternative to imported high-end resin fluoride coating products in China. It is easy to operate, does not require professional equipment, can be applied and prevent tooth decay immediately, which has a high cost-effectiveness.

In addition, according to Prof. Lee, the team's pit and fissure sealant, which will be approved for registration in Feb. It is a relatively competitive product on the market. The anti-caries effect of pit and fissure sealants is closely related to the shedding rate, and the bonding strength is one of the main factors affecting the shedding of materials besides clinical factors. The bonding strength of imported brands of pit and fissure sealants on the market is mostly 13MPa or less, and that of domestic brands is relatively low. The bonding strength of the pit and fissure sealants developed by Prof. Lee's team is 13-15MPa, which is higher than other products on the market. In addition, the product also has light-curing color change visualization operation, better fluidity and sealing effects.

"R&D is our advantage. Last year, our team took the lead in undertaking the national key project "R&D of Mineralized Materials for the Prevention and Treatment of Caries", with a total national funding of RMB15 million. Participating units include Peking University School of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiaotong University of Stomatology, Tianjin University School of Stomatology, West China School/ Hospital of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Stomatology and other well-known domestic dental hospitals. In the next five years, this project will use our team as a carrier to undertake a large amount of international cutting-edge competition and product transformation in the field of mineralized materials for the prevention and treatment of caries." said Prof. Lee.

The project has completed three rounds of financing with three investors. The team plans to raise RMB30 million by the end of 2024 to continue developing new products, expanding sales team, conducting multiple clinical trials of Class III medical devices and relocating factories.

This article is reprinted from 36 Kr Sichuan

Article author: Yini Tan