UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report                     

Commission file number: 001-39316

Burning Rock Biotech Limited

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

601, 6/F, Building 3, Standard Industrial Unit 2

No. 7, Luoxuan 4th Road, International Bio Island, Guangzhou, 510005

The People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Mr. Leo Li, Chief Financial Officer

Telephone: +86 020-3403 7871 Email: leo.li@brbiotech.com

601, 6/F, Building 3, Standard Industrial Unit 2

No. 7, Luoxuan 4th Road, International Bio Island, Guangzhou, 510005

The People’s Republic of China

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

Indicate the number of issued and outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: 87,223,641 Class A ordinary shares (excluding the 670,191 Class A ordinary shares issued to the depositary bank for bulk issuance of ADSs reserved for future issuances upon the exercise or vesting of awards granted under share incentive plans) and 17,324,848 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, as of December 31, 2020.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

    ☒  Yes    ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

    ☒  Yes    ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards † provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.    ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accountant firm that prepared or issued its audit report.    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

    ☐  Item 17    ☐  Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.    ☐  Yes    ☐  No

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

CONVENTIONS THAT APPLY TO THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 20-F

Unless otherwise indicated and except where the context otherwise requires, references in this annual report on Form 20-F to:

Our reporting currency is the Renminbi. This annual report also contains translations of certain foreign currency amounts into U.S. dollars for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at a rate of RMB6.5250 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on December 31, 2020. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this annual report could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. On March 12, 2021, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board was RMB6.5081 to US$1.00.

All of our share related numbers contained in this annual report, including but not limited to the numbers of authorized, issued and outstanding shares, have retroactively reflected the 2-for-1 reverse share split that we effected in January 2020.

ii

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 20-F contains statements of a forward-looking nature. All statements other than statements of current or historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the “safe harbor” provision under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

You should read these statements in conjunction with the risks disclosed in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” of this annual report and other risks outlined in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Moreover, we operate in an emerging and evolving environment. New risks may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of such risks on our business or the extent to which any risk, or combination of risks, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this annual report and the documents that we have referred to in this annual report, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

iii

PART I

ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

A. Selected Financial Data

The following selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data and selected consolidated statements of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and selected consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data and selected consolidated statements of cash flow data for the year ended December 31, 2017, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this annual report. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this annual report.

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B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

2

D. Risk Factors

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We are a cancer diagnostics company with a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future performance.

We commercially launched our first cancer therapy selection test in 2014 and started generating revenue in 2014. Our limited operating history may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future performance. Any assessment of our profitability or prediction about our future success or viability is subject to significant uncertainty.

China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market is still in its early stage of development and rapidly evolving, and companies operating in this industry face a variety of risks. We may not have sufficient experience or resources to address risks frequently encountered in this industry, which include, among other things, our potential failure to:

If we are unsuccessful in addressing any one or more of these risks, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We have incurred net losses historically, and may not be able to achieve and maintain profitability.

Although our revenue grew rapidly in recent years, we have historically incurred net losses. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, we incurred net loss of RMB177.5 million, RMB169.2 million and RMB407.2 million (US$62.4 million), respectively. To date, we have financed our operations principally from revenue generated from operations, proceeds from our initial public offering and concurrent private placement and equity contributions from our shareholders.

We have invested and expect to continue to invest significantly in the research, development, and sales and marketing of our products. As such, we may continue to incur losses in the future. We cannot predict the extent of these future losses, or when we may achieve profitability, if at all. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenue from our business and control our costs and expenses to achieve and maintain profitability, the value of your investment in us could be negatively affected.

Failure to maintain significant commercial market acceptance for our cancer therapy selection products and services, or any future products and services may harm our business and results of operations.

Our cancer therapy selection products and services contributed substantially all of our revenue for 2018, 2019 and 2020. Although we are in the process of developing early cancer detection products, our cancer therapy selection tests will continue to account for a significant portion of our revenue in the foreseeable future. Our ability to execute our growth strategy and become profitable will therefore depend upon the continued and further adoption of our cancer therapy selection products and services by hospitals and patients. Continued adoption and use of these products and services will depend on several factors, including, among others:

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We cannot assure you that our cancer therapy selection products and services will continue to maintain or gain market acceptance, and any failure to do so would harm our business and results of operations.

We may be unable to develop and commercialize our early cancer detection products or new cancer therapy selection products on a timely basis, or at all.

We are developing early cancer detection products and may develop and commercialize new cancer therapy selection products from time to time in the future. Developing early cancer detection and new cancer diagnostics products is a lengthy and complex process. New products may take time to commercialize, and their launch could be delayed or may not be successful.

Our product development process involves various risks, and we may not be able to develop and commercialize any early cancer detection products or new cancer therapy selection products on a timely basis, or at all. A product candidate that appears promising in the early phases of development may fail to reach the market for a number of reasons. For example:

In addition, our competitors may develop and commercialize competing products faster than we are able to, in which case our results of operations could be adversely affected.

4

If we fail to keep up with industry and technology developments in a timely and cost-effective manner, we may be unable to compete effectively and our business and prospects could suffer.

China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market is characterized by rapid changes, including technological and scientific breakthroughs, increasing amounts of data, frequent introductions of new tests, constant emergence of alternative diagnostic methods, and evolving industry standards. If we are not able to keep pace with these advances and increased customer expectations as a result of these advances and capture new market opportunities that develop as a result of these advances, our proprietary technologies could be rendered obsolete, our existing products and services and products and services we are developing could be rendered less clinically effective, and our future operations and prospects could suffer. To remain competitive, we must continuously upgrade our existing products and services and launch new products and services, to keep pace with these developments. We cannot assure you that these efforts will be successful.

In addition, we must expend significant resources in order to continuously upgrade our existing products and services or launch new ones to keep pace with industry and technological advances. We may never realize a return on investment on these efforts, especially if the improved or new products and services fail to perform as expected, in which case our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

If our products or services do not perform as expected, our operating results, reputation and business could suffer.

Our success depends on the market confidence that we can provide reliable, high-quality cancer therapy selection products and services, that will provide physicians with real-time clinically actionable diagnostic information. However, there is no assurance that our current and future products and services, including our early cancer detection tests currently under development, will consistently perform as expected, if at all. Our tests may fail to accurately detect gene variants or incompletely or incorrectly identify the significance of genomic alterations, or contain other errors or mistakes due to a variety of reasons (such as malfunction of our laboratory equipment and degraded liquid biopsy or tissue samples provided by our delivery service providers), which could either delay treatments or incur unnecessary medical expenses to people on whom the tests are performed. In addition, inaccurate results or misunderstandings of, or inappropriate reliance on, the diagnostic information our current and future tests provide could lead to, or be associated with, side effects or adverse events in patients who use our tests, including treatment-related death, and could lead to termination of our services or claims against us. Any such inaccurate diagnostic results, or perception thereof, could further subject us to claims or lawsuits brought by people taking our tests and their families. Any product defects or other failure of our existing products and products currently under development may result in adverse or negative publicity, lost revenue, rising insurance premium, and significant warranty and other expenses and could have a material adverse impact on our operation, business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

If we were to be sued for product liability or professional liability, we could face substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.

We could face product liability claims should someone allege that our products or services identified inaccurate or incomplete information regarding the genomic alteration of the tumor or malignancy analyzed, reported inaccurate or incomplete information concerning the available therapies for a certain type of cancer or otherwise failed to perform as designed. A claimant could allege that our test results caused unnecessary treatment or other costs or resulted in the patient missing the best opportunity or timing for treatment. A patient could also allege other mental or physical injury or that our tests provided inaccurate or misleading information concerning the diagnosis, prognosis or recurrence of, or available therapies for, his or her cancer. We may also be subject to liability for errors in, a misunderstanding of or inappropriate reliance upon, the diagnostic information our tests provided. The tense physician-patient relationship in China could also expose us to an increased risk of potential liability claims. A product liability or professional liability claim could result in substantial damages and be costly and time-consuming for us to defend and could divert our management’s attention.

Similar to other Chinese companies, we do not carry product liability or professional liability insurance. As the insurance industry in China is at a relatively preliminary stage of development compared to more developed markets such as the United States, insurance companies in China generally offer a limited selection of product liability and professional liability insurance policies and it is often difficult to secure suitable product liability and professional liability insurance coverage at reasonable rates in China. Any product liability or professional liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could increase our insurance rates or prevent us from securing insurance coverage. Additionally, any product liability or professional liability lawsuit could damage our reputation, or cause our business partners to terminate existing agreements with us and seek other business partners, or cause us to lose our current or potential customers. Any of these developments could adversely impact our results of operations and business prospects.

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If we cannot maintain or develop relationships with hospitals and physicians, our results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

We collaborate with hospitals and physicians across China in many aspects of our business, and our success in part depends on our ability to maintain our relationships with our existing partner hospitals and physicians and continue to build new relationships with additional hospitals and physicians.

Central laboratory collaboration. Currently, we primarily collaborate with hospitals and physicians under the central laboratory model, where the cancer patients’ treating physicians order our tests for the patients during the diagnostic process, have the patients’ liquid biopsy or tissue samples shipped to our laboratories for testing and then design treatment plans based on our test results. Since our inception, over 5,120 physicians from 700 hospitals across China had ordered our tests. To generate demand, we will need to continue to educate physicians at an increasing number of hospitals on the clinical utility, benefits and value of our tests through clinical trials, published papers, presentations at scientific conferences and one-on-one education by our in-house sales force. We may need to hire additional sales and marketing, research and development and other personnel to support this process. If the physicians currently using our tests services stop ordering our tests or order fewer tests from us for any reason, or if we fail to convince physicians at new hospitals to order our tests, we will likely be unable to generate demand for our tests in sufficient volume for us to achieve profitability.

In-hospital collaboration. We are also actively expanding our collaboration with hospitals under the in-hospital model. Under this model, we partner with hospitals to establish in-hospital laboratories so that the partner hospitals can conduct cancer therapy selection tests on their own using our reagent kits. As of December 31, 2020, we had partnered with 52 hospitals under the in-hospital model. Any deterioration or termination of our relationships with these partner hospitals could result in temporary or permanent loss of our revenue.

In addition, we will need to continue to advocate the clinical utility, benefits and value of our tests in order to enter into collaboration with additional hospitals under the in-hospital model. Even if we have convinced the new hospitals to partner with us, establishing in-hospital laboratories with hospitals in China involves a lengthy and costly process, including going through tender procedures, the outcome of which is subject to uncertainties, and complying with the respective hospitals’ operating protocols. If we fail to enter into collaboration with additional hospitals under the in-hospital model in a timely and cost-effective manner, or if due to regulatory change or any other reasons, our current partner hospitals terminate their current collaborations with us, our business and prospects could be adversely affected.

Furthermore, depending on our partner hospitals’ clinical needs and budgets for cancer therapy selection products and services, our revenues from in-hospital business have fluctuated, and may continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

Clinical collaboration. We have obtained the NMPA approval for one of our NGS reagent kits and in the future we may from time to time seek the NMPA approval for additional products. The NMPA approval involves, among other things, successful completion of clinical trials for these products. We may rely on our partner hospitals to obtain sufficient data and samples to cost-effectively and timely perform these clinical trials. If we fail to establish or maintain clinical collaboration with our partner hospitals, our business and results of operations may be harmed.

We require substantial funding for our operations. If we cannot raise sufficient additional capital on acceptable terms, our business, financial condition and prospects may be adversely affected.

We require substantial capital to fund our existing operations, commercialize new products, expand our business and pursue strategic investments. In particular, we require substantial capital to:

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Based on our current business plan, we believe our cash and cash equivalents, together with our cash generated from financing activities, our initial public offering and private placement will be sufficient to meet our current and anticipated needs for general corporate purposes for at least the next 12 months. If our available cash balances and current and anticipated cash flow from operations are insufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements, in particular, for the development and commercialization of our products, we may seek to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings or other sources.

Further financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital as and when needed it would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. In addition, if we raise funds by issuing debt securities or incurring additional borrowings, the terms of debt securities issued or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations, and we may be unable to repay the indebtedness when due. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, your investment in our company could be diluted.

We depend on third-party suppliers and service providers for different aspects of our business. If these suppliers and service providers can no longer provide satisfactory products or services to us on commercially reasonable terms, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We depend on third parties for different aspects of our business, such as supplying sequencers, reagents and other laboratory equipment and materials, and collecting and delivering samples for our cancer therapy selection tests. Selecting, managing and supervising these third-party suppliers and service providers requires significant resources and expertise. Poor performance by these third parties, including their failure to provide services or products according to applicable legal and regulatory requirements, the terms of our contracts or otherwise below standard, could significantly and negatively affect the quality of our cancer therapy selection tests and damage our reputation. For example, we rely on third-party delivery service providers to transport liquid biopsy and tissue samples to our laboratory. Disruptions in such delivery services, whether due to labor disruptions, bad weather, natural disaster, terrorist acts or threats or for other reasons could adversely affect specimen integrity and our ability to process samples and conduct tests in a timely manner and to service our customers satisfactorily, and ultimately our reputation and our business. In addition, if we are unable to continue to obtain expedited delivery services on commercially reasonable terms, our operating results may be adversely affected.

In addition, the service or cooperative agreements we have with third-party suppliers and service providers are generally not on an exclusive basis. If these third parties do not continue to maintain or expand their cooperation with us, we would be required to seek new substitutes for these third-party material or service providers, which could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our results of operations.

If we cannot maintain or develop relationships with our research partners, the market adoption and endorsement of our products and services could suffer, which could in turn reduce our revenue prospects.

Currently, we have wide academic collaborations with oncology key opinion leaders, who conducted clinical trials and research studies on cancer targeted therapies and immunotherapies using our products. We believe our relationships with oncology key opinion leaders, as well as the resulting peer-to-peer interaction they generated, have been instrumental in raising the awareness of our technology platform, endorsing the high quality of our cancer therapy selection capabilities and driving adoption of our products. In addition, we collaborate with pharmaceutical companies who employ cancer therapy selection using our products and services to help develop new drugs for targeted therapies and immunotherapies on various types of cancers. We believe their rigorous standards for the consistency and accuracy of cancer therapy selection results provide validation and endorsement for our technology platform and our products.

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Our future success depends in part on our ability to maintain these relationships and to establish new relationships. Many factors have the potential to impact such collaborations, with both key opinion leaders and pharmaceutical companies, including the type of biomarker support required and our ability to deliver it, pharmaceutical companies’ satisfaction with our products or services, and our ability to pass the periodic or random inspections of our pharmaceutical company partners, and other factors that may be beyond our control. Furthermore, our research partners may decide to decrease or discontinue their use of our products and services due to changes in their research focus; pharmaceutical companies may decide to cease or change their new drugs development plans due to various reasons, such as failures in their clinical trials, financial constraints, or utilization of internal testing resources or tests performed by other parties, or other circumstances outside of our control. We cannot assure you that such existing relationships will continue, or if we establish new relationships with other key opinion leaders and pharmaceutical companies, the resulting relationship will be successful or that academic research and clinical studies conducted as part of the collaborations will produce successful outcomes.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers for some of our laboratory equipment and supplies and may not be able to find replacements or immediately transition to alternative suppliers.

We source sequencers, reagents and certain other laboratory supplies used in our laboratory operations from a limited number of suppliers. Our suppliers are typically trading companies that procure laboratory supplies from a variety of manufacturers. Our laboratory operations may be interrupted if we encounter delays or difficulties in securing these supplies, or if we become unable to procure supplies from any of these suppliers due to their lack of required licenses, permits or certifications. If we cannot timely obtain an acceptable substitute, our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation could be adversely affected.

We believe that there are a number of replacement suppliers that are capable of supplying all of the sequencers, reagents and other laboratory supplies necessary for our laboratory operations. However, the use of laboratory equipment and supplies furnished by any replacement suppliers may require us to alter our laboratory operations. Transitioning to a new supplier may be time consuming and expensive, result in interruptions in our laboratory operations or require that we revalidate our cancer therapy selection test products and services. There can be no assurance that we will be able to bring the equipment and supplies supplied by these replacement suppliers online and revalidate them without experiencing interruptions in our workflow. In addition, there can be no assurance that replacement suppliers will meet our quality control and performance requirements. If we encounter delays or difficulties in securing, reconfiguring or revalidating the laboratory equipment and supplies we require for our laboratory operations, our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to support the demand for our current or future products and services, including ensuring that we have adequate capacity to meet increased demand, our business could suffer.

Since our inception, we have experienced rapid growth, and we anticipate further growth in our business operations. Our growth could strain our organizational, administrative and operational infrastructure. As the sales volume of our cancer therapy selection products and services grows, we will face increased demands on our capacity and efficiency for sample intake, testing results analysis and other laboratory operations, quality control, customer service, and general workflow management processes.

To maintain the quality and expected turnaround time of our tests and effectively meet increased demand, we must continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls and hire, train and manage additional qualified scientists, laboratory personnel and sales and marketing personnel. Failure to do so could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, if we encounter difficulties in scaling our operations as a result of quality control and quality assurance issues, we will likely experience reduced sales of our cancer therapy selection tests, increased repair or re-engineering costs and increased expenses due to switching to alternate suppliers, any of which would adversely affect our results of operations.

