GIANT BIOGENE, a leading domestic producer of recombinant collagen, went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2022. With its high-performance growth, the company's market capitalization surged to over 80 billion yuan in less than three years, marking a period of remarkable success. However, behind this peak performance, a crisis emerged, abruptly interrupting the company's high-growth narrative.
Recently, GIANT BIOGENE released its 2025 financial results. For the full year 2025, the company's revenue declined by 0.37% year-over-year to 5.519 billion yuan, while net profit fell by 7.15% to 1.915 billion yuan. This represents the first instance of negative growth since the company's listing. Between 2022 and 2024, GIANT BIOGENE consistently maintained revenue growth rates around 50%, and its net profit growth rate increased from 21% to 42.06%. The downturn in both revenue and profit for 2025 signals a potential interruption to the company's growth story.
As a dominant player in China's recombinant collagen sector, GIANT BIOGENE holds a significant competitive lead. The market is keenly watching to see if the company can regain its former growth trajectory following the 2025 downturn.
The company's first-ever negative growth is attributed to a combination of external shocks and intensified competition.
An external factor contributing to the 2025 performance decline was a controversy over product ingredients that erupted in May 2025. A well-known beauty blogger publicly questioned whether the collagen content in a star product from GIANT BIOGENE's brand, Curfem, matched its official claims. The topic quickly gained traction online. Despite an official response from Curfem denying any wrongdoing, the blogger continued to raise doubts, and the incident escalated when a leading domestic hyaluronic acid producer voiced support for the blogger's consumer rights stance. The situation was not resolved until mid-June.
Although the controversy subsided, its timing during the critical "618" mid-year shopping festival significantly impacted GIANT BIOGENE and its Curfem brand. According to a CMB International research report, the combined GMV for GIANT BIOGENE's Curfem and Curlig brands on platforms like Tmall, Taobao, and Douyin during May and June 2025 was 1.08 billion yuan, a mere 2% increase year-over-year. Specifically, Curfem's GMV decreased by 2%, while Curlig's grew by 33%. On Douyin, which also functions as a social media platform, Curfem's GMV fell by 13% during those two months. Compared to previous years' promotional performances, Curfem's sales ranking noticeably dropped during the 2025 "618" festival.
Strong performance in the first four months of 2025 meant that GIANT BIOGENE's revenue and profit for the first half of the year still showed growth, albeit at a slower pace. Typically, the second half, which includes the "Double Eleven" and "Double Twelve" shopping events, is a peak season for cosmetics companies, and GIANT BIOGENE's H2 performance has historically surpassed H1. However, in 2025, second-half revenue was only 2.406 billion yuan, lower than the first half's 3.113 billion yuan and representing a 19.76% decrease compared to the second half of 2024.
Furthermore, increased market competition has also affected GIANT BIOGENE's results. Since the company first mass-produced recombinant collagen skincare products in 2009, the industry has developed over 17 years, making recombinant collagen a common ingredient in cosmetics. A mature supply chain, from raw materials to contract manufacturing, has led to a proliferation of recombinant collagen cosmetic products. This is particularly evident in the敷料 (dressing) segment dominated by Curfem, where numerous established brands and white-label products compete, with some even adopting similar professional recommendation channels through pharmacies and medical practitioners that Curfem used in its early development.
The performance decline, driven by external shocks and market competition, highlighted the vulnerability of relying heavily on e-commerce and a single brand. Consequently, in the second half of 2025, GIANT BIOGENE intensified promotion efforts for its secondary brand, Curlig, and further expanded its offline sales channels.
Financial results show that the Curlig brand generated 918 million yuan in revenue for 2025, a 9.2% year-over-year increase, raising its contribution to total revenue to 16.6%. The company's offline direct sales channel contributed 225 million yuan in 2025, up 32.2% year-over-year, accounting for 4.1% of total revenue. This growth stemmed from increasing the number of offline clients like cosmetic chain stores and supermarkets, as well as opening dedicated Curfem brand stores in cities like Xi'an, Chengdu, and Chongqing to boost income.
