In the global valuation framework for biotechnology and digital health industries, a new benchmark is creating ripples across both Wall Street and the Hong Kong stock market. Recently, U.S. medical AI firm Open Evidence saw its valuation soar to $12 billion, driven by rapid market penetration—achieving coverage of most U.S. physicians in just 11 months—making it another standout performer following Doximity. Meanwhile, in the Hong Kong market, HEALTHYWAY INC (02587), after over two decades of deep engagement in primary care settings, has completed a fundamental transformation from a "registration tool" to an "AI-powered healthcare ecosystem connector." This shift not only mirrors the core logic of Open Evidence but also evolves into a more commercially explosive "Plus model" through an offline closed-loop system combining medical assistants and AI.
On February 12, HEALTHYWAY INC issued a profit alert, forecasting full-year 2025 revenue of no less than RMB 1.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of at least 25%, with net profit surging to no less than RMB 50 million. This performance improvement is not a result of short-term cost compression or sporadic growth but stems from optimized business structure driven by scale effects and AI efficiency gains.
Why is it considered the Chinese version of Open Evidence Plus? As global capital markets seek the optimal implementation model for AI in healthcare, Open Evidence has recently emerged as a reference point. It is reported that the company achieved coverage of most U.S. doctors in just 11 months, with its valuation rapidly climbing to $12 billion. Behind this viral growth lies AI's precise addressing of physicians' efficiency challenges in accessing clinical evidence amid an information explosion.
At a fundamental level, HEALTHYWAY INC shares significant similarities with Open Evidence: both establish deep, collaborative relationships with physicians through AI tools, capturing vast amounts of doctor-user and medical interaction data. Notably, by focusing on "core clinical scenarios," both avoid the competitive "mild condition consultation" segment and instead target physicians' clinical efficiency pain points. This approach enables both companies to leverage high physician engagement to tap into the blue ocean of pharmaceutical digital marketing.
Open Evidence relies on AI algorithms to analyze literature and attract physicians, while HEALTHYWAY INC employs a human-AI collaborative model, integrating deeply into clinical workflows. According to recent data, HEALTHYWAY INC has over 905,000 registered doctors. In an environment where Chinese physicians face heavy administrative burdens and diagnostic pressures, the company's role-based AI digital assistants significantly reduce workloads through intelligent medical record organization, diagnostic support, and automated post-consultation follow-ups. This technological empowerment results in high physician loyalty, allowing the company to control the most critical decision-making gateway in China's healthcare system.
Leveraging this strong connectivity, HEALTHYWAY INC, like Open Evidence, is well-positioned to capture the trillion-yuan shift in pharmaceutical marketing budgets from traditional methods to digital, compliant channels, naturally becoming a hub for academic promotion and real-world studies (RWS).
However, a deeper examination of its commercial moat and monetization breadth reveals that while Open Evidence primarily serves physicians, HEALTHYWAY INC builds a full-lifecycle service ecosystem through a dual-ended closed-loop system encompassing both physicians and patients. This "Plus" attribute suggests a higher value ceiling and greater valuation potential than Open Evidence.
On the physician side, HEALTHYWAY INC not only provides AI support similar to Open Evidence but also achieves physical presence in diagnostic settings through offline medical assistants stationed in 1,500 top-tier hospitals across China. This "physician-assistant-AI" collaborative system addresses the complex "last hundred meters" implementation challenges in China's healthcare system.
On the patient side, the company's "health manager" model extends into long-cycle health management scenarios such as medication adherence and chronic disease management, positioning HEALTHYWAY INC not just as an information processor but also as a service provider and transaction facilitator.
From a valuation perspective, as an ecosystem connector that simultaneously manages physicians' professional decision flows, patient service experiences, and pharmaceutical marketing value streams, its commercial boundaries and data闭环 depth far exceed those of mere decision-support tools. This end-to-end control represents not only a technological advancement but also an evolving ecological hub, enabling the company to command higher liquidity premiums and strategic valuations in capital markets due to its granular control over healthcare scenarios, even when competing against pure traffic-driven e-commerce platforms.
The underlying logic of the profit turnaround—why 2025 marks an inflection point? Financially, 2025 is a milestone in HEALTHYWAY INC's history, representing the transition from an "investment phase" to a "harvest phase." In the first half of 2025, the company's gross margin increased by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year to 31.2%. For the full year, net profit is expected to turn around from a loss of RMB 269 million in 2024 to a profit of no less than RMB 50 million, driven by qualitative improvements in business structure and effective cost management leverage.
This leap is supported by the synergistic growth of three key pillars: digital marketing, RWS support, and membership services. Amid pharmaceutical compliance reforms, marketing budgets are rapidly shifting toward channels offering precise, high-quality academic content, making digital marketing services a profit pillar for the company. HEALTHYWAY INC's 900,000 registered doctors and the resulting offline physician private traffic have become scarce assets in the industry, enhancing bargaining power and margin levels.
Digitally-enabled RWS business shows significant growth potential, with technological solutions shortening clinical trial cycles and embedding the company deeply into the pharmaceutical innovation value chain. By the first half of 2025, the company had delivered hundreds of high-quality research reports for 48 leading pharmaceutical companies, transforming 200 million physician-patient interaction data points into valuable research assets.
In the consumer membership service segment, leveraging the existing value of 212 million registered users has created a light-asset, high-margin revenue structure, providing stable cash flow.
Moreover, HEALTHYWAY INC's deep offline presence in top-tier hospital waiting areas is being revalued as a competitive barrier. Unlike platforms pursuing centralized traffic, the company follows a decentralized, offline-focused strategy: by engaging with patients who must visit hospitals offline, particularly those with severe or chronic conditions, and using enterprise WeChat to build strong "physician-assistant-patient" connections, HEALTHYWAY INC has established a digital private domain asset within the public healthcare system that cannot be easily replicated by traffic-based models, creating a high barrier that internet giants cannot quickly overcome.
Notably, 2025 marks the first year of commercial implementation for HEALTHYWAY INC's AI business. According to the latest profit alert, its self-developed AI software products have achieved initial scaled revenue in the B2B segment, expected to contribute approximately RMB 30 million in 2025, validating the commercialization logic.
As the company completes its transformation from a traditional registration service provider to an AI-driven healthcare ecosystem platform, its technological foundation has solidified, demonstrating the ability to achieve commercial闭环 in a complex healthcare environment. Standing at the breakeven point, two decades of accumulation are converging into an unstoppable momentum.
With the 2025 profit inflection point established, as a "rare digital healthcare stock with self-evolving AI capabilities" in the Hong Kong market, HEALTHYWAY INC is undergoing a fundamental valuation shift from "traditional service industry" to "AI platform enterprise." As profit release accelerates and ecological value becomes more apparent, the market should reassess this digital healthcare giant on the verge of qualitative change, repositioning it within the global AI healthcare valuation framework.