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We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics, civil and social disruption and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations. In particular, the COVID-19 outbreak in China and worldwide has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are vulnerable to social and natural catastrophic events that are beyond our control, such as natural disasters, health epidemics, and other catastrophes, which may materially and adversely affect our business. Since December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, or COVID-19, has become widespread in China and around the world. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemic, given its threat beyond a public health emergency of international concern that the organization had declared in January 2020. Since the beginning of 2020, China and many other countries have taken various restrictive measures to contain the virus’ spread, such as quarantines, travel restrictions and home office policies. In response to this pandemic, hospitals and physicians across China focused their efforts on treating COVID-19 patients and prioritized resources toward containing the virus, resulting in many diagnostic procedures and cancer therapy selection testing being deferred. As a result, the demand for our products and services under both our central laboratory model and in-hospital model decreased, which adversely affected our business operations and financial performance in the first quarter of 2020. Our revenue and gross profit decreased in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Since the second quarter of 2020, both our central laboratory and in-hospital businesses have resumed growth. In 2020, 25,262 patients took our tests, compared to 23,075 patients in 2019, and our reagent kit sales to partner hospitals also increased year over year. Our revenues increased by 12.6% from RMB381.7 million in 2019 to RMB429.9 million (US$65.9 million) in 2020. Our gross profit increased by 14.8% from RMB273.3 million in 2019 to RMB313.9 million (US$48.1 million) in 2020.

While the COVID-19 situation has gradually improved in China and our business has resumed growth, the duration and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the potential downturn brought by the COVID-19 outbreak are difficult to assess or predict. The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on many factors beyond our control, including the extent of future resurgences of the disease and its variants, vaccine distribution and other actions in response to the virus or to contain its impact, and we are closely monitoring its impact on us. Our business operations could be disrupted if any of our employees is suspected of contracting COVID-19, since our employees could be quarantined and/or our offices be shut down for disinfection. Our business operations may be adversely affected if our suppliers, partner hospitals or other business partners continue to be affected by COVID-19. Our business, results of operations, financial conditions and prospects could be materially adversely affected to the extent that COVID-19 harms the Chinese and global economy in general, and the trading price of our ADSs may be adversely affected. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of other health epidemics adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial conditions and prospects, they may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section.

If we cannot compete successfully with our competitors, we may be unable to increase or sustain our revenue or achieve and sustain profitability.

With the development of NGS and cancer genotyping, China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market has become increasingly competitive, and we expect this competition to intensify further in the future. Our principal competition comes from other NGS-based cancer therapy selection companies in China. Some of our existing and potential future competitors may have longer operating histories, larger customer bases, more expansive brand recognition and deeper market penetration, substantially greater financial, technological and research and development resources and selling and marketing capabilities, and more favorable terms from suppliers. As a result, they may be able to respond more quickly to changes in customer requirements or preferences, develop faster, better and more expansive advancements for their technologies and tests, create and implement more successful strategies for the promotion and sale of their tests, adopt more aggressive pricing policies for their tests, secure supplies from vendors on more favorable terms or devote substantially more resources to infrastructure and system development. In addition, competitors may be acquired by, receive investments from or enter into other commercial relationships with larger, well-established and well-financed companies as the use of cancer therapy selection increases. In addition, if we expand into international markets in the future, we could face competition from NGS-based cancer therapy selection companies in these markets.

If we are unable to compete successfully with current and future competitors for these or any other reasons, we may be unable to increase market acceptance and sales volume of our tests, which could prevent us from maintaining or increasing our revenue levels or achieving or sustaining profitability or could otherwise negatively affect our performance.

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Failure to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively may adversely affect our business and prospects.

We have achieved rapid growth in the past few years. If we are not successful in managing our growth or executing our strategies effectively, our business, results of operations, financial condition and future growth may be adversely affected. For example, as part of our growth strategies, we plan to continue our research and development in early cancer detection, which is technically challenging. In addition, we will continue to implement the strategy to expand our collaboration with partner hospitals under the in-hospital model. As China is a large and diverse market, industry trends and clinical demands may vary significantly by regions. Our experience in collaborations with partner hospitals in major cities under the in-hospital model may not be applicable in hospitals located in other cities. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our experience to expand into local or regional hospitals in other parts of China. Any failure to effectively manage our growth or execute our strategies, including our early cancer detection research and development and our collaboration with hospitals under the in-hospital model, could have an adverse impact on our business and prospects.

Our future success depends on our ability to promote our brand and protect our reputation. If we are unable to effectively promote our brand, our business may be adversely affected.

We believe that enhancing and maintaining awareness of our “Burning Rock” brand is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our cancer therapy selection products, gaining trust for our testing services and attracting new customers. Successful promotion of our brand depends largely on the quality of the products and services we offer and the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts. Currently, we rely primarily on our own sales and marketing team to promote our brand and our cancer therapy selection products and testing services. We expect that our branding and marketing efforts will require us to incur significant expenses and devote substantial resources. We cannot guarantee that our sales and marketing efforts will be successful. Brand promotion activities may not lead to increased revenue in the near term, and, even if they do, any revenue increases may not offset the expenses we incur to promote our brand. Our failure to establish and promote our brand and any damage to our reputation will hinder our growth. In addition, our reputation may be undermined as a result of the negative publicity about our company or our industry in general. If cancer therapy selection products or services provided by us or our competitors do not perform to customers’ expectations, it may result in lower confidence in cancer therapy selection in general, which may in turn impair our operating results and our reputation.

Failure to attract and retain our senior management and other key employees could adversely affect our business.

Our future success is significantly dependent upon the continued service of our senior management, such as Mr. Yusheng Han, our chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer. If we lose their services, we may not be able to locate suitable or qualified replacements, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit new senior management team members, which could severely disrupt our business and growth. In addition, if these personnel join our competitors or form a competing business, our business and prospects could be adversely affected.

Our research and development activities and laboratory operations depend upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled scientists and technicians. We are also in strong need of sales and marketing personnel with the relevant technology background and industry expertise in order to effectively conduct our sales and marketing activities and increase our hospital network. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, universities, governmental entities and other research institutions. We may be unable to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals, and our failure to do so could adversely affect our business.

If our central laboratory fails to comply with applicable laboratory licensing requirements, or become damaged or inoperable, our ability to perform tests may be jeopardized.

We currently derive a substantial majority of our revenue from tests performed at our central laboratory located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

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Currently, our central laboratory holds an NGS laboratory certificate issued by Guangdong Branch of the NCCL in May 2018. This certificate is valid for five years and its renewal is conditioned upon additional inspection on a regular and irregular basis. Our central laboratory is in the process of renewing our clinical PCR testing laboratory certificate issued by Guangdong Branch of the NCCL, which expired in August 2020. The renewal of this certificate is taking longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If our central laboratory loses this certificate or fails to renew this certificate in a timely manner, or at all, whether as a result of revocation, suspension, limitation or any other external factors beyond our control, we would no longer be able to perform our tests, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we have voluntarily obtained certification from the CLIA to perform laboratory examinations and procedures on human specimens and the certification was successfully renewed in October 2020. We had also voluntarily obtained accreditation from the CAP for our central laboratory, which we filed application for renewal in October 2020. The renewal of this accreditation is taking longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a condition of the CLIA certification and the CAP accreditation, our central laboratory is subject to survey and inspection every other year, in addition to being subject to additional random inspections. There is no assurance that we could maintain or successfully renew the CLIA certification and the CAP accreditation. Loss of, or failure to renew, our CLIA certificate or CAP accreditation may have an adverse effect on our business and reputation.

In addition, our laboratory facilities and equipment could be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including war, fire, earthquake, power loss, communications failure or terrorism, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to perform tests for some period of time. We do not carry any insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business. Damages to, or interruptions in the operations of, our laboratory and other facilities could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

Furthermore, our laboratory facilities and equipment could be unavailable or costly and time-consuming to repair or replace. It would be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to rebuild our laboratory facilities, to locate and qualify a new facility or license or transfer our proprietary technology to a third-party to conduct our tests at their facilities, particularly in light of licensure and accreditation requirements. Even in the unlikely event we are able to find a third party with such qualifications to enable us to conduct our tests, we may be unable to negotiate commercially reasonable terms.

We depend on our information technology systems, and any failure of these systems could harm our business.

We depend on information technology systems for significant elements of our operations. We have also installed a number of enterprise software systems that affect a broad range of business processes and functional areas, including for example, systems handling human resources, financial controls and reporting, contract management, regulatory compliance, and other infrastructure operations. These information technology systems support a variety of functions, including laboratory operations, test validation, sample tracking, quality control, customer service support, billing and reimbursement, research and development activities, scientific and medical curation, and general administrative activities.

Information technology systems are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious human acts and natural disasters. Moreover, despite network security and back-up measures, some of our servers are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, and similar disruptive problems. Despite the precautionary measures we have taken to prevent unanticipated problems that could affect our information technology and telecommunications systems, failures or significant downtime of our information technology or telecommunications systems or those used by third-party service providers could prevent us from conducting our daily operations. Any disruption or loss of information technology systems on which critical aspects of our operations depend could have an adverse effect on our business.

Security threats to our information technology infrastructure and unauthorized use of data by third parties could expose us to liability or damage our reputation and business.

Our information technology systems store and process a variety of sensitive data, including our proprietary business information, as well as patients’ personal data such as health information and personally identifiable information.

It is essential that our information technology infrastructure remains secure and is perceived by hospitals, patients and our research partners to be secure. Despite our security measures, we may face cyber-attacks that attempt to penetrate our network security, sabotage or otherwise disable our research, tests and services, misappropriate our proprietary business information or cause interruptions of our internal systems and services. Any cyber-attacks could negatively affect our reputation, damage our network infrastructure and our ability to deploy our products and services, harm our relationship with customers and research partners, and expose us to significant financial liabilities.

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Moreover, we may not be able to prevent third parties from illegally obtaining and misappropriating personal data of the tested patients that we collect. Concerns about data leakage or unauthorized use of data by third parties, even if unfounded, could damage our reputation and negatively affect our results of operations.

If we are unable to effectively protect our intellectual property, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

We rely on patents, software copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights protection and contractual restrictions to protect our products, services and technologies. We have registered a number of patents and trademarks in China and have applied for additional patent registrations in China, Hong Kong, the U.S., the European Union and Japan. However, such protection is limited and may not adequately protect our rights. For example, some of the trademark applications for the labels we use in our products have been rejected by the Trademark Office of National Intellectual Property Administration for the reason that they have been preemptively registered by an independent third party. In December 2019, we filed a request for invalidation against these preemptively registered trademarks. Although the relevant authority ruled in our favor and invalidated the preemptively registered trademarks in November and December 2020, the independent third party may appeal the results to the relevant intellectual property court, which could reverse the rulings. There is no guarantee that we can successfully register such trademarks in a timely manner, if at all.

In addition, competitors could purchase our products and attempt to replicate and/or improve some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, and design their devices and tests around our protected technologies or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights.

Monitoring unauthorized disclosure and uses of our trade secrets is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to prevent such disclosure and uses are, or will be, adequate. If we resort to litigation to enforce or protect our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources, while the outcome would be unpredictable and any remedy may be inadequate. Our contractual agreements may be breached by our counterparties, and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. In addition, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors, and we would have no right to prevent others from using them. Moreover, if a party having an agreement with us has an overlapping or conflicting obligation to a third party, our rights in and to certain intellectual property could be undermined.

If we fail to effectively protect our intellectual property, our competitive position and prospects could be adversely affected.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement or misappropriation claims by third parties, which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us, could disrupt our business.

The validity, enforceability and scope of intellectual property rights protection in China are uncertain and still evolving. We cannot be certain that our products, tests and technologies do not or will not infringe patents, software copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims alleging infringement of patents, trademarks or copyrights, or misappropriation of creative ideas or formats, or other infringement of proprietary intellectual property rights. Any such proceedings and claims could result in significant costs to us and divert the time and attention of our management and technical personnel from the operation of our business. These types of claims could also potentially adversely impact our reputation and our ability to conduct business and raise capital, even if we are ultimately absolved of all liability. Moreover, third parties making claims against us may be able to obtain injunctive relief against us, which could block our ability to offer one or more devices or tests and could result in a substantial award of damages against us. In addition, since we sometimes indemnify our customers or collaboration partners, we may have additional liability in connection with any infringement or alleged infringement of third party intellectual property. Intellectual property litigation can be very expensive, and we may not have the financial means to defend ourselves or our customers or collaboration partners.

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Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be pending applications, some of which are unknown to us, that may result in issued patents upon which our products, tests or proprietary technologies may infringe. Moreover, we may fail to identify issued patents of relevance or incorrectly conclude that an issued patent is invalid or not infringed by our technology or any of our devices or tests. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in our industry. If a third-party claims that we infringe upon a third-party’s intellectual property rights, we may have to:

Ethical, legal and social concerns related to the use of genomic information could reduce demand for our cancer therapy selection testing products and services.

Cancer therapy selection, especially cancer genotyping, has raised ethical, legal and social issues regarding privacy and the appropriate uses of the resulting information. Government authorities could, for social or other purposes, limit or regulate the use of genomic information or prohibit testing for genomic predisposition to certain conditions, particularly for those that have no known cure. Similarly, these concerns may cause patients to refuse to use, or physicians to be reluctant to order, cancer therapy selection tests such as ours, even if permissible. These and other ethical, legal and social concerns may limit market acceptance and adoption of our tests or reduce the potential markets for our tests, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to implement or maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting to remediate our material weaknesses, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud.

We are not required to provide a report of management on our internal controls and procedures over financial reporting and our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to conduct an audit of our internal control over financial reporting due to a transition period established by the rules of the SEC for newly public companies. We and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019. The material weaknesses identified relate to (i) the lack of sufficient accounting and financial reporting personnel with requisite knowledge and experience in application of U.S. GAAP and SEC rules, and (ii) the lack of financial reporting policies and procedures that are commensurate with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, defines a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

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We believe that the measures we have taken enhanced our internal control over financial reporting and were sufficient to remediate the identified material weaknesses. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures—Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.” However, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Due to its inherent limitations, there is no assurance that an internal control system can detect all errors or instances of fraud, if any, within our company. If we fail to maintain an effective internal control environment, it could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the ADSs, may be adversely affected. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

Past and future grants of share-based awards may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and have dilutive impact to your investment.

We adopted a share incentive plan in May 2020, which we refer to as the 2020 Plan in this annual report, to grant share-based compensation awards to employees, directors and consultants to incentivize their performance and align their interests with ours. The maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares we are authorized to issue pursuant to all awards under the 2020 Plan is 4,512,276 ordinary shares. We have also separately issued share incentive awards to our directors, officers and employees outside of the 2020 Plan. As of the date of this annual report, we had 8,561,554 Class A ordinary shares underlying outstanding share options, restricted shares and restricted share units. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Share Incentive Awards.”

We believe the granting of share-based awards is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees, directors and consultants in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to litigation and other claims and legal proceedings, and may not always be successful in defending ourselves against these claims or proceedings.

We may be subject to and involved in lawsuits and other claims in the ordinary course of our business. We may from time to time be subject to lawsuits and other legal proceedings brought by our customers, competitors, employees, business partners, investors, other shareholders of the companies we invest, or other entities against us in the ordinary course of our business. We may also be subject to regulatory proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. We may not be successful in defending ourselves, and the outcomes of these lawsuits and proceedings may be unfavorable to us. Lawsuits and regulatory proceedings against us may also generate negative publicity that significantly harms our reputation, which may adversely affect our customer base, market position and our relationships with our research partners and other business partners. In addition to the related costs, managing and defending litigation and other legal proceedings and related indemnity obligations can significantly divert our management’s attention from operating our business. We may also need to pay damages or settle lawsuits or other claims with a substantial amount of cash, negatively affecting our liquidity. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

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Risks Relating to Government Regulations

We are subject to extensive legal and regulatory requirements in China for our cancer therapy selection products and services. Any lack of requisite certificates, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are engaged in the purchase, manufacturing, sale and usage of certain imported laboratory equipment, NGS-based cancer therapy selection products and related software. The laws and regulations regulating NGS-based cancer therapy selection products are still in a preliminary stage of development in China. In accordance with current PRC laws and regulations, certain of these equipment, products and software are regulated as medical devices and are required to obtain and maintain various certificates, licenses and permits, including but not limited to medical device record-filing certificates, medical device manufacturing licenses, medical device registration certificates and medical device operation licenses.

Although we obtained China’s first medical device registration certificate for NGS-based cancer therapy selection, as of the date of this annual report, certain of these equipment, products and software have not obtained the required certificates, licenses or permits. In China, very few NGS-based cancer therapy selection products have obtained medical device registration certificates issued by the competent Chinese governmental authorities. It is uncertain whether we can obtain all medical device registration certificates for our NGS-based cancer therapy selection products and how long it will take to obtain such registration certificates.

In addition, we have obtained the NMPA approval for one of our NGS reagent kits and may seek to obtain such approvals for our other NGS reagent kits or any other products currently under development, including our early cancer detection products, from time to time. The NMPA has substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional pre-clinical, clinical or other studies. The process of obtaining NMPA approvals is inherently uncertain and there is no guarantee that our existing or future products could successfully obtain NMPA approvals in a timely manner, if at all. Delays or failure in obtaining NMPA approvals of our products could result in substantial additional costs, adversely affect our ability to compete with other companies, and negatively affect investors’ confidence in our financial performance and business prospects. Even if the NMPA approval is ultimately granted, we may not successfully maintain or renew the approval and the approval may be withdrawn. Any NMPA approval received may also restrict the intended use and marketing of the product we want to commercialize.

As of the date of this annual report, we have not been subject to any penalties from the relevant authorities for the purchase, manufacture, sale and usage of these equipment, products and software. As advised by our PRC counsel, Shihui Partners, the risk of penalties imposed by the competent authorities is relatively low. However, we cannot assure you that the competent governmental authorities will not take different views or interpretations from us or our PRC counsel, or enact new detailed or more restrictive rules and regulations. Failure to comply with laws or regulations may subject us to penalties, including fines, confiscation of these equipment, products and software and suspension of business, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We are subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review. There could be a subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with our cancer therapy selection products and services. Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources and could result in adverse government actions and negative publicity.

Failure to comply with existing or future laws and regulations related to the management of human genetic resources in China could lead to government enforcement actions, which could include civil or criminal fines or penalties, private litigation, other liabilities, and/or adverse publicity. Compliance or the failure to comply with such laws could increase the costs of, limit and cause significant delay in our clinical studies and research and development activities, and could otherwise materially and adversely affect our operating results, business and prospects.

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Laws and regulations related to the management of human genetic resources in China are rapidly evolving and the enforcement thereof is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. On June 10, 1998, the Ministry of Science and Technology, or MOST, and the Ministry of Health jointly established the rules for protecting and utilizing human genetic resources, or HGR, in China. From 2006 to 2016, MOST and other regulatory agencies in China have been focused on HGR legislation, and proactively sought opinions from the public on draft regulations. In 2015, MOST issued a Guideline on HGR and reinforced its legislative efforts in HGR administration. In May 2019, the Regulation on Human Genetic Resources Management, or the HGR Regulation, was put in place. The State Council promulgated the HGR Regulation on June 10, 2019 and it became effective on July 1, 2019.

The HGR Regulation prohibits foreign entities or individuals or such entities established or actually controlled thereby, or “Foreign Persons,” from collecting or preserving China HGR in China, or providing China HGR abroad, whereas activities of collection and preservation of organs, tissues and cells for purposes of clinical diagnosis and treatment, service of blood collection and provision, investigation of illegal activities, doping test and funeral service, are required to be conducted in accordance with other relevant laws and regulations. The HGR Regulation permits Foreign Persons’ limited use of China HGR “to carry out scientific research activities,” which must be conducted through collaboration with Chinese scientific research institutions, higher education institutions, medical institutions, or enterprises, collectively, the “Chinese Entities.” Such activities must be approved by MOST, and the application for approval must be filed jointly by the Foreign Person and the relevant Chinese Entity. The only exception to the approval requirement is “international collaboration in clinical trials” that do not involve the outbound transfer of China HGR materials such as organs, tissues, or cells comprising the human genome, genes, or other genetic substances, collectively, China HGR Materials. Such clinical trial collaboration, however, must still be pre-registered with MOST. There remain significant uncertainties as to how provisions of the HGR Regulation might be interpreted and implemented. A VIE entity actually controlled by a foreign entity through contractual agreements would be deemed as a Foreign Person under the HGR Regulation. Short-term storage of samples of laboratory testing by foreign laboratories or foreign-invested laboratories may also be interpreted as preserving China HGR, thus being subjected to MOST application, approval or pre-registration processes.

On October 17, 2020, the Standing Committee of the NPC promulgated the Biosecurity Law of the PRC which will become effective from April 15, 2021. The new law, among other things, restates relevant approval or pre-registration requirements of HGR collection, preservation, utilization and external provision, as provided in the HGR Regulation. Moreover, the promulgation of the new law, which takes the form of national law, further demonstrates the commitments of protecting China HGR and safeguarding state biosecurity by the PRC government.

As a company with a VIE structure since our inception, we are deemed as a Foreign Person under the HGR Regulation. As a result, when conducting or participating in research and clinical studies that involve any of our products, performing clinical studies for any of our pipeline products that are under development (including our early detection products), or providing companion diagnostics services to pharmaceutical companies, we are required to seek approval of or make pre-registration with MOST with respect to our collaborations with Chinese Entities under the HGR Regulation. These procedures could be lengthy and require additional expenses, and there is no assurance that we can complete these pre-registrations, or obtain such approvals, in a timely manner, or at all. As a result, our clinical studies and research and development activities of any of our products or pipeline products that are under development (including our early detection products), and our companion diagnostics development services to pharmaceutical companies may suffer significant delay, experience suspension, rejections, cancellations and other obstacles. As a result, our business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

As of the date of this annual report , we, same as our peer companies in the healthcare industry in China, have received and may continue receiving notices from the relevant governmental authorities requiring us to share HGR-related information with competent government agencies from time to time, and have complied with all such requests. As of the same date, we have not been subject to any penalties from the competent governmental authorities for our business operations or clinical studies involving the use of China HGR. However, regulatory agencies in China may change their enforcement practices. Therefore, prior enforcement activity, or lack of enforcement activity, is not necessarily predictive of future actions. Failure to comply with existing or future HGR laws and regulations, including the HGR Regulation and the Biosecurity Law, may subject us to penalties, including fines, suspension of related activities and confiscation of related HGR and gains generated from conducting these activities.

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The evolving government regulations may place additional burdens on our efforts to commercialize our products and services.

The PRC government has introduced various reforms to the Chinese healthcare system in recent years and may continue to do so, with an overall objective of expanding basic medical insurance coverage and improve the quality and reliability of healthcare services. The specific regulatory changes under the reforms still remain uncertain. The implementing measures to be issued may not be sufficiently effective to achieve the stated goals, and as a result, we may not be able to benefit from these reforms to the level we expect, if at all. Moreover, the reforms could give rise to regulatory developments, such as more burdensome administrative procedures, which may have an adverse effect on our business and prospects.

In addition, laws and regulations in China, including those regulating medical devices and supplies, are rapidly evolving. Changes in these areas could impose more stringent requirements on us and increase our compliance and other operating costs, and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability. Changes in government regulations could also prevent, limit or delay regulatory approvals in relation to our NGS-based cancer therapy selection products and services. Moreover, regulatory authorities may conduct periodic or unannounced inspections on pharmaceutical and medical device companies to check if these companies’ manufacturing, quality control and procurement, among others, are in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. If we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance or pass regulatory inspections, any regulatory approval that has been obtained may be revoked, and we may be required to recall our current or future products, or even to partially suspend or totally shut down our production. In addition, regulatory changes may relax certain requirements that could benefit our competitors or lower market entry barriers and increase competition. Further, regulatory agencies in China may periodically, and sometimes abruptly, change their enforcement practices. Any litigation or governmental investigation or enforcement proceedings against us in China may be protracted and may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention, negative publicity, damage to our reputation and decline in the price of our ADSs.

Furthermore, China’s regulatory framework governing genetic testing is also in the preliminary stage and rapidly evolving. The evolution of government regulations and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties, which may place additional burdens on us or even render it impossible for us to comply with certain regulations. For example, in February 2014, two government agencies jointly published an announcement regarding the clinical application of genetic tests, or Circular 25, which halted the provision of genetic tests unless the clinical laboratory of genetic testing is included in a designated pilot program. Pursuant to Circular 25, in March 2014, the PRC government launched the pilot program that granted permits to NGS laboratories. This pilot program, to our knowledge, has been discontinued. Since no implementing rules for Circular 25 have been promulgated as of the date of this annual report, the provision of genetic testing by biotechnology companies, including us, which were not included in such pilot program, may be deemed by the competent governmental authorities to have violated Circular 25. As advised by our PRC counsel, we believe that the risk of us being found in violation of Circular 25 by providing genetics tests is low given that (i) our central laboratory has obtained the clinical PCR testing laboratory certificate, and we are one of the first biotechnology companies in China that have obtained the NGS laboratory certificate, both issued by the NCCL, according to Administrative Regulations for Clinical Gene Amplification Laboratory of Medical Institutions, and (ii) as of the date of this annual report, the relevant governmental authorities have not imposed any penalties on us, or to our knowledge, on other peer companies conducting genetic testing, for any violation of Circular 25. However, we cannot assure you that the governmental authorities will take the same view with us or our PRC counsel. If the governmental authorities determine that we have violated Circular 25, our business of provision of genetic tests may be halted, which may adversely affect our business and prospects.

We may be exposed to liabilities under various anti-corruption laws and regulations. Any determination that we or our employees have violated these laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on our business or our reputation.

We operate in the healthcare industry in China and are subject to Chinese anti-corruption laws and regulations, which generally prohibit companies and intermediaries from engaging in any bribery, corruption and fraudulent activities, including, among other things, improper payments or other form of bribes to hospitals and physicians in connection with the procurement of products. If we, due to either our own deliberate or inadvertent acts or those of others, fail to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws, our reputation could be harmed and we could incur criminal or civil penalties, other sanctions and/or significant expenses, which could have an adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

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In addition, our procedures and controls to monitor anti-bribery compliance may fail to protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees. We could be liable for actions taken by our employees, including any violations of applicable law in connection with the marketing or sale of our products and services, including China’s anti-corruption laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of the U.S., or the FCPA. In particular, if our employees make any payments that are forbidden under the FCPA, we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties imposed by the U.S. government.

Any change in the regulations governing the use of personal data in China, which are still under development, could adversely affect our business and reputation.

As a cancer therapy selection service provider, we have access to our tested individuals’ personal data, including their age, gender, disease status and medical records. We use these personal data internally to expand our database and improve the clinical utility of our analytics and reporting system. Chinese regulations governing the collection and use of personal data are still under development. Although we believe that there is currently no PRC legal restriction on our internal use of such data, any change in the regulatory regime in this regard could potentially subject us to more stringent data privacy regulations and affect our ability with regard to the collection and use of these personal data, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the future, we plan to expand our business internationally and will be subject to relevant regulatory regimes related to data privacy in those countries, which may be subject us to heightened standards of data protection.

Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, or if these regulations or their interpretations change, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

In accordance with the Special Administrative Measures on Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) promulgated in June 2020 and effective in July 2020, or the Negative List, foreign investors are prohibited from investing in businesses related to the research, development, and application of genomic diagnosis and treatment technology.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and Beijing Burning Rock Biotech Limited, our wholly owned subsidiary, or WFOE, is considered a foreign-invested enterprise. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct substantially all of our business in the PRC through Burning Rock (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., our VIE, and its subsidiaries, based on contractual arrangements entered into among WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders.

We believe that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements enable us to: (i) be the exclusive provider of business support, technical and consulting services in exchange for a fee; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits and bear the obligation to absorb substantially all of the losses of our VIE; (iii) have an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or to designate one or more persons to purchase, from the registered shareholders all or any part of their equity interests in our VIE at any time and from time to time in our absolute discretion to the extent permitted by PRC laws; (iv) have an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or to designate one or more persons to purchase, from our VIE all or any part of its assets at any time and from time to time in our absolute discretion to the extent permitted by PRC laws; (v) appoint us, any person authorized by us (except the shareholders of our VIE), as exclusive agent and attorney to act on behalf of the shareholders of our VIE on all matters concerning our VIE and to exercise all their rights as a registered shareholder of our VIE in accordance with PRC laws and the articles of our VIE; and (vi) pledge as first-ranking charge all of the equity interests in our VIE to us as collateral security for any and all of the guaranteed debt under the contractual arrangements and to secure performance of the obligations under the contractual arrangements. The contractual arrangements allow the results of operations and assets and liabilities of our VIE and its subsidiaries to be consolidated into our results of operations and assets and liabilities under U.S. GAAP as if they were subsidiaries of our Group.

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Our PRC counsel, Shihui Partners, is of the opinion that (i) the ownership structure of WFOE and our VIE does not violate applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect, and (ii) the contractual arrangements are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with the applicable PRC laws or regulations currently in effect. However, there can be no assurance that the PRC government authorities will take a view that is not contrary to or otherwise different from the opinion of our PRC counsel stated above. There is also the possibility that the PRC government authorities may adopt new laws, regulations and interpretations that may invalidate the contractual arrangements. If the PRC government determines that we are in violation of PRC laws or regulations or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the PRC National Health Commission, or the NHC, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations or failures, including, but not limited to:

Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations, and may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if the PRC governmental authorities find our legal structure and contractual arrangements to be in violation of PRC laws and regulations, it is unclear what impact these actions would have on us and on our ability to consolidate the financial results of our VIE and its subsidiaries in our consolidated financial statements. If any penalty results in our inability to direct the activities of our VIE and its subsidiaries and such a penalty significantly impacts their economic performance and/or our ability to receive economic benefits from our VIE and its subsidiaries, we may not be able to consolidate our VIE and its subsidiaries into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Our contractual arrangements with our VIE and its shareholders may not be as effective in providing operational control or enabling us to derive economic benefits as a direct ownership of a controlling equity interest would be.

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with our VIE, its shareholders and subsidiaries to operate our business activities. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our VIE and its subsidiaries. For example, our VIE, its subsidiaries or shareholders may fail to fulfill their contractual obligations with us or take other actions that are detrimental to our interests.

If we had direct ownership of our VIE, we would be able to exercise our rights as shareholders to effect changes in their board of directors, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders of their obligations under the contractual arrangements to exercise control over our VIE and its subsidiaries. The shareholders of our VIE may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. These risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders. If any of these shareholders is uncooperative or any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC laws and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings, the outcome of which will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. If we are unable to enforce the contractual arrangements or we experience significant delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing the contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over the VIE and may lose control over its assets. Therefore, our contractual arrangements with our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.

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We may lose the ability to use and enjoy assets held by our VIE that are critical to the operation of our business if our VIE declares bankruptcy or becomes subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

Our VIE holds certain assets that are critical to the operation of our business. Under the contractual arrangements entered into by WFOE, our VIE and its shareholders, our VIE may not and its shareholders may not cause it to, sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of in any other manner the legal or beneficial interest in the VIE. They also may not allow any encumbrance of security interest over such equity interest, except for the equity interest pledge agreement in the contractual arrangements, without WFOE’s prior written consent. However, if the shareholders of our VIE or its subsidiaries breach the contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIE or its subsidiaries, or if our VIE or its subsidiaries declares bankruptcy and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if our VIE or its subsidiaries undergoes an involuntary liquidation proceeding, third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of its or their assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure by our VIE, its subsidiaries or shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have an adverse effect on our business.

Under the contractual arrangements entered into by WFOE, our VIE and its shareholders, these shareholders covenanted that they will not request our VIE to distribute profit or dividends, raise shareholders’ resolution to make such a distribution or vote in favor of any such relevant shareholders’ resolution without WFOE’s prior written consent. If these shareholders receive any income, profit distribution or dividend, except as otherwise determined by us, they must promptly transfer or pay such income, profit distribution or dividend to us or any other person designated by us as service fees to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws. If the shareholders of our VIE breach the relevant covenants, we may need to resort to legal proceedings to enforce the terms of the contractual arrangements. Any such legal proceedings may be costly and may divert our management’s time and attention away from the operation of our business, and the outcome of such legal proceedings is uncertain.

The ultimate beneficial shareholders of our VIE may have conflicts of interest with us, which may adversely affect our business.

The equity interests in our VIE are ultimately beneficially held by certain of our directors, indirect shareholders and employees of these indirect shareholders. However, these ultimate beneficial shareholders may have potential conflicts of interest with us. They may breach, or cause our VIE to breach, the contractual arrangements. We cannot assure you that when conflicts arise, the ultimate beneficial shareholders of our VIE will act in the best interests of our company or that conflicts will be resolved in our favor. If we cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or disputes between us and these shareholders, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in the disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

We conduct our business operations in the PRC through our VIE and its subsidiaries by way of our contractual arrangements, but certain of the terms of our contractual arrangements may not be enforceable under PRC laws.

All the agreements that constitute our contractual arrangements with our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these agreements would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws, and disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions and uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce the contractual arrangements. If we are unable to enforce the contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant time delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing them, it would be very difficult to exert effective control over our VIE and its subsidiaries, and our ability to conduct our business and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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The contractual arrangements provide that (i) in the event of a mandatory liquidation required by PRC laws, WFOE may act on behalf of the shareholders of our VIE to exercise all such rights associated with their equity interest; and (ii) in such event, where PRC laws permit, any distribution the shareholders of our VIE are entitled to receive, after deducting their initial capital contribution, will be transferred voluntarily to WFOE. Such provision may not be enforceable under PRC laws in the event of a mandatory liquidation required by PRC laws or bankruptcy liquidation.

