Photo: Kris Tseng, CBE, engaging with international audiences on-site about New World’s fourth-generation soluble microneedle technology.

Shanghai/May 12, 2025/CBE Beauty Expo: Xinshiyuan Biotechnology showcased its internationally leading fourth-generation soluble microneedle technology, and the company’s founder and CTO, Kris Tseng, was interviewed on-site by Yiwei.

Medical Insight: In April 2025, at the Kansai World Exposition in Osaka, Japan, CosMED Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. unveiled a new “patch‑type injection” product based on its “soluble microneedle” technology. CosMED claims that this approach avoids painful injection sites, delivers virtually painless administration, enhances patient compliance, and enables low‑dose delivery—potentially replacing traditional injections in the chronic disease management space—and has drawn significant attention from China’s high‑end medical aesthetics industry. I’d like to ask: What stage of development has soluble microneedle technology reached? Where does CosMED’s soluble microneedle technology stand today? And how does CosMED’s technology compare with that of Xinshiyuan—whichever is more advanced?

Kris Tseng: The advanced nature of soluble microneedles can be evaluated across five key dimensions: the biocompatibility of the material, needle sharpness, mechanical strength of the needle body, manufacturing cost at scale, and the area that can be formed in a single molding step. Different market segments prioritize these factors differently: for instance, high-end medical‑aesthetic customers who do not demand extremely precise dosing place less emphasis on mechanical strength, whereas those seeking to minimize pain in pediatric chronic‑disease applications place exceptionally high value on needle sharpness—greater sharpness translates into reduced pain. CosMED’s soluble microneedle technology highlights two standout features: “ultra‑fine” design and “virtually painless” administration. According to Xinshiyuan’s classification of microneedle technology generations, CosMED’s needle geometry falls into the third generation, characterized as a “slender conical” shape. By contrast, Xinshiyuan’s fourth‑generation design is an even more advanced “sharp‑arc” configuration—more precisely, the physics‑based “brachistochrone” profile—which effectively eliminates the qualifier “virtually” from “virtually painless,” rendering it simply “painless.”

Medical Insight: You just shared the latest achievements of your joint public‑relations efforts with downstream solution‑partner companies in collaborating on OEM supply‑chain services for a top‑three international cosmetics giant. Could you explain how that major client assesses the technological sophistication of Xinshiyuan? And regarding the two key areas the client prioritizes—large‑scale production‑line capacity and cost‑effective manufacturing budgets—is Xinshiyuan adequately prepared? Furthermore, concerning the sensitive issue of licensing and safeguarding proprietary core technologies, what insights or best practices can you share to support such large‑scale OEM operations?

Kris Tseng: During the technical due diligence, the company employed electron microscopes and highly sensitive mechanical testing instruments, conducted comparative analyses against dozens of global competitors, and included major microneedle brands from Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States in its evaluation.

It ranks first in all three key metrics: needle sharpness, needle‑body mechanical strength, and single‑step molding area. Scaling up production requires overcoming multiple, often mutually exclusive challenges—such as biosafety, material mechanical strength, and low‑cost mass manufacturing—akin to the “impossible triangle” in the hard‑tech venture‑capital space. For example, higher mechanical strength necessitates a lower active‑ingredient loading; excessive loading compromises needle‑body integrity, while achieving high needle sharpness becomes difficult. In lower‑end first- and second‑generation soluble microneedles, a certain proportion of PVA and PVP is used to boost mechanical strength, but this significantly diminishes product efficacy and user experience. Two critical technical hurdles—sodium hyaluronate’s enhanced film‑forming capability and large‑area molding—have been addressed by Xinshiyuan through an original curing‑and‑molding process. The company has pioneered a 200 cm² ultra‑large “pure sodium hyaluronate” microneedle patch, whereas during due diligence on major manufacturers, competing products from several Japanese and Korean brands offered molding areas ranging from 7 to 10 cm².

The Taiwan-based OEM model boasts three key advantages: the simplest business interface, the fastest pace of equipment and process iteration, and the highest cash efficiency. Major manufacturers have a comprehensive system in place to safeguard the technical secrets of their contract manufacturers, with meticulously detailed regulations covering information, personnel, materials, and other areas. With over 30 years of production‑management experience in the semiconductor industry, I have found that when working under the Taiwan OEM model, both parties share a highly aligned understanding of interfaces, workflows, and operational steps, ensuring smooth and efficient collaboration.