These proactive measures partially offset the negative impact of external challenges. Brokerage institutions generally view GIANT BIOGENE's slight 2025 performance dip as being in line with market expectations. However, the primary market focus remains on whether this recombinant collagen leader can resume its growth and return to peak performance.
Beyond boosting the Curlig brand and expanding offline, another significant move by GIANT BIOGENE has raised expectations in the capital markets for this collagen pioneer.
In October 2025 and January 2026, GIANT BIOGENE received approval from the National Medical Products Administration for two medical aesthetic products: a recombinant Type I α1 collagen freeze-dried fiber and a composite solution of recombinant Type I α1 collagen and sodium hyaluronate. This marks a milestone for the company's entry into the medical aesthetics business, an area where both the company and investors have high hopes.
Collagen comprises several types, primarily I, II, III, and V. Type I is the most common, providing strength and support. Type II is found in cartilage and used in joint health products. Type III is primarily located in the skin, contributing to tissue elasticity and flexibility.
In downstream markets, recombinant collagen is mainly used in three product categories: functional skincare, medical dressings, and medical aesthetic injectables. Data shows that in 2023, the market sizes for recombinant collagen functional skincare and medical dressings were 11.54 billion yuan and 11 billion yuan, respectively, while the market for medical aesthetic injectables was 4.3 billion yuan. Although the injectables market is currently smaller, it holds significant potential, and market observers are optimistic about GIANT BIOGENE's breakthrough in this sector.
Entering the recombinant collagen medical injectables market will not only provide GIANT BIOGENE with a new revenue stream but is also expected to boost the company's overall profit margin due to the higher毛利率 associated with this business. However, developing this new segment means facing stiff competition.
In the domestic recombinant collagen market, JINBO BIOLOGICAL, a company listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, was the first mover and, until October 2025, the sole player in the medical injectables segment. Its recombinant humanized type III collagen freeze-dried fiber received approval as early as 2021, followed by approvals for two other injectable products in 2023 and 2025. In the first half of 2025, JINBO BIOLOGICAL's medical device revenue reached 708 million yuan, a 33.41% year-over-year increase, accounting for over 80% of its total revenue, with a remarkably high gross profit margin of 95.04%.
Besides the established player JINBO BIOLOGICAL, GIANT BIOGENE must also compete with a new entrant. CREATION MEDICAL obtained a Class III medical device registration certificate for a recombinant collagen product in December 2025, and its cross-linked recombinant collagen implant is scheduled for launch.
Thus, within just three months in Q4 2025, the recombinant collagen medical injectables market shifted from being dominated solely by JINBO BIOLOGICAL to a tripartite landscape involving JINBO BIOLOGICAL, GIANT BIOGENE, and CREATION MEDICAL. The number of approved injectable products increased from three to six: three from JINBO BIOLOGICAL, two from GIANT BIOGENE, and one from CREATION MEDICAL.
This evolution signifies that competition among recombinant collagen medical aesthetics firms is transitioning from regulatory approval to market execution. The company that can most effectively penetrate medical aesthetics institution channels and capture consumer mindshare will likely gain a larger market share.
Among these three companies, GIANT BIOGENE, with its stronger consumer-facing brand attributes, may hold advantages in brand marketing, product innovation, and channel distribution compared to the more materials-focused JINBO BIOLOGICAL and CREATION MEDICAL. However, JINBO BIOLOGICAL has over four years of experience深耕 in the medical aesthetics field, providing deep industry knowledge. CREATION MEDICAL has also established a subsidiary specifically for its own brand sales, indicating prior strategic positioning in medical aesthetics. Whether GIANT BIOGENE can achieve a breakthrough in the medical aesthetics market remains to be seen.
In summary, with the acquisition of two new product registrations, GIANT BIOGENE is expanding from its core businesses of functional skincare and medical dressings into the medical aesthetics sector. The key question is whether the company can successfully leverage its technological expertise, raw material advantages, brand strength, marketing capabilities, and distribution channels to achieve a new breakthrough in this field and drive a return to high growth. This progression warrants close attention.
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