Therefore, in the event of a breach of any agreements constituting the contractual arrangements by the VIE, its subsidiaries and/or shareholders, we may not be able to exert effective control over our VIE due to the inability to enforce the contractual arrangements, which could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.

If we exercise the option to acquire the equity interest and assets of the VIE, this equity interest or asset transfer may subject us to certain limitations and substantial costs.

Pursuant to the contractual arrangements, WFOE or its designated person has the irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase all or any portion of the equity interests in our VIE from our VIE’s shareholders at any time and from time to time in its absolute discretion to the extent permitted by PRC laws. The consideration WFOE pays for such purchases will be an amount equal to then registered capital of our VIE multiplied by the percentage of any equity interest to be purchased in proportion to the total equity interests of our VIE. But if applicable PRC law contains a compulsory requirement regarding transfer of the equity interest, the WFOE or any third party designated is entitled to pay the lowest price permitted by the PRC law as the purchase price. In addition, under the contractual arrangements, WFOE or its designated party has the irrevocable and exclusive right, where permitted by PRC law, to purchase from our VIE all or any portion of its assets, and the purchase price will be the higher of (i) the net book value of the assets to be purchased and (ii) the lowest price permitted by applicable PRC law.

Such transfer of equity or assets may be subject to approvals from, or filings with, competent PRC authorities, such as the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, the State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, and/or their local competent branches. In addition, the equity transfer price may be subject to review and tax adjustment by the relevant tax authorities. The assets transfer price to be received by our VIE under the contractual arrangements may also be subject to enterprise income tax, and these amounts could be substantial.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the Foreign Investment Law and how it may affect the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

On March 15, 2019, the Foreign Investment Law was formally passed by the thirteenth National People’s Congress and it became effective on January 1, 2020. The Foreign Investment Law replaced the Law on Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Law on Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures and the Law on Foreign-Capital Enterprises and became the legal foundation for foreign investment in the PRC. The Foreign Investment Law stipulates certain forms of foreign investment. However, the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly stipulate contractual arrangements such as those we rely on as a form of foreign investment.

Notwithstanding the above, the Foreign Investment Law stipulates that foreign investment includes “foreign investors investing through any other methods under laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council.” Future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council may possibly regard contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment. If this happens, it is uncertain whether our contractual arrangements with our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders would be recognized as foreign investment, or whether our contractual arrangements would be deemed to be in violation of the foreign investment access requirements. As well as the uncertainty on how our contractual arrangements will be handled, there is substantial uncertainty regarding the interpretation and the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law. The relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting the law. Therefore, there is no guarantee that our contractual arrangements, the business of our VIE and our financial condition will not be adversely affected.

Depending on future developments under the new Foreign Investment Law, we could be required to unwind the contractual arrangements and/or dispose of our VIE, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and result of operations. If our company no longer has a sustainable business after an unwinding or disposal or when such requirements are not complied with, the SEC, and/or NASDAQ Global Market may take enforcement actions against us, which may have an adverse effect on the trading of our Shares or even result in delisting our company.

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There may be a potential adverse impact to our company if our contractual arrangements with our VIE, its subsidiaries and shareholders are not treated as domestic investment.

If the operation of our businesses conducted through our VIE is subject to any restrictions pursuant to the Negative List or any successor regulations, and the contractual arrangements are not treated as domestic investment, the contractual arrangements may be regarded as invalid and illegal. If this were to occur, we would not be able to operate the relevant businesses through the contractual arrangements and would lose our rights to receive the economic benefits of the VIE. As a result, we would no longer consolidate the financial results of the VIE into our financial results and we would have to derecognize their assets and liabilities according to the relevant accounting standards. If we do not receive any compensation, we would recognize an investment loss as a result of such derecognition.

Our contractual arrangements may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities, and a finding that we owe additional taxes could adversely affect our results of operations and reduce the value of your investment.

Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year during which arrangements and transactions were concluded. The Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, requires every enterprise in China to submit its annual enterprise income tax return, together with a report on transactions with its related parties, to the relevant tax authorities. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arm’s-length principles. We may face adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries and our VIE do not represent an arm’s-length price and adjust our VIE’s income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by our VIE, which could in turn increase their tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties to our PRC controlled structured entities for under-paid taxes. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our tax liabilities increase or if we are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

If the custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets, our business and operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Under the PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts such as the leases and sales contracts that our business relies on, are executed using the chop or seal of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative, whose designation is registered and filed with the relevant local branch of the market supervision administration. In order to maintain the physical security of our chops and the chops of our PRC entities, we generally store these items in secured locations accessible only by the authorized personnel of each of our PRC subsidiary and our VIE. Although we monitor such authorized personnel, we cannot assure you that such procedures will prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. Accordingly, if any of our authorized personnel misuses or misappropriates our corporate chops or seals, or our corporate chops or seals are not kept safely, stolen or otherwise used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, we could encounter difficulties in maintaining control over the relevant entities and experience significant disruption to our operations. If a designated legal representative obtains control of the chops in an effort to obtain control over any of our PRC subsidiary or our VIE, we, our PRC subsidiaries or our VIE would need to pass a new shareholder or board resolution to designate a new legal representative and we would need to take legal action to seek the return of the chops, apply for new chops with the relevant authorities, or otherwise seek legal redress for the violation of the representative’s fiduciary duties to us, which could involve significant time and resources and divert management attention away from our regular business. In addition, the affected entity may not be able to recover corporate assets that are sold or transferred out of our control in the event of such a misappropriation if a transferee relies on the apparent authority of the representative and acts in good faith.

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Risks Relating to Doing Business in the PRC

We are subject to many of the economic and political risks associated with emerging markets due to our operation in China. Adverse changes in the Chinese or global economic, political and social conditions as well as government policies could adversely affect our business and prospects.

The majority of our operations are in China, one of the world’s largest emerging markets. In light of our operations in an emerging market, we may be subject to risks and uncertainties including fluctuation in GDP, unfavorable or unpredictable treatment in relation to tax matters, exchange controls, restrictions affecting our ability to make cross-border transfer of funds, regulatory proceedings, inflation, currency fluctuations or the absence of, or unexpected changes in, regulations and unforeseeable operational risks. In addition, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be significantly influenced by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures that focus on taking into account market forces to effect economic reform and aimed at reducing the state ownership of productive assets and establishing improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of China’s productive assets are still owned by the government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating development through industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through its allocation of resources, control of payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, monetary policy, and preferential treatment for particular industries or companies.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures, which may benefit the overall Chinese economy, may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition, the PRC government has from time to time implemented certain measures, including interest rate changes, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, and, since 2012, the Chinese economy has slowed down. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our services and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Geopolitical tensions have led to a worsening relationship between China and the United States and this adverse trend may continue to deteriorate, which could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

Recently there have been heightened tensions in the trade and economic relations between the U.S. and China. The U.S. government has imposed a series of, and proposed to impose additional, new or higher tariffs on products imported from China to penalize China for what it characterizes as unfair trade practices. China has responded by imposing largely commensurate tariffs on products imported from the U.S. Amid these tensions, the U.S. government has imposed and may impose additional measures on entities in China, including sanctions. Although the U.S. and China signed the “Phase One” trade agreement in January 2020, we cannot assure you that a more comprehensive trade deal will be agreed or that tariffs will not be imposed even if such an agreement is reached. If any new tariffs, legislation and/or regulations are implemented, or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated or, in particular, if the U.S. government takes retaliatory trade actions due to the recent U.S.-China trade tension, and China further retaliates in response to new trade policies, treaties and tariffs implemented by the United States, or even if there is news and rumors of any such escalation, it could introduce uncertainties to China’s economy and the global economy, which in turn could affect our business. We currently source some of our reagents and laboratory equipment from vendors based in the U.S. The U.S. government may prohibit these companies from doing business with Chinese companies and the Chinese government may implement countermeasures. If this were to happen, we may be required to seek substitute suppliers, which could adversely affect our operations. Moreover, the potential increase in tariffs may also increase the costs we incur to purchase imported reagents and laboratory equipment. In addition, as a biotechnology company with operations primarily based in China, our international expansion plan to commercialize our products and services in, and export our products and services to, the U.S. could be adversely affected by these or future trade developments. Our current or future operations in the U.S. may be adversely affected by relationship between the two countries. In addition, increased protectionism and the risk of global trade war, which result in weaker global trade and lower levels of economic activity, could reduce the demand for our tests and adversely affect our business.

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In addition to trade disputes, political tensions between the United States and China have escalated in recent years due to, among other things, the COVID-19 outbreak, data security and privacy, emerging technologies, “dual-use” commercial technologies, applications that could be deployed for surveillance or military purposes, import/export of technology, sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury on certain officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the central government of the PRC and the executive orders issued by former U.S. President Donald J. Trump in August 2020 that prohibit certain transactions with certain Chinese companies and their applications. In July 2020, the U.S. also imposed sanctions on additional Chinese entities for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In September 2020, China’s Ministry of Commerce released Provisions on the Unreliable Entity List in response to United States sanctions. In November 2020, former U.S. President Trump issued another executive order that prohibits U.S. persons from transacting publicly traded securities of certain “Communist Chinese military companies.” Relations between the two countries may also deteriorate due to the imposition of U.S. sanctions on four Chinese officials from China’s central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in November 2020, as well as the imposition of Chinese sanctions on four individuals from the U.S. in the same month. In January, following a previous executive order issued by former U.S. President Trump, the New York Stock Exchange further delisted three Chinese companies, after the U.S. Treasury designated them as Chinese “military companies.” Rising political tensions could reduce levels of trades, investments, technological exchanges and other economic activities between the two major economies, which would have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets. The policies and measures directed at China and Chinese companies could also discourage U.S. persons and organizations to work for, provide services to or cooperate with Chinese companies, which could hinder our ability to hire or retain qualified personnel and find suitable partners for our business. Furthermore, the adoption by the U.S. government of these policies and measures against Chinese companies could negatively affect certain investors’ sentiment towards our ADSs and their willingness to invest in or hold our ADSs, which may in turn have a negative impact on the trading price of our ADSs. We cannot assure you that the current export controls or economic, trade or other sanctions regulations will not have a negative impact on our business operations, or that the related trend will not further deteriorate in the future. If any such deliberations or policies were to materialize, the resulting legislation may have material and adverse impact on the stock performance of China-based issuers listed in the United States. Furthermore, policies of the United States tend to be followed by certain other countries, and these countries may adopt similar policies regarding their relationships with China or against Chinese companies and restricting their operations.

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Our PRC subsidiaries are subject to various PRC laws and regulations generally applicable to companies in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, their interpretation is not always consistent and their enforcement involves uncertainties.

In particular, PRC laws and regulations concerning the cancer genotyping industry are developing and evolving. Although we have taken measures to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to our business operations and to avoid conducting any non-compliant activities under these laws and regulations, the PRC governmental authorities may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating cancer genotyping industries, some of which may have a retroactive effect. We cannot assure you that our business operations would not be deemed to violate any such new PRC laws or regulations. Moreover, developments in the cancer genotyping industry may lead to changes in PRC laws, regulations and policies or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations and policies, which in turn may limit or restrict us, and could adversely affect our business and operations.

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From time to time, we may have to rely on administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since the PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. These types of uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China, could adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations, and may further affect the legal remedies and protections available to investors, which may, in turn, adversely affect the value of your investment.

We may be classified as a “PRC resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, which could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with a “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The related implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control over, and overall management of, the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, issued a circular, known as Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although Circular 82 only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in Circular 82 may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to Circular 82, an offshore-incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China. It will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” As substantially all of our management members are based in China, it remains unclear how the tax residency rule would apply in our case. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we or any of our subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, then we or such subsidiary could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on its worldwide income, which could reduce our net income. In addition, we would also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Furthermore, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, dividends paid by us and gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares or ADSs may be subject to PRC tax, at a rate of 10% in the case of non-PRC enterprises or 20% in the case of non-PRC individuals (in each case, subject to the provisions of any applicable tax treaty), if such dividends and gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. It is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company, including the holders of our ADSs, would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in our ADSs.

We may rely on dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries in China to fund our cash and financing requirements, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.

As a holding company, we conduct most of our business through our subsidiaries incorporated in China. We may rely on dividends paid by these PRC subsidiaries for our cash needs, including the funds necessary to pay any dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. The payment of dividends by entities established in China is subject to limitations.

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Regulations in China currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. As a result, our PRC subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to us in the form of dividends. In addition, if any of our PRC subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to transfer funds to us could adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

Our PRC subsidiaries generate primarily all of their revenue in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to use their Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us.

Historically, in response to the persistent capital outflow and the Renminbi’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar in 2016, the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, have implemented a series of capital control measures, including stricter vetting procedures for China-based companies to remit foreign currency for overseas acquisitions, dividend payments and shareholder loan repayments. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls and our PRC subsidiary’s dividends and other distributions may be subjected to tighter scrutiny. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

In addition, the EIT Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are incorporated.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. The value of RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. We cannot assure you that RMB will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.

Substantially all of our revenue and costs are denominated in Renminbi. We are a holding company and we rely on dividends paid by our operating subsidiaries in China for our cash needs. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of RMB may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive into RMB to pay our operating expenses, appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The PRC government’s control of foreign currency conversion may limit our foreign exchange transactions, including dividend payments on our ordinary shares.

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The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our company in the Cayman Islands relies on dividend payments indirectly from our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries are able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE, subject to the condition that the remittance of such dividends outside of the PRC complies with certain procedures under PRC foreign exchange regulation. However, approval from or registration with appropriate governmental authorities or commercial banks authorized by such authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies.

In light of strong capital outflows from China in 2016, the PRC government has imposed more restrictive foreign exchange policies and stepped up its scrutiny of major outbound capital movements. More restrictions and substantial vetting processes have been put in place by SAFE to regulate cross-border capital account transactions. The PRC government may at its discretion further restrict access to foreign currencies in the future for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

Furthermore, as the interpretation and implementation of these foreign exchange regulations has been constantly evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulations concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Inflation in the PRC could negatively affect our profitability and growth.

The economy of China has experienced significant growth, which has from time to time lead to significant inflation. China’s overall economy is expected to continue to grow. Future increases in China’s inflation may adversely affect our profitability and results of operations.

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investments in PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

We are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries. We may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries or we may make additional capital contributions to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China. Any loans by us to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE. In addition, a foreign invested enterprise shall use its capital pursuant to the principle of authenticity and self-use within its business scope.

In March 2015, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Administration Measures on Conversion of Foreign Exchange Registered Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which took effect and replaced certain previous SAFE regulations from June 1, 2015. The SAFE further promulgated the Circular of the SAFE on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, which took effective on June 9, 2016 and, among other things, amended certain provisions of SAFE Circular 19. According to SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16, the flow and use of the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that Renminbi capital may not be used for business beyond its business scope, or to provide loans to persons other than affiliates, unless otherwise permitted under its business scope. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may limit our ability to transfer the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement to our PRC subsidiaries and convert the net proceeds into RMB.

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In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to our PRC subsidiaries or future capital contributions by us to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China. As a result, uncertainties exist as to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries when needed. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we received from our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

The M&A Rules and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions, have established complex procedures and requirements that restrict merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors. For example, when a foreign investor takes control of a PRC enterprise, it must notify MOFCOM in advance of such change-of-control transaction. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the anti-trust governmental authority be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. The security review rules issued by MOFCOM, which became effective in September 2011, specify that certain mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors, for example those that raise “national defense and security” concerns or through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises and therefore raise “national security” concerns, are subject to its review. Those rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass security review, for example by structuring a transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangements. We may grow our business by acquiring other companies operating in our industry. Complying with the requirements of the regulations described above and other relevant rules to complete these transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from MOFCOM or its local counterparts, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete these transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share. Furthermore, according to the M&A Rules, if a PRC entity or individual plans to merger or acquire its related PRC entity through an overseas company legitimately incorporated or controlled by such entity or individual, such a merger and acquisition will be subject to examination and approval by MOFCOM. The application and interpretations of M&A Rules are still uncertain, and there is possibility that the relevant PRC regulators may promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain approval of MOFCOM for our completed or ongoing mergers and acquisitions. There is no assurance that we can obtain MOFCOM approval for our mergers and acquisitions, and if we fail to obtain those approvals, we may be required to suspend our acquisition and be subject to penalties. Any uncertainties regarding such governmental approval requirements could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and corporate structure.

The heightened scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on our business operations, our acquisition or restructuring strategy or the value of your investment in us.

Pursuant to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Circular 698, issued by the SAT, which became effective retroactively as of January 1, 2008, if a non-resident enterprise investor transfers equity interest in a PRC resident enterprise indirectly by way of disposing of equity interest in an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise investor, being the transferor, may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an abusive use of company structure without reasonable commercial purposes. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfers may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%. In addition, the relevant PRC resident enterprise may be required to provide necessary assistance to support the enforcement of Circular 698.