Photo: Kris Tseng leads the Xingshiyuan marketing team at CBE.

Medical Insight: Based on my experience, the manufacturing costs that major manufacturers are willing to accept typically exceed the expectations of domestic companies. Compared with the manufacturing costs of low-end microneedle products from domestic competitors, does Newshen Yuan also enjoy a competitive advantage?

Kris Tseng: Xinshiyuan’s solid‑state molding technology is MEMS‑based. Compared with earlier approaches that relied on grinding tools and CNC machining, the fixed capital investment for a single‑pass production line has been reduced to less than 30%, and operating costs—including materials—have also declined significantly. Furthermore, by scaling up small‑area microneedle arrays into ultra‑large “pure sodium hyaluronate” microneedle patches measuring nearly 200 cm², the product’s ex‑factory cost is less than half that of solutions using grinding tools or CNC machining.

Medical Insight: With cutting-edge technology and competitive manufacturing costs, does this herald a wave of cost reduction and quality improvement across the domestic medical aesthetics industry?

Kris Tseng: It’s both yes and no. Microneedles are merely a delivery vehicle; the real breakthrough lies in technological innovation of active ingredients within the medical aesthetics industry and in market education for microneedle‑based drug delivery in the chronic disease care sector. It’s a relationship between the “green leaves” and the “red flowers.” From its very inception, Xinshiyuan has placed great emphasis on academic exchanges and collaborative research projects with educational and scientific institutions in the medical aesthetics field. The company has established CRO‑type partnerships with universities such as China Pharmaceutical University and Fudan University, and has already launched more than 20 application‑oriented projects, covering innovative uses like dermal microneedle patches and subcutaneous tissue‑proximal drug delivery in traditional Chinese medicine. At a small‑scale symposium, experts noted that Xinshiyuan’s microneedles demonstrate precision, reliability, and remarkable efficacy in key high‑end medical aesthetic applications—such as acne treatment and weight management—and jointly recommended adopting the term “serious medical aesthetics” to distinguish Xinshiyuan‑supported high‑end medical aesthetics from ordinary high‑end offerings. With the backing of these leading players, the banner of “serious medical aesthetics” for microneedle‑based applications could be firmly raised. However, in line with typical market dynamics, Xinshiyuan will focus on advancing both the high‑end medical aesthetics and chronic disease pharmaceutical sectors, rather than resorting to price wars to disrupt the mid‑to‑low‑end medical aesthetics market.

Medical Weaving: The operating performance and future development strategy of Xinshiyuan?

Kris Tseng: New World Yuan achieved break-even by mid-last year. Currently, our existing production line is operating at full capacity, and a new production line is under construction. Moving forward, we will focus on strengthening our market distribution channels and comprehensively upgrading both our production lines and manufacturing processes, including enhancing measures to protect our proprietary technologies. Drawing on a prominent investor’s three‑pronged framework for assessing the strategic acumen of exceptional entrepreneurs, New World Yuan’s strategic approach can be summarized as follows:

1. Taiwan’s OEM model has established a solid cash flow foundation. The company has already forged OEM partnerships with more than ten leading private-domain platforms in China and Southeast Asia.

2. Leverage intensive R&D in equipment and processes to maintain technological leadership and sustain a high valuation. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive upgrade of our next-generation, deeply customized contract manufacturing line for Class I, Class II, and Class III microneedle medical devices.

3. Incubate intermediary entities to capture market share in high-potential business segments. We are about to refine a hybrid model—combining CFDA‑approved new dosage forms with CRO/CDMO/CMO back‑office support and contract manufacturing—to help our CRO/CDMO/CMO partners develop innovative dosage forms and improved new drugs.

About Kris Tseng

Kris Tseng was born in Taiwan, China. During her studies in the United States, she earned both a master’s degree and a doctoral degree. She previously served as CEO of Zhenmingli Holdings (HK1868), a company listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 2021, she founded New World Biotechnology, where she spearheaded the development of the world’s first fourth-generation microneedle manufacturing equipment and process. By integrating cutting-edge hyaluronic acid grafting technology, she has achieved a multiplicative enhancement in drug delivery efficacy. She is a pioneer and practitioner in a new, rigorously scientific aesthetic‑medical field that emphasizes “high‑efficacy ingredient utilization combined with precise dose control.”

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