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On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued a Public Notice Regarding Certain Corporate Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises, or Public Notice 7. Public Notice 7 introduces a new tax regime that is significantly different from Circular 698. Public Notice 7 extends tax jurisdiction to not only indirect transfers set forth under Circular 698 but also to transactions involving the transfer of other taxable assets made through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, Public Notice 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Public Notice 7 has new requirements for both foreign transferors and the transferees (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. If a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interest of an overseas holding company, then the non-resident enterprise, as the transferor, or the transferee or the PRC entity, which directly owned the taxable assets, must report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of up to 10% for the transfer of equity interest in a PRC resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.

On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued a Public Notice on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or Public Notice 37, which, among others, repealed the Circular 698 on December 1, 2017. Public Notice 37 further details and clarifies the tax withholding methods in respect of income of non-resident enterprises under Circular 698. And certain rules stipulated in Public Notice 7 are replaced by Public Notice 37. Where the non-resident enterprise fails to declare the tax payable pursuant to Article 39 of the Enterprise Income Tax Law, the tax authority may order it to pay the tax due within required time limits, and the non-resident enterprise is required to declare and pay the tax payable within such time limits specified by the tax authority; however, if the non-resident enterprise voluntarily declares and pays the tax payable before the tax authority orders it to do so within required time limits, it will be deemed that such enterprise has paid the tax in time.

We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries and investments. We may be subject to filing obligations or taxed if we are the transferor in such transactions, and we may be subject to withholding obligations if we are the transferee in such transactions, under Public Notice 7 and Public Notice 37. For transfer of shares in our company by investors who are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiary may be requested to assist in the filing under Public Notice 7 and Public Notice 37. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Public Notice 7 and Public Notice 37 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these notices, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under these notices, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

You may be subject to PRC income tax on dividends from us or on any gain realized on the transfer of our ADSs.

Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, PRC withholding tax at the rate of 10% is generally applicable to dividends from PRC sources paid to investors that are resident enterprises outside of China and that do not have an establishment or place of business in China, or that have an establishment or place of business in China but the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business. Any gain realized on the transfer of shares by such investors is subject to 10% PRC income tax if this gain is regarded as income derived from sources within China. Under the PRC Individual Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, dividends from sources within China paid to foreign individual investors who are not PRC residents are generally subject to a PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20% and gains from PRC sources realized by these investors on the transfer of shares are generally subject to 20% PRC income tax. Any such PRC tax liability may be reduced by the provisions of an applicable tax treaty.

Although substantially all of our business operations are in China, it is unclear whether the dividends we pay with respect to our shares or ADSs, or the gains realized from the transfer of our shares or ADSs, would be treated as income derived from sources within China and as a result be subject to PRC income tax if we are considered a PRC resident enterprise. If PRC income tax is imposed on gains realized through the transfer of our ADSs or on dividends paid to our non-resident investors, the value of your investment in our ADSs may be adversely affected. Furthermore, our shareholders whose jurisdictions of residence have tax treaties or arrangements with China may not qualify for benefits under these tax treaties or arrangements.

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In addition, pursuant to the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement between Hong Kong and China, or the Double Tax Avoidance Treaty, and the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties, or the Notice on Tax Treaties, issued on February 20, 2009 by the SAT, if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns more than 25% of the equity interest of a PRC company at all times during the twelve-month period immediately prior to obtaining a dividend from such company, the 10% withholding tax on such dividend is reduced to 5%, provided that certain other conditions and requirements under the Double Tax Avoidance Treaty and other applicable PRC laws are satisfied at the discretion of the relevant PRC tax authority. However, based on the Notice on Tax Treaties, if the relevant PRC tax authorities determine, in their discretion, that a company benefits from such reduced income tax rate due to a structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, the PRC tax authorities may adjust the preferential tax treatment. Based on the Notice on Issues concerning Beneficial Owner in Tax Treaties, or Circular 9, issued on February 3, 2018 by the SAT and effective on April 1, 2018, when determining the applicant’s status as a “beneficial owner” for purpose of tax treatments in connection with dividends, interests or royalties in the tax treaties, several factors will be taken into account, and it will be analyzed according to the actual circumstances of the specific cases. If our Hong Kong subsidiary is determined by PRC government authorities as receiving benefits from reduced income tax rates due to a structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, the dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to our Hong Kong subsidiary will be taxed at a higher rate, which will have an adverse effect on our financial and operational conditions.

We may be subject to penalties, including restrictions on our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries and on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us, if our PRC resident shareholders or beneficial owners fail to comply with relevant PRC foreign exchange regulations.

SAFE has promulgated several regulations that require PRC residents and PRC corporate entities to register with and obtain approval from local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. The Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, was promulgated by SAFE in July 2014. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment, or control of an offshore entity established, for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. According to the Circular of Further Simplifying and Improving the Policies of Foreign Exchange Administration Applicable to Direct Investment released in February 2015 by SAFE, local banks will examine and handle foreign exchange registration for overseas direct investment, including the initial foreign exchange registration and amendment registration, under SAFE Circular 37 from June 2015. These regulations apply to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may also apply to any offshore acquisitions or investments that we make in the future.

Under these foreign exchange regulations, PRC residents who make, or have previously made, prior to the implementation of these foreign exchange regulations, direct or indirect investments in offshore companies are required to register those investments. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an offshore company is required to update its previously filed SAFE registration, to reflect any material change involving its round-trip investment. If any PRC shareholder fails to make the required registration or update the previously filed registration, the PRC subsidiary of that offshore parent company may be restricted from distributing their profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to their offshore parent company, and the offshore parent company may also be restricted from injecting additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions, including (i) the requirement by SAFE to return the foreign exchange remitted overseas or into the PRC within a period of time specified by SAFE, with a fine of up to 30% of the total amount of foreign exchange remitted overseas or into PRC and deemed to have been evasive or illegal and (ii) in circumstances involving serious violations, a fine of no less than 30% of and up to the total amount of remitted foreign exchange deemed evasive or illegal.

We are committed to complying with and to ensuring that our shareholders who are subject to these regulations will comply with the relevant SAFE rules and regulations. However, due to the inherent uncertainty in the implementation of the regulatory requirements by the PRC authorities, such registration might not be always practically available in all circumstances as prescribed in those regulations. In addition, we may not always be able to compel them to comply with SAFE Circular 37 or other related regulations. We cannot assure you that SAFE or its local branches will not release explicit requirements or interpret the relevant PRC laws and regulations otherwise. In addition, we may not be fully informed of the identities of all our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents, and we cannot provide any assurance that all of our shareholders and beneficial owners who are PRC residents will comply with our request to make, obtain or update any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements under SAFE Circular 37 or other related rules in a timely manner.

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Because there is uncertainty concerning the reconciliation of these foreign exchange regulations with other approval requirements, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant governmental authorities. We cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding our employee share incentive plans or share option plans may subject plan participants, who are PRC residents, or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or SAFE Circular 7. SAFE Circular 7 and other relevant rules and regulations require PRC residents who participate in a stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly tradeable company to register with SAFE or its local branches or the banks and complete certain other procedures. Participants in a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of its participants. Such participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of stock options, the purchase and sale of corresponding stocks or interests and fund transfers. In addition, the PRC agent must amend the SAFE registration with respect to the plan within three months if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent, or the overseas entrusted institution, or if there are any other material changes in the plan. In addition, SAFE Circular 37 and other relevant rules and regulations stipulate that PRC residents who participate in a share incentive plan of an overseas non-publicly tradeable special purpose company must register with SAFE or its local branches or the banks before they exercise the share options. We and our PRC employees who have been granted share options and restricted shares are subject to these regulations. As of the date of this annual report, we are in the process of applying for such registration under SAFE Circular 7. Failure of our PRC share option holders or restricted shareholders to complete their SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions, and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiary, limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to distribute dividends to us, or otherwise adversely affect our business.

The SAT has also issued rules and regulations concerning employee share incentives. Under these rules and regulations, our employees working in the PRC will be subject to PRC individual income tax upon exercise of the share options and/or grant of the restricted shares. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents with respect to the granted share options and/or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes for their employees upon exercise of the share options and/or grant of the restricted shares. If our employees fail to pay or we fail to withhold their individual income taxes according to relevant rules and regulations, we may face sanctions imposed by the competent governmental authorities.

Our leased property interests may be defective and our right to lease the properties affected by defects may be challenged, which could cause disruption to our business.

As of the date of this annual report, we leased properties for our offices and branch offices in China. Under PRC laws, all lease agreements must be registered with the local housing authorities. As of the date of this annual report, none of the premises we lease have completed the registration of our leases with the local housing authorities. Failure to complete these registrations may expose us to potential monetary fines up to RMB10,000 per unit leasehold.

We may be subject to penalties under relevant PRC laws and regulations due to failure to be in full compliance with social insurance and housing provident fund regulation.

According to the Social Insurance Law of the PRC promulgated in 2010 and the Regulations on Management of Housing Provident Funds promulgated in 1999 and most recently amended in 2019, within a prescribed time limit, we need to register with the relevant social security authority and housing provident fund management center, and to open the relevant accounts and make full contributions for social insurance and housing funds for our employees, and this obligation cannot be delegated to any third party.

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Our contributions for some of our employees to the social insurance and housing funds may not have been in compliance with relevant PRC laws and regulations. Some of our subsidiaries or consolidated affiliated entities engaged third-party human resources agencies to pay social insurance and housing funds for some of their employees. As of the date of this annual report, none of these subsidiaries or consolidated affiliated entities had received any notice from the local authorities or any claim or request from these employees in this regard. Under the agreements entered into between the third-party human resources agencies and our relevant subsidiaries or consolidated affiliated entities, the third-party human resources agencies have the obligations to pay social insurance premium and housing provident funds for our relevant employees. However, if the human resource agencies fail to pay the social insurance or housing fund contributions for and behalf of our employees as required under applicable PRC laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties imposed by the local social insurance authorities and the local housing fund management centers for failing to discharge our obligations in relation to payment of social insurance and housing funds as an employer.

On July 20, 2018, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council of the PRC issued the Reform Plan of the State Tax and Local Tax Collection Administration System, or the Tax Reform Plan. Under the Tax Reform Plan, commencing from January 1, 2019, tax authorities are responsible for the collection of social insurance contributions in the PRC. The effect of the Tax Reform Plan is still uncertain. We cannot assure that we will not be required to pay any deemed shortfalls or be subject to penalties or fines regarding social security insurance and housing provident funds contributions, any of which may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in China against us or our management named in this annual report based on foreign laws, and the ability of U.S. authorities to bring actions in China may also be limited.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and we conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, most of our senior executive officers reside in China for a significant portion of the time and most of them are PRC nationals. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process upon us or those persons inside mainland China. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in the U.S. courts judgments obtained in the U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors who reside and whose assets are located outside the U.S. There is also uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of the U.S. courts against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. or any state.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law and other applicable laws, regulations and interpretations based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of reciprocity with the U.S. that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of U.S. judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the U.S. In addition, the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice and other U.S. authorities may also have difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against us or our directors or officers in the PRC.

Furthermore, shareholder claims that are common in the U.S., including securities law class actions and fraud claims, generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation outside China or otherwise with respect to foreign entities. Although the local authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the U.S. have not been efficient in the absence of mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. According to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without the consent of the competent PRC securities regulators and relevant authorities, no organization or individual may provide the documents and materials relating to securities business activities to overseas parties. See also “—Risks Relating to The ADSs—You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law” for risks associated with investing in us as a Cayman Islands company.

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Recent litigation and negative publicity surrounding China-based companies listed in the U.S. may result in increased regulatory scrutiny of us and negatively impact the trading price of the ADSs and could have an adverse effect upon our business, including our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and prospects.

We believe that litigation and negative publicity surrounding companies with operations in China that are listed in the U.S. have negatively impacted stock prices for these companies. Various equity-based research organizations have published reports on China-based companies after examining their corporate governance practices, related party transactions, sales practices and financial statements, and these reports have led to special investigations and listing suspensions on U.S. national exchanges. Any similar scrutiny of us, regardless of its lack of merit, could result in a diversion of management resources and energy, potential costs to defend ourselves against rumors, decreases and volatility in the ADS trading price, and increased directors and officers insurance premiums and could have an adverse effect upon our business, including our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and prospects.

The audit report included in this annual report was prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection. In addition, various legislative and regulatory developments related to U.S.-listed China-based companies due to lack of PCAOB inspection may have a material adverse impact on our listing and trading in the U.S. and the trading prices of our ADSs.

Our auditor is registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB. Pursuant to laws in the U.S., the PCAOB has authority to conduct regular inspections of independent registered public accounting firms registered with the PCAOB to assess their compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is also located in China, a jurisdiction that does not allow the PCAOB to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities. As a result, we understand that our auditor is not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

In addition, various legislative and regulatory developments related to U.S.-listed China-based companies due to lack of PCAOB inspection may have a material adverse impact on our listing and trading in the U.S. and the trading prices of our ADSs. The U.S. securities regulators (SEC and PCAOB) and their Chinese counterparts (the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and the PRC Ministry of Finance) have had numerous discussions on the PCAOB’s ability to inspect or investigate the audit work of accounting firms that audit the financial statements of China-based companies. Although discussions between the two sides have continued, the PCAOB currently does not have free access to inspect the work of China-based auditors.

On December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement highlighting the continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China. On November 4, 2019, the SEC announced that SEC and PCAOB had dialogue with the “Big Four” accounting firms, which emphasized the need for effective and consistent global firm oversight of member firms, including those operating in China. On February 19, 2020, the SEC and the PCAOB further issued a joint statement on continued dialogue with “Big Four” accounting firms on audit quality in China, highlighting that PCAOB continues to be prevented from inspecting the audit work and practices of PCAOB-registered audit firms in China. On April 21, 2020, the SEC and the PCAOB issued another joint statement, reiterating the greater risks of insufficient disclosures from companies in many emerging markets, including China, compared to those from U.S. domestic companies. In discussing the specific issues related to these risks, the statement again highlighted the PCAOB’s inability to inspect audit work papers and practices of accounting firms in China with respect to U.S. reporting companies. On June 4, 2020, the U.S. President issued a memorandum ordering the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, to submit a report within 60 days of the memorandum that includes recommendations for actions that can be taken by the executive branch, including the SEC and the PCAOB, on Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges and their audit firms. On August 6, 2020, the PWG released a report recommending that the SEC take steps to implement the five recommendations outlined in the report. With respect to jurisdictions that do not grant the PCAOB sufficient access to fulfill its statutory mandate, or NCJs, the PWG recommended that enhanced listing standards be applied to companies from NCJs listed on U.S. stock exchanges. The report recommended a transition period until January 1, 2022, before the new listing standards would apply to companies already listed on U.S. stock exchanges. While it is uncertain whether the PWG recommendations will be adopted, in whole or in part, and the impact of any such new rules on us cannot be estimated at this time, if we are unable to meet the enhanced listing standards before their effectiveness, we could face de-listing from the Nasdaq Global Market, deregistration from the SEC and/or other risks, which may materially and adversely affect the market price and liquidity of our ADSs or effectively terminate our ADS trading in the United States.

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As part of a continued regulatory focus in the U.S. on access to audit and other information currently protected by national law, in particular China’s, the President of the United States signed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act into law in December 2020.The HFCA Act includes requirements for the SEC to identify issuers whose audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a restriction imposed by a non-U.S. authority in the auditor’s local jurisdiction. The HFCA Act also requires the SEC to prohibit securities of issuers registered in the United States from being traded on any national securities exchange or over-the-counter markets in the United States if the PCAOB has been unable to inspect the issuer’s auditor for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. As a result, our securities may be prohibited from trading on NASDAQ Global Market or another U.S. stock exchange if our auditor is not inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years as specified in the HFCA Act, and this ultimately could result in our ADS being delisted or adverse affected on the market price of our ADSs.

Proceedings instituted by the SEC against Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

In December 2012, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, alleging that these firms had violated U.S. securities laws and the SEC’s rules and regulations thereunder by failing to provide to the SEC the firms’ audit work papers with respect to certain PRC-based companies that are publicly traded in the U.S.

On January 22, 2014, the administrative law judge, or the ALJ, presiding over the matter rendered an initial decision that each of the firms had violated the SEC’s rules of practice by failing to produce audit papers and other documents to the SEC. The initial decision censured each of the firms and barred them from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months.

On February 6, 2015, the four China-based accounting firms each agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC and audit U.S.-listed companies. The settlement required the firms to follow detailed procedures and to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms’ audit documents via the CSRC. Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four China-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice four years after entry of the settlement. The four-year mark occurred on February 6, 2019. Our audit committee is aware of the policy restriction and communicates with our independent registered public accounting firm to ensure compliance. If additional remedial measures are imposed on the China-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging the firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC with respect to its requests for the production of documents, we could be unable to timely file financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act in the future. The settlement did not require these firms to admit to any violation of law and preserves these firms’ legal defenses in the event the administrative proceeding is restarted. In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the U.S. with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding PRC-based, U.S.-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm was denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ordinary shares from the Nasdaq Global Market or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the U.S.

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Risks Relating to The ADSs

The trading price of ADSs has been and may continue to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

Since our ADSs became listed on NASDAQ on June 12, 2020, the trading price of our ADSs has ranged from US$18.64 to US$39.75 per ADS. The trading price of our ADSs may continue to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the U.S. A number of Chinese companies have listed or are in the process of listing their securities on U.S. stock markets. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility, including price declines in connection with their initial public offerings. The trading performances of these Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the U.S. in general and consequently may impact the trading performance of the ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance.

In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for the ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade.

Shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in such a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for the ADSs will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the market price or trading volume for the ADSs to decline.

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The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of ADSs could adversely affect their market price.

Sales of substantial amounts of ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. As of February 28, 2021, we had 104,548,489 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, comprising (i) 87,223,641 Class A ordinary shares (excluding 670,191 Class A ordinary shares issued to our depositary bank for bulk issuance of ADSs reserved for future issuances upon the exercise or vesting of awards granted under our share incentive plans), and (ii) 17,324,848 Class B ordinary shares. Among these shares, 29,047,308 Class A ordinary shares are in the form ADSs, which are freely transferable without restriction or additional registration under Securities Act. The remaining outstanding ordinary shares may also be sold in public market, subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act and the applicable lock-up agreements, if any. To the extent shares are released before the expiration of the applicable lock-up period and sold into the market, the market price of the ADSs could decline.

If a large number of our ordinary shares or securities convertible into our ordinary shares are sold in the public market after they become eligible for sale, the sales could adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs and impede our ability to raise future capital. In addition, any ordinary shares that we issue under our share incentive plan or pursuant to any award agreements would dilute the percentage ownership held by ADS holders.

Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on price appreciation of the ADSs for return on your investment.

We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in the ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.

Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to our memorandum and articles of association and certain requirements of Cayman Islands law. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiary, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in the ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in our ADSs and you may even lose your entire investment in the ADSs.

Our directors, officers and principal shareholders have substantial influence over our company and their interests may not be aligned with the interests of our other shareholders.

As of February 28, 2021, our directors and officers collectively own an aggregate of 62.4% of the total voting power of our outstanding ordinary shares. As a result, they have substantial influence over our business, including significant corporate actions such as change of directors, mergers, change of control transactions and other significant corporate actions.

Our directors, offices, and principal shareholders may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. The concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by shareholders, including ADS holders. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise.

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There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of ADSs or ordinary shares.

A non-U.S. corporation will be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income; or (ii) at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets) during such year is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). Based on our financial statements, the manner in which we conduct our business, relevant market data, the value and nature of our assets, the sources and nature of our income, and our expectations for the future, we do not believe we were a PFIC for our prior taxable year and we do not anticipate being a PFIC for our current taxable year or in the foreseeable future. However, no assurance can be given in this regard because the determination of whether we are or will become a PFIC is a fact-intensive inquiry made on an annual basis that depends, in part, upon the composition of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of the ADSs may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years because the value of our assets for the purpose of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of the ADSs. The composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our cash and other liquid assets.

If we were to be or become a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) holds the ADSs or ordinary shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. For more details of these adverse tax consequences, see “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

Our memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have an adverse effect on the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and the ADSs.

Our memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of the ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and the ADSs may be adversely affected.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended, the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the U.S. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the U.S. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the U.S.

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies (other than copies of our memorandum and articles of association and register of mortgages and charges, and any special resolutions passed by our shareholders). Under Cayman Islands law, the names of our current directors can be obtained from a search conducted at the Registrar of Companies. Our directors have discretion under our memorandum and articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

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As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the NASDAQ corporate governance requirements; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulties in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the U.S.

We expect to incur increased costs and become subject to additional rules and regulations as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company.”

As a public company, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NASDAQ Global Market, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.07 billion in net revenues for our last financial year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting.

We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we expect to incur significant additional expenses and devote additional management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. Such compliance may require that we incur substantial accounting expenses and expend significant management effort. As a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We believe that operating as a public company also makes it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.

Because we are a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the U.S. that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

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We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Global Market. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely than that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer, and it may be more difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within China.

The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to direct the voting of the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs.

As a holder of ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights which attach to the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary, as the holder of the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, if voting is by poll, the depositary will try, as far as is practicable, to vote the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs in accordance with your instructions. If voting is by show of hands, the depositary will vote all ordinary shares held on deposit at that time in accordance with the voting instructions received from a majority of holders of ADSs who provide timely instructions. You will not be able to directly exercise any right to vote with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares unless you withdraw the shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required to be given by our company to our registered shareholders for convening a general meeting is seven (7) calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to enable you to withdraw the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting to allow you to attend the general meeting or to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution which is to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our memorandum and articles of association for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. Where any matter is to be put to a vote at a general meeting, the depositary will, if we request, and subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, endeavor to notify you of the upcoming vote and to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct the voting of the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs, and you may have no legal remedy if the underlying Class A ordinary shares are not voted as you requested.

You may not receive dividends or other distributions on our shares and you may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to you.

The depositary has agreed to pay you any cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities underlying your ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of the ADSs.

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Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make such rights available to you in the U.S. unless we register both the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not make rights available to you unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective and we may not be able to establish a necessary exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings in the future and may experience dilution in your holdings.

You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs may view as beneficial.

We have a dual-class share structure such that our ordinary shares consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to six votes per share based on our dual-class share structure. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder and under certain other circumstances, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the equal number of Class A ordinary shares. If any of such Class B ordinary shares are converted into Class A ordinary shares or cancelled for any reasons, our board of directors will have the authority without further action by our shareholders to issue additional Class B ordinary shares, which will be dilutive to our Class A ordinary shareholders and ADS holders.

As of February 28, 2021, our founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, Mr. Yusheng Han, beneficially owns all of our issued Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares constitute 16.6% of our total issued and outstanding share capital and 54.4% of the aggregate voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital due to the disparate voting powers associated with our dual-class share structure. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—E. Share Ownership.” As a result of the dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, our founder and chief executive officer, Mr. Yusheng Han, has considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding change of directors, mergers, change of control transactions and other significant corporate actions. He may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

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The dual-class structure of our ordinary shares may adversely affect the trading market for and the trading price of the ADSs.

Certain shareholder advisory firms have announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our ordinary shares may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for the ADSs. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of the ADSs.

ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiffs in any such action.

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.

If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has nonexclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement.

If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against either or both of us and the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiffs in any such action.

Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, a majority of our directors and executive officers reside within China, and most of the assets of these persons are located within China. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to effect service of process within the U.S. upon these individuals, or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the U.S. in the event that you believe your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of the PRC may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

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There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States (and the Cayman Islands are not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (c) is final, (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and (e) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands. However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities law if such judgment is determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands to give rise to obligations to make payments that are penal or punitive in nature. A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions, as well as public policy considerations and conditions set forth in applicable provisions of other PRC laws relating to the enforcement of civil liability. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our director and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or the Cayman Islands.

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

A. History and Development of the Company

We commenced our operation in January 2014 through Burning Rock (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a PRC company. In March 2014, we incorporated Burning Rock Biotech Limited in the Cayman Islands as our offshore holding company in order to facilitate foreign investment in our company. Subsequently, we established BR Hong Kong Limited as our intermediate holding company in April 2014, which in turn established a wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, Beijing Burning Rock Biotech Limited, our WFOE, in June 2014. In the same month, our WFOE entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Burning Rock (Beijing) Biotech Limited and its then shareholders, and Burning Rock (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. became our variable interest entity, or VIE. These contractual arrangements were amended and restated in October 2019. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure—Contractual Arrangements.”

We conduct our NGS-based cancer therapy selection business primarily through the wholly-owned subsidiaries of our VIE, Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Burning Rock Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., which were established in March 2014 and January 2015, respectively.

On June 12, 2020, our ADSs commenced trading on NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “BNR.” We raised from our initial public offering US$234.9 million net proceeds, after the underwriters exercised in full their option to purchase additional ADSs. Concurrently with our initial public offering, we raised US$25 million from Lake Bleu Prime Healthcare Master, in a private placement.

On December 8, 2020, we completed a registered follow-on public offering by certain selling shareholders of 2,243,000 ADSs at a public offering price of US$25.75 per ADS. We did not receive any proceeds from the follow-on public offering.

Our principal executive offices are located at 601, 6/F, Building 3, Standard Industrial Unit 2, No.7 Luoxuan 4th Road, International Bio Island, Guangzhou, the People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 020-3403 7871. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Maples Corporate Services Limited at PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands.

Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices. Our main website is http://www.brbiotech.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this annual report.

SEC maintains an internet site (http://www.sec.gov), which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding us that file electronically with the SEC.

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B. Business Overview

We aim to transform precision oncology and early cancer detection. We are China’s leading NGS-based cancer therapy selection company. Our cancer therapy selection platform is built upon our advanced proprietary technologies, comprehensive portfolio of products and a two-pronged market-driven commercial infrastructure addressing both larger hospitals through our in-hospital model and smaller hospitals through our central laboratory model.

Our advanced technology platform integrates cutting-edge proprietary cancer therapy selection technologies using both tissue and liquid biopsies, including assay biochemistry, bioinformatics and a patented laboratory information management system. Our proprietary HS library preparation technology allows us to work with poor quality and limited volume samples and enables enhanced sensitivity—capabilities that are critical to effectively deploying NGS-based cancer therapy selection, especially in China. Our in-depth cancer genomics insights, accumulated from over 273,000 tests performed since our inception, enable us to process and accurately analyze genomic information and achieve a median turnaround time of 6 days.

Our NGS-based cancer therapy selection test products are used to assist physicians in selecting the most effective therapy for cancer patients. We primarily offer 12 NGS-based cancer therapy selection tests applicable to a broad range of cancer types, including lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lymphomas, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer, using both tissue and liquid biopsy samples. Our core products, including OncoCompass^TM IO, OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM Target, perform on par with those of our global peers. We are the clear leader in the lung cancer segment of China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market. We believe we offer the best NGS-based cancer therapy selection products and services in China, and we have won the trust of pharmaceutical companies, physicians, hospitals and patients with our high quality standards, superior product performance and strong service support. Our products are recognized by the medical, pharmaceutical and scientific communities, as evidenced by (i) the use of our products by oncology key opinion leaders in clinical trials and research studies they initiate, and (ii) our collaborations on clinical trials and research studies with leading pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Bayer (ETR: BAYN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), CStone (HKEX: 2616) and BeiGene (HKEX: 6160), primarily by providing central laboratory services and companion diagnostics development services to these pharmaceutical companies. The results of these clinical trials and research studies have been published in over 100 peer-reviewed articles, and the results of research studies using our products have been published in numerous peer-reviewed articles .

We are the only company in China that has both (i) an NGS laboratory certified under the CLIA, accredited by the CAP, and certified by China’s NCCL, and (ii) an NGS-based reagent kit approved by China’s NMPA. We believe these certifications, accreditations and regulatory approvals endorse the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of our testing results.

We pioneered a two-pronged commercial infrastructure, consisting of both central and in-hospital laboratories, to maximize market penetration and create higher barriers to entry.

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In addition to our NGS-based cancer therapy selection tests, we are also investing in our development of early cancer detection tests. Early cancer detection can substantially increase the chances of successful treatment and therefore presents enormous market opportunities. However, it is extremely difficult to develop liquid biopsy-based early cancer detection tests with the sensitivity and specificity needed for the tests to be clinically useful. Our targeted DNA methylation-based library preparation technologies and bioinformatics effectively address these challenges by enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio on the most informative cancer-associated methylation loci and blocks, enabling us to detect extremely low circulating levels of cancer biomarkers to facilitate accurate early detection of multiple cancers. Our early cancer detection technologies have demonstrated an overall sensitivity of 80.6% across six cancer types (including lung cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and esophageal cancer) at various stages, with 98.3% specificity (meaning 98.3% of asymptomatic participants test negative for any cancer). We will continue our research and development efforts in early cancer detection, with the aim of developing pan-cancer early detection products.

Molecular residual disease, or MRD, detection is useful for monitoring post-treatment cancer patients, and we are also researching ways to leverage our existing technologies to develop MRD detection products.

We are one of the fastest-growing companies in China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market. Our revenue increased by 82.7% from RMB208.9 million in 2018 to RMB381.7 million in 2019 and further increased by 12.6% to RMB429.9 million (US$65.9 million) in 2020. Our gross profit increased by 102.4% from RMB135.1 million in 2018 to RMB273.3 million in 2019 and further increased by 14.8% to RMB313.9 million (US$48.1 million) in 2020. Our gross profit margin was 64.7%, 71.6% and 73.0% in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Our Technologies

NGS-Based Cancer Therapy Selection Technologies

The adoption of NGS-based cancer therapy selection in China presents a number of challenges, including (i) library preparation and probe hybridization using the low-quality FFPE samples containing degraded or low quantities of DNA that are common in China, and (ii) Chinese hospitals typically prefer to perform tests in-house rather than outsourcing to third parties, but lack the required expertise, knowledge and skills to perform NGS-based cancer therapy selection tests. We have developed the proprietary assay biochemistry and bioinformatics described below that underlie our current product portfolio and effectively address those challenges.

HS Library Preparation Technology—Enhancing Capture Efficiency for Low-Quality FFPE Samples

The low quality FFPE samples available in China often fail to meet the minimum quality and quantity thresholds required for standard NGS-based cancer therapy selection. Our proprietary High Sensitivity, or HS, library preparation technology improves the capture efficiency of low-quality FFPE samples and enables us to maximize the capture of unique DNA molecules, which are used to make up the sequencing library. This technology improves by approximately 80% the library conversion and library complexity—a measure of the number of unique DNA molecules present in a DNA library—of DNA libraries derived from FFPE samples, enabling us to work with low-quality FFPE samples. When applied to liquid biopsy ctDNA samples, our HS library preparation technology shows similar improvements in library complexity, enabling us to work with liquid biopsy ctDNA samples as small as 10-nanograms.

The diagram below illustrates the significant improvements in complexity and overall quality of DNA libraries derived from clinical FFPE samples of different quality levels (from the highest level “A+” to the lowest level “C”) using our HS library preparation technology, each as compared with conventional library preparation methods:

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Comparison of FFPE DNA library complexity and quality at 500X raw depth

The diagram below illustrates the improvements (denoted as “after”) in library complexity of liquid biopsy ctDNA samples achieved using our HS library preparation technology:

Liquid Biopsy Technologies—Enabling Super-High Sensitivity in ctDNA Samples Through Signal-Noise Ratio Enhancement

Compared to tissue biopsies, NGS-based ctDNA liquid biopsies require higher technological capabilities and expertise because of the low concentrations of ctDNA in liquid biopsy samples. In addition to our HS technology, we have also developed our UMI technology and corresponding bioinformatics, which improve the signal detection and noise control capabilities of our liquid biopsy-based tests and accurately distinguish true origin of DNA fragments from those that are duplicated, contaminated, erroneous or otherwise irrelevant. These technologies increase test sensitivity and lower our ctDNA detection limit by five to ten times to 0.1% or lower, which significantly enhances the accuracy of our liquid biopsy-based tests.

The diagram below illustrates the noise reduction achieved by applying our UMI technology in ctDNA sample library preparation:

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MSI Calling Algorithms—World-Class NGS-Based Algorithms Detecting MSI in Tissue and Liquid Biopsies

Polymerase chain reaction-, or PCR-, based methods have been the conventional method for detecting microsatellite instability, or MSI, an important biomarker for immune-oncology treatment selection. We have developed proprietary NGS-based MSI calling algorithms, prettyMSI and bMSISEA, which enable our tests to accurately detect the presence of MSI in tissue and ctDNA samples, respectively. By incorporating these algorithms, our tissue and liquid biopsy-based tests provide patients a one-stop, cost-effective solution for the detection of genomic alterations of targeted genes and MSI in a single test. According to CIC, our MSI calling algorithms have higher sensitivity than substantially all other published MSI algorithms.

In 2018, our prettyMSI algorithm was clinically validated in an MSI detection study with the results published in a 2018 March Journal of Molecular Diagnostics article “A novel and reliable method to detect microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer by next-generation sequencing.” In 2020, our bMSISEA algorithm was clinically validated in an MSI detection study, the result of which will be published in an article titled “Detection of microsatellite instability from circulating tumor DNA by targeted deep sequencing”, that has been submitted to and accepted by the same journal. In 2019, one of our products using the prettyMSI algorithm was endorsed and recommended in Chinese Experts Consensus on MSI testing.

Automated NGS Library Preparation System—Enabling Automation and Standardization of In-Hospital Laboratories

Hospitals in China generally lack the expertise necessary to conduct NGS-based cancer therapy selection. In addition, the conventional process flows that most Chinese hospitals use not only make the testing process time consuming, but also introduce contamination risk in the library preparation stage, which reduces testing accuracy. We have been a pioneer in helping Chinese hospitals address these challenges, and in September 2019, we launched Magnis BR, China’s first and only capture-based fully automated NGS library preparation system, and associated library preparation reagents, which we co-developed with Agilent. Magnis BR and its associated reagents are particularly suitable for Chinese hospitals because they fully automate the NGS library preparation process, converting DNA samples into sequencing-ready libraries in around nine hours. Magnis BR can process 112 samples per week. We presented the analytical validation data of Magnis BR at the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) 2020 annual meeting in a platform presentation.

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Early Cancer Detection Technologies

In 2016, we started our research and development on the use of targeted DNA methylation in early cancer detection. Early cancer detection can substantially increase the chances of successful treatment, and accordingly presents enormous market opportunities. However, it is extremely difficult to develop liquid biopsy-based early cancer detection tests with the sensitivity and specificity needed for the tests to be clinically useful. To effectively address the technical challenges of early cancer detection, we have developed targeted DNA methylation-based library preparation technologies and bioinformatics that sensitively detect extremely low circulating levels of cancer biomarkers by enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio on the most informative cancer-associated methylation loci and blocks, facilitating the accurate early detection of multiple cancers.

We have built on our technology platform to develop proprietary technologies for early cancer detection using analysis of change in DNA methylation, a promising biomarker associated with the initiation of certain cancers. BrELSA^TM is our proprietary targeted DNA-methylation-based library preparation technology for early cancer detection. It significantly increases the conversion rate, and maximizes the preservation, of sequenceable DNA fragments; it also ensures that the methylation sites of pathogenic significance are captured. These capabilities allow us to prepare sequenceable libraries using liquid biopsy samples as small as 5 to 10 milligrams. We also use targeted DNA methylation reinforced malignancy non-invasive detection, or brMERMAID^TM, our proprietary bioinformatics and statistical algorithm for the early detection of multiple types of cancers. We train brMERMAID^TM with real world clinical samples and its machine learning capability enables continuous performance improvements as it incorporates data from additional clinical samples. The combination of brELSA^TM and brMERMAID^TM enables highly sensitive, accurate and robust early cancer detection results that are on par with global leaders.

At the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019, we presented a poster that demonstrated the data of early detection of lung cancer using our methylation profiling method combining brELSA^TM and brMERMAID^TM. In the Special Conference on Advances in Liquid Biopsies hosted by AACR in 2020, we presented our data regarding early detection of lung, colorectal and liver cancers with brELSA^TM and brMERMAID^TM in a poster titled “Multiplatform analysis of early-stage cancer signatures in blood.” At the AACR Virtual Annual Meeting II, we presented our new data regarding early detection of ovarian cancer in a poster titled “Methylation profiling of circulating tumor DNA for the detection of ovarian cancer.” At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia Virtual Congress 2020, we presented our new data regarding early detection of lung, colorectal, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers in a presentation titled “Early detection and localization of multiple cancers using a blood-based methylation assay (ELSA-seq).”

The diagram below illustrates our early cancer detection workflow incorporating brELSA^TM and brMERMAID^TM:

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Step (A) Sample preparation: 8-10 ml of venous blood is collected and processed to isolate circulating cell-free DNA, or cfDNA, which is a cancer biomarker.

Step (B) Automated whole-methylome amplification: DNA Libraries are prepared using a method called whole methylome bisulfite sequencing, or WGBS, in an automated way. WGBS is a widely used method to profile the methylation landscape of the whole genome. The detailed sub-steps are shown in the center of the above diagram.

Step (C) Deep sequencing of cancer-associated markers: Probes are used to capture the specific genomic regions associated with common types of cancer, and the captured regions are then sequenced at high depth. The detailed sub-steps are shown in the center of the above diagram.

Step (D) Pattern recognition & noise suppression: After the methylation changes are detected, statistical algorithms are used to differentiate signals from noise in the sequencing data and the signals are then categorized into specific patterns.

Step (E) Machine learning for sparse matrices: An algorithm is built to differentiate tumor samples from normal samples. This algorithm combines numerous random and scarce methylation patterns to address challenges arising from low circulating levels of tumor DNA in early-stage cancer patients.

The graphs below show that our brELSA^TM technology enables higher recovery of circulating DNA in library preparation and sequencing as compared to two commercially available kits. The high recovery rate and deep sequencing of targeted methylated region facilitates the ultra-high detection sensitivity, with the limit of detection as low as 0.001%:

We plan to upgrade our 3-cancer early cancer detection test that detects lung, intestinal and liver cancers to a 6-cancer test that detects lung, colorectal, liver, ovarian, pancreatic and esophageal cancers, and ultimately to a pan-cancer test, with improved accuracy in determining the origin of tissue compared to the 3-cancer test. The table below sets forth the sensitivity of our 6-cancer test for the detection of stage I-IV lung, colorectal, liver, ovarian, pancreatic and esophageal cancers at 98.3% specificity:

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We have started the development and analytical validation for our pan-cancer test, including to initiate a prospective, multi-center study, the PREDICT (Pan-CanceR Early DetectIon ProjeCT) study to further develop and validate our pan-cancer early detection test.

Our Products

Key Products

We primarily offer 12 NGS-based tissue and liquid biopsy cancer therapy selection tests, catering to different clinical and affordability needs of the different cancer patient segments.

The table below sets forth the 12 key tests we currently offer:

OncoCompass^TM IO/OncoScreen^TM IO

In 2015, we launched our pan-cancer test OncoScreen, which we upgraded to OncoScreen^TM IO, our pan-cancer test for tissue samples, and OncoCompass^TM IO, the corresponding test for liquid biopsy samples, in 2017. OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO reflect the latest developments in targeted therapy and immunotherapy. These tests profile 520 genes associated with most solid tumors, such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer and prostate cancer, for which a targeted therapy has been approved by the FDA or NMPA or is in current clinical development. In addition to detecting the genomic alternations of the targeted genes, OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO also detect important immune-oncology biomarkers including TMB and MSI, as well as rare but clinically actionable biomarkers, such as NTRK fusions, which provide important insights for therapy selection. More than 30,000 samples have been tested through OncoScreen, OncoScreen^TM IO or OncoCompass^TM IO.

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The table below sets forth the key specifications of OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO:

The design and performance of OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO has been endorsed by their adoption in over 20 clinical trials and studies. For example, OncoScreen^TM IO was selected by CStone in its Phase III clinical trial of CS1001—one of CStone’s core product candidates that targets PD-L1—to detect TMB, which can potentially identify the patients who may benefit from treatment of CS1001. Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, selected our OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO in a clinical study to conduct analysis of blood samples collected from patients with various kinds of advanced solid tumors. BeiGene also selected our OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO to detect TMB in its domestic and international clinical trials for its PD-1 drug candidate. OncoScreen^TM IO also participated in the FDA-initiated SEQC2 study for global tissue-based NGS assay comparison. OncoScreen, OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO were also used in research studies that resulted in publications in high-impact journals, including Clinical Cancer Research and EBioMedicine.

OncoCompass^TM Target

In 2015, we launched OncoCompass^TM Target, our ctDNA liquid biopsy-based test for NSCLC, which we upgraded to a pan-cancer test for all solid tumors. This test analyzes 168 genes that are related to the development of NSCLC and solid tumors, including all genes that have a targeted therapy that is FDA- or NMPA-approved or NCCN-recommended. It provides information with optimal clinical value for cancer patients, especially advanced-stage cancer patients who do not have accessible tissue, for various solid tumors across treatment stages, from baseline profiling, dynamic monitoring to MRD detection. The table below sets forth the key specifications of OncoCompass^TM Target:

Our OncoCompass^TM Target demonstrates consistently high sensitivity in liquid biopsies for biomarkers that are difficult to detect using conventional methods. For example, our OncoCompass^TM Target can detect actionable mutations among treatment-naive stage IV NSCLC patients with sensitivity of 96% and specificity greater than 99%. In a separate study, OncoCompass^TM Target detected ALK fusion with a sensitivity of 79%. From a real-world cohort of 1016 patients with paired tissue and plasma samples tested simultaneously, OncoCompass^TM Target could detect at least one actionable mutation among 74% patients from tissues samples, 61% from plasma samples, or 76% from either.

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The performance of OncoCompass^TM Target has been validated in clinical trials and research studies led by international and domestic pharmaceutical companies and leading oncology key opinion leaders, including:

OncoCompass^TM Target has also been used in a number of high impact research studies, with results published in over 50 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, including Journal of Thoracic Cancer, Annals of Oncology and Lancet Respiratory Medicine. For example, our OncoCompass^TM Target was used in the following research studies: (1) a research study that resulted in the 2018 January Annals of Oncology article titled “Unique genetic profiles from cerebrospinal fluid cell-free DNA in leptomeningeal metastases of EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer: a new medium of liquid biopsy,” which we jointly published with Professor Yi-Long Wu; (2) a research study that resulted in the 2018 July Journal of Thoracic Onology article titled “First-in-human Phase I study of AC0010, a mutant-selective EGFR inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer: safety, efficacy and potential mechanism of resistance,” which we jointly published with Professor Li Zhang; (3) a research study that resulted in the 2020 February Journal of Thoracic Cancer article titled “Detection of non-reciprocal reciprocal ALK translocation as poor predictive marker in first-line crizotinib-treated ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer patients,” which we jointly published with Professor Nong Yang; (4) a research study that resulted in the 2019 December Translational Lung Cancer Research article titled “Parallel serial assessment of somatic mutation and methylation profile from circulating tumor DNA predicts treatment response and impending disease progression in osimertinib-treated lung adenocarcinoma patients,” which we jointly published with Professor Yuan Chen; and (5) a research study that resulted in the 2020 April Translational Lung Cancer Research article titled “Circulating tumor DNA clearance predicts prognosis across treatment regimen in a large real-world longitudinally monitored advanced non-small cell lung cancer cohort”, which we jointly published with Professor Shun Lu.

These published studies provide further evidence of OncoCompass^TM Target’s accurate and consistent test performance.

ColonCore

ColonCore, which we launched in 2016, is capable of simultaneously assessing 22 microsatellite loci related to MSI status and detecting mutations in 41 genes associated with gastrointestinal cancers. It has been validated in multiple studies in China on NGS-based detection of MSI from both tissue and plasma samples. According to a 2018 March Journal of Molecular Diagnostics article titled “A novel and reliable method to detect microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer by next-generation sequencing,” the specificity and sensitivity of ColonCore were 100% and 97.9%, respectively. Our ColonCore was also endorsed and recommended in Chinese Experts Consensus on MSI Testing.

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OncoScreen^TM ParpMatch/OncoCompass^TM ParpMatch

OncoScreen^TM ParpMatch and OncoCompass^TM ParpMatch, which we launched in 2018, are specifically designed to target critical genes associated with homologous recombination deficiency, or HRD. This product was selected by AstraZeneca for the Phase III clinical study of a drug candidate.

Other Products

We also offer a number of Magnis BR-customized version of our key products. In addition, in November 2020, we entered into a development and commercialization agreement with Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN, “Myriad”) to in-license Myriad myChoice^® tumor testing in China. This test enables physicians to identify patients with tumors that have lost the ability to repair double-stranded DNA breaks, resulting in potentially increased susceptibility to DNA-damaging drugs such as platinum drugs or PARP inhibitors. We will perform this test for HRD testing in collaborative drug development studies and clinics in China.

In December 2020, we entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Oncocyte Corporation (NYSE American: OCX) to in-license DetermaRx^™, a risk stratification test for early stage lung cancer patients, in China. This test enables physicians to identify stage I-IIA non-squamous NSCLC patients at high-risk of recurrence despite ostensibly curative surgery, who may benefit from the addition of chemotherapy. We believe that DetermaRx^™ complements our products for genetic testing and MRD detection (currently under R&D) and could ultimately benefit Chinese early-stage NSCLC patients by improving their survival and quality of life.

Certifications and Regulatory Approvals

We are committed to developing and maintaining high quality standards for our laboratory and products. As part of this effort, we voluntarily sought and obtained certifications from the relevant U.S. certifying authorities. We have also obtained the NCCL certification for our central laboratory and the NMPA approval for an NGS-based reagent kit. We are the only company in China that has an NGS laboratory that has been certified by the CLIA and the NCCL and accredited by the CAP. We are also the first company in China with an NMPA-approved NGS-based reagent kit. We believe these certifications and regulatory approvals demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of our testing services.

The U.S.

We aspire to become a world-class cancer diagnostics company, and we believe an integral step to achieving this goal is for our laboratory to comply with world-class certification requirements. Accordingly, we voluntarily applied for and obtained the following certifications and accreditations:

CLIA certification. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or the CLIA, mandate specific standards in the areas of personnel qualifications, administration, and participation in proficiency testing, patient test management, quality control, quality assurance and inspections. These standards are intended to ensure that CLIA-certified laboratories’ testing services are accurate, reliable and timely. In the U.S., clinical laboratories must be CLIA-certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or the CMS, before they can accept human samples for diagnostic testing. In January 2017, our central laboratory became the first NGS laboratory in China to be CLIA-certified—one and a half years ahead of our competitors. In October 2020, we successfully renewed our CLIA certification.

CAP accreditation. The CAP accredits laboratories performing testing on specimens from human beings or animals, using methodologies and clinical application within the expertise of the program. In the U.S., the CMS has deemed CAP standards to be equal to or more stringent than CLIA regulations. Our central laboratory was accredited by the CAP in February 2019. We filed application for renewal in October 2020, which is taking longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China

Cancer genotyping is a nascent and rapidly evolving industry. Given the nature of the industry, relevant regulatory authorities in China, similar to their counterparts in the U.S., are constantly drafting and refining the regulatory requirements to implement quality management systems in the industry. We are one of the pioneers in China’s cancer genotyping industry, and have worked with regulators to share our insights on the nature of the NGS technology while seeking comprehensive approvals, setting high industry standards. We have obtained the following certifications in China:

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NCCL certification. The NCCL is the supervising authority of NGS laboratories in China. Our central laboratory in Guangzhou was the second and one of the only three NGS laboratories in China to have passed comprehensive review by the provincial centers for clinical laboratories led by the NCCL. In May 2018, we were certified by, and received NGS laboratory certification from, the Guangdong branch of the NCCL. We are in the process of renewing this certification, which expired in August 2020. The renewal of this certification is taking longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NMPA approval. We are a pioneer in our industry in seeking and obtaining the NMPA approval. In September 2016, our OncoScreen^TM Focus was the first innovative medical device in the oncology application field that was approved to enter the “Innovative Device Pathway,” a fast-track review for innovative medical device, similar to the FDA’s “Breakthrough Device Program.” In July 2018, our OncoScreen^TM Focus was approved by the NMPA and became the NMPA’s first approved NGS-based reagent kit. We plan to seek approval for more reagent kits with the NMPA.

Academic Collaborations

We seek to raise the profile of our technologies and products in China’s medical community and encourage their adoption through two principal channels: collaborations with oncology key opinion leaders—where we either collaborate with them and co-author papers or through studies conducted by oncology key opinion leaders using our products, both of which are published in leading academic journals; and collaboration with pharmaceutical companies—where we collaborate with them on targeted therapies and immunotherapies under clinical investigation.

Physicians look to peer experts and key opinion leaders in the medical community for guidance in research, diagnosis and treatment. We believe our relationships with oncology key opinion leaders, as well as the resulting peer-to-peer interaction they have generated, have been instrumental in raising the awareness of our technology platform and driving adoption of our products.

We form academic collaborations with oncology key opinion leaders where our products are used in clinical trials and research studies on cancer targeted therapies and immunotherapies, the results of which have been published in over 100 peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Annals of Oncology and other academic journals.

The table below highlights some of our publication collaborations with influential oncology key opinion leaders based on these clinical trials and research studies:

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In addition to publication collaborations, our products are also used in clinical trials and research studies conducted by oncology key opinion leaders that have resulted in peer-reviewed articles in academic journals. The table below highlights some of the clinical trials and research studies using our products that resulted in peer-reviewed articles in academic journals:

We also collaborate with oncology key opinion leaders in studies that have resulted in presentations at leading academic conferences. For example, in 2019, we have collaborated with Professor Yun Fan, who made the presentation “Integrated genomic mutation and DNA methylation analyses of non-small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases” at European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2019, which used our DNA methylation-based detection technologies. In the same year, we collaborated with Professor Lin Wu, who made the presentation “Characterization of genomic alterations in Chinese LCNEC and SCLC via comprehensive genomic profiling” at 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), which used our OncoScreen^TM IO.

In addition to collaborations with oncology key opinion leaders, we also collaborate with seven out of the top 25 oncology hospitals in China to conduct clinical trials for our products, including West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Henan Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Province Hospital and Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital.

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Collaborations with Pharmaceutical Companies

We collaborate with over 20 leading international and domestic pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials and research studies, primarily by providing central laboratory services and companion diagnostics development services. These services enable pharmaceutical companies to identify molecularly defined patient populations enrolled in specific clinical trials or to better understand how targeted oncology therapy and immunotherapy drug candidates are working on patients, which in turn guides their drug development process. In order to form collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, we must go through their rigorous quality assurance audits and technical validations to demonstrate that the design, specification and performance of our tests as well as our testing workflow meet their quality and technical requirements. Examples of such collaborations include:

AstraZeneca

Our OncoCompass^TM Target was the only NGS-based product selected by AstraZeneca for its Tagrisso (Osimertinib) Phase III diagnostic methods comparison study.

In November 2017, our OncoScreen^TM ParpMatch and OncoCompass^TM ParpMatch were selected by AstraZeneca for the Phase III clinical study of a drug candidate.

Bayer

In April 2020, we entered into an agreement with Bayer, under which we will help patients who are found to be with NTRK fusions through our NGS-based cancer therapy selection tests to get in touch with study investigators as potential candidates for clinical trials of Larotrectinib.

Johnson & Johnson

In April 2020, our OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO were selected by Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in a clinical study to conduct analysis of blood samples collected from patients with various kinds of advanced solid tumors.

CStone

In May 2018, our OncoScreen^TM IO was selected by CStone in its Phase III clinical trial of CS1001—one of CStone’s core product candidates that targets PD-L1—to detect TMB, which can potentially identify the patients who may benefit from treatment of CS1001.

In June 2020, we started a strategic partnership with CStone for the co-development and commercialization of the companion diagnostics for pralsetinib, an investigational treatment developed by CStone’s partner Blueprint Medicines, in China for the detection of RET alterations in cancer patients.

BeiGene

In the fourth quarter of 2019, we entered into an agreement with BeiGene, under which our OncoScreen^TM IO and OncoCompass^TM IO were selected to detect TMB in BeiGene’s domestic and international clinical trials for its PD-1 drug candidate.

Distribution

We pioneered a two-pronged commercial infrastructure, consisting of both central and in-hospital laboratories, to maximize market penetration and create higher barriers to entry:

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Central Laboratory Model

We began offering NGS-based cancer therapy selection services under a central laboratory model in 2014, and we have become the market leader in the central laboratory segment of China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market. Under our central laboratory model, cancer patients’ treating physicians order our cancer therapy selection tests for their patients during the diagnostic process, have the patients’ liquid biopsy or tissue samples shipped to our central laboratory in Guangzhou for testing, and design treatment plans based on our test results. Our test reports communicate the actionable genomic alterations in a patient’s cancer and match those alterations with potentially relevant treatment options, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies, according to predicted efficacy or resistance. Patients pay us for these tests with out-of-pocket payments.

We have established a dedicated sales and marketing team that focuses on expanding our brand awareness and growing our coverage of hospitals and physicians across China. Our marketing efforts for our central laboratory model include educating hospitals and physicians on the benefits of our tests and the clinical data supporting our test results. We also work with medical professional societies to promote the awareness of the clinical benefits of our tests and NGS-based cancer therapy selection in general, and we sponsor or present at medical, scientific or industry exhibitions and conferences and pursue or support scientific studies of our tests and the publication of results in academic journals.

Since our inception, over 5,120 physicians from 700 hospitals across China have ordered our cancer therapy selection tests under our central laboratory model. The table below sets forth the key operating data for our central laboratory model for the periods presented:

In-hospital Model

Despite the large and growing demand, Chinese hospitals face multiple challenges in adopting NGS-based cancer therapy selection testing in house, which has technically sophisticated workflows such as library preparation and complex data analysis and interpretation. As a result, these hospitals are in urgent need of high-performing and greatly standardized technologies and products that adhere to their rigorous quality requirements and operating protocols. Strategically focusing on the in-hospital segment of China’s cancer genotyping industry since our inception, in 2016 we became the first company in China to offer Chinese hospitals a turn-key solution and ongoing support that effectively addresses their challenges in adopting NGS-based cancer therapy selection.

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The flow chart below sets forth the key steps of our in-hospital model:

To form collaborations with partner hospitals, we must complete each partner hospitals’ rigorous onboarding process, including (i) benchmarking tests conducted by the hospitals, including comparisons of our tests against conventional cancer therapy selection methods such as PCR and FISH, as well as against those offered by other NGS-based cancer therapy selection companies, and (ii) other comprehensive assessments to evaluate our technical and service capabilities. Throughout this process, our dedicated in-hospital model sales and technical support teams, working closely with our research and development, medical support and other teams, collaborate with our partner hospitals to redesign their in-hospital laboratories, complete tender processes, source laboratory equipment and supplies, install laboratory systems and customize the hospitals’ testing workflow, data analysis and report generation—all while ensuring compliance with the hospitals’ rigorous quality and operating protocols.

Once an in-hospital laboratory is in operation, the partner hospital purchases our products to perform NGS-based cancer therapy selection on a recurring basis. We are dedicated to continuously optimizing the operations of these in-hospital laboratories and maintaining our relationships with our partner hospitals. We frequently conduct onsite visits and provide remote technical support, such as data analytics support, to ensure optimal laboratory performance. In September 2019, we launched our fully automated NGS library preparation system, Magnis BR, and associated library preparation reagents, which we co-developed with Agilent. Magnis BR and its associated reagents are particularly suitable for Chinese hospitals because they fully automate the NGS library preparation process and convert DNA samples into sequencing-ready libraries in around nine hours, which help partner hospitals streamline their testing workflow, reduce manual labor and minimize risks.

Through our strategic focus—supported by our high-quality products and industry-leading technological capabilities—we have become the market leader in the in-hospital segment of China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market. Our in-hospital model represents a stable and growing revenue stream that consists of fees from initial facilitation of the hospitals’ laboratory equipment purchases followed by recurring sales of our products.

We have partnered with 52 Class III Grade A hospitals (the highest of China’s nine-tiered hospital designation system) in 29 cities across China, to establish in-hospital laboratories. The table below sets forth the cumulative numbers of our partner hospitals as of the dates indicated:

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Operations

We primarily perform cancer therapy selection using both tissue and liquid biopsy tests under the central laboratory model in our NCCL- and CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited central laboratory in Guangzhou. Our central laboratory currently has an annual capacity of over 100,000 tests, which is expected to increase to 250,000 tests by the end of 2021 through the adoption of automation systems and laboratory expansions. We achieve a median turnaround time of six days for both of our liquid biopsy and tissue-based tests. Our test reports contain comprehensive information about the detected actionable genomic alterations and recommend targeted therapies and immunotherapies for each genomic alteration, according to predicted efficacy and resistance.

We have applied good clinical practices, or GCP, to the operations of our central laboratory. Our GCP system consists of a quality control, or QC, system, a quality assurance, or QA, system and a corrective and preventive action, or CAPA, management system. We have incorporated these comprehensive quality control measures in all stages of our testing process to ensure the high-quality, consistency, and timeliness of our testing results. We have also participated in various proficiency tests and external quality assessments for the testing services we offer, including, among others, ctDNA testing, NGS solid tumor testing, and BRCA testing and interpretation. Our industry-leading technological capabilities and QC system have resulted in our operational excellence. For example, the testing success rate of our OncoCompass^TM Target is 99.5% (represents the proportion of clinical samples tested by OncoCompass^TM Target that passed our quality control standards—including cfDNA extraction amount, pre-library quality, library quality and sequencing data quality—and therefore test reports were successfully generated), which we believe is on par with world-class genomic testing companies.

We have GMP-standard manufacturing facilities in Guangzhou for the manufacturing of our reagent kits, with an aggregate annual production capacity of 250,000 kits. We plan to substantially increase our production capacity to meet rising market demand by installing automated workstations in our manufacturing facilities. We have adopted various QC measures to ensure that we comply with all applicable regulations, standards and internal policies during the manufacturing process. In October 2018, our manufacturing facilities obtained ISO13485 certification. This ISO standard demonstrates that we have a comprehensive quality management system for the design and manufacture of medical devices.

We typically source sequencers, reagents and certain other laboratory supplies used in our laboratory operations from trading companies that procure laboratory supplies from a variety of manufacturers. We generally enter into short-term supply agreements with our suppliers on an as-needed basis, each specifying the quantity, quality, warranty, delivery and payment terms and other customary terms for the respective batch of laboratory equipment and supply we purchase. Our suppliers generally grant us a credit term of 30 to 90 days, and are responsible for the repair and maintenance of the laboratory equipment and supplies they supply.

Research and Development

Our research and development efforts are primarily focused on the following areas:

Development of, and improvement on, NGS-based cancer therapy selection products. Based on clinical market demand and scientific progress, we design a series of different panels to meet different clinical needs. In particular, we are continuously working on designing products that require lower sample input and have higher library conversion rate and shorter hands-on time. We are also working to increase the automation of NGS-based cancer therapy selection products to alleviate manual workload and improve therapy selection precision. Our bioinformatics team will continue improving our data analysis algorithms and developing our analysis pipeline. Our validation team is working on thoroughly evaluating the sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility and accuracy of each product before launch.

Development of more reagent kits for NMPA approval. We are developing a number of products targeting different cancers for the NMPA approval. For each product, we will implement strict design control process, perform analytical validation, and conform the manufacturing to GMP and ISO13485 standards. We are also developing the corresponding software solutions for these products.

Development and validation of MRD detection products. We are conducting analytical and clinical validation studies on our UMI-based liquid biopsy products for their sensitivity and utility for MRD detection, which could demonstrate clinical benefits for early-stage patients by predicting their risk of recurrence after treatment.

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Development of early cancer detection technologies and products. Building upon brELSA^TM, our targeted DNA methylation-based library preparation method, and brMERMAID^TM, our machine learning algorithm, we will keep improving the biochemistry behind our technologies to enhance background noise suppression, allowing for more accurate qualification and enabling our tests to be compatible with more sequencers, as well as improving our early detection prediction models for cancer detection sensitivity, specificity and tissue origin determination accuracy.

Development of automation solutions for current and future products. To alleviate complicated workflow for NGS-based cancer therapy selection products, we are developing multiple automation solutions to streamline the workflow and reduce human intervention and turnaround time. Solutions we are now developing include robotic liquid handling system and corresponding laboratory information management system integration to work with high, medium, and low throughput laboratory requirement.

Research and technology development on additional clinically actionable biomarkers. We are also conducting research and development on additional clinically actionable biomarkers. For example, we are developing a technology to sequence RNA samples to detect clinically significant RNA alterations, which is expected to be a useful supplement to DNA sequencing.

In 2018, 2019 and 2020, our research and development expenses was RMB105.3 million, RMB156.9 million and RMB263.9 million (US$40.5 million), respectively.

Intellectual Property

We protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, including know-how, license agreements, confidentiality agreements and procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements and other contractual rights.

Our patent strategy is focused on seeking coverage for our core technologies and specific follow-on applications, implementations for detecting and monitoring cancer by determining genomic alterations, and evaluating the status of specific biomarkers in liquid or tissue samples. In addition, we file for patent protection on our on-going research and development, particularly into early-stage cancer screening.

Our patents and patents applications are primarily related to our proprietary library preparation technologies, algorithms and laboratory equipment and processes. As of December 31, 2020, we held 16 patents in China, which will expire between 2025 and 2039. We held one patent in Hong Kong, which will expire in 2038. As of the same date, we had ten pending patent applications in China, five pending patent applications in Hong Kong, two pending patent applications in the United States, two pending patent applications in Europe, two pending patent applications in Japan, one pending patent application in Canada, one pending patent application in Brazil, one pending patent application in Singapore, one pending patent application in Australia, and five international applications strategically filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, of which one is the basis of pending registration for our MSI calling algorithms in the U.S., European Patent Office and Japan and another two are the basis of pending registration for brELSA^™, our targeted DNA-methylation based library preparation method for early cancer detection, in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and the European Patent Office.

The table below sets forth details of our key patents:

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The table below sets forth details of our key pending patent applications:

As of December 31, 2020, we have also registered four software copyrights related to our laboratory process quality control management, report automation, and sequencing result analysis.

As of December 31, 2020, we had registered 242 trademarks, including “ ”, “BURNING ROCK DX”, “ ” and product and service names, and 47 trademark applications pending in China. We also own four registered domain names, including our official website.

Competition

We are China’s number one NGS-based cancer therapy selection company. China’s cancer genotyping industry is highly competitive. Our major competitors include domestic NGS-based cancer therapy selection companies, such as AmoyDx, BGI and Geneseeq. Our competitors may have more expertise, experience and financial resources, stronger business relationships in developing and commercializing their products and services, more mature technologies, greater market adoption among physicians, patients and others in the medical community, broader test menus, or greater brand recognition than we do. We also cannot assure you that our technologies will not become obsolete if we cannot keep pace with the constantly changing technologies in the industry.

Regulation

We are subject to a variety of PRC laws, rules and regulations affecting many aspects of our business. This section summarizes the principal PRC laws, rules and regulations that we believe are relevant to our business and operations.

Regulations on Foreign Investment

Investment in China by foreign investors are regulated by the Catalog of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment, as promulgated by the MOFCOM and the NDRC on June 30, 2019, and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (2020 Edition), or the Negative List, as promulgated on June 23, 2020. Industries not listed in the Negative List are generally permitted and open to foreign investment, unless specifically prohibited or restricted by the PRC laws and regulations. According to the Negative List, foreign investors are permitted to access to the medical device industry, whereas foreign investors are prohibited from investing in businesses involving the development and application of genomic diagnosis and treatment technology.

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In addition, a foreign-invested enterprise in the PRC is required to comply with other regulations on its incorporation, operation and changes. On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress adopted the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, which became effective on January 1, 2020. Pursuant to the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, China will grant national treatment to foreign invested entities, except for those foreign invested entities that operate in industries that fall within “restricted” or “prohibited” categories as prescribed in the Negative List to be released or approved by the State Council.

On December 26, 2019, the State Council promulgated the Implementation Rules to the Foreign Investment Law, which became effective on January 1, 2020. The implementation rules further clarify that the state encourages and promotes foreign investment, protects the lawful rights and interests of foreign investors, regulates foreign investment administration, continues to optimize foreign investment environment, and advances a higher-level opening. On December 30, 2019, the MOFCOM and SAMR jointly promulgated the Measures for Information Reporting on Foreign Investment, which became effective on January 1, 2020. Pursuant to the Measures for Information Reporting on Foreign Investment, where a foreign investor carries out investment activities in China directly or indirectly, the foreign investor or the foreign-invested enterprise shall submit the investment information to the competent commerce department.

Regulations on Human Genetic Resources

Regulation on the Management of Human Genetic Resources

The Regulation on the Management of Human Genetic Resources, as promulgated by the State Council on June 10, 2019 and effective on July 1, 2019, regulates the collection, preservation, usage and external provision of China’s human genetic resources. According to this regulation, “human genetic resource” includes human genetic resource materials and information. Human genetic resource materials refer to organs, tissues, cells and other genetic materials containing human genome, genes and other genetic materials. Human genetic resource information refers to information, such as data, generated by human genetic resources materials. The Administrative Department of Science and Technology under the State Council is responsible for the management of human genetic resources at the national level, and the administrative departments of science and technology under the provincial governments are responsible for the management of human genetic resources at local level and are vertically directed by the central government. Foreign entities, individuals and such entities established or actually controlled thereby are not allowed to collect or preserve China’s human genetic resources (including organs, tissues, cells and other genetic materials of human genome and gene) or provide human genetic resources abroad, while they are prohibited from using China’s human genetic resources unless they have obtained an approval from relevant PRC government authority or have filed with relevant government authority for international cooperation with a Chinese entity.

Biosecurity Law

On October 17, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Biosecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Biosecurity Law, which will become effective on April 15, 2021. The Biosecurity Law establishes an integrated system to regulate biosecurity related activities in China, including the security regulation of HGR and biological resources. The Biosecurity Law for the first time expressly declares that China has sovereignty over its HGR, and further endorsed the Regulation on the Management of Human Genetic Resources, as promulgated by the State Council on June 10, 2019 by recognizing the fundamental regulatory principles and systems established by it over the utilization of Chinese HGR by foreign entities in China. Although the Biosecurity Law does not provide any specific new regulatory requirements for HGR, because it is a law adopted by China’s highest legislative authority, it gives China’s major regulatory authority of HGR, the Ministry of Science and Technology, significantly more power and discretion to regulate HGR, and it is expected that the overall regulatory landscape of Chinese HGR will evolve and become even more rigorous and sophisticated. Failure to comply with the requirement under the Biosecurity Law will result in the penalties, including fines, suspension of related activities and confiscation of related HGR and gains generated from conducting these activities.

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Regulation on Medical Institutions and Medical Devices

Regulatory Authorities

The newly formed NMPA under the State Administration for Market Regulation is the government authority that monitors and supervises the administration of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and cosmetics. The NMPA’s predecessor, the CFDA, was established in March 2013 and separated from the Ministry of Health of the PRC, or the MOH, as part of an institutional reform of the State Council. Predecessors of the NMPA also include the former State Food and Drug Administration, or the SFDA, which was established in March 2003 and the State Drug Administration, or the SDA, that was established in August 1998. The primary responsibilities of the NMPA include:

The National Health and Family Planning Commission, or the NHFPC, has been renamed as the National Health Commission, or the NHC. The NHC is an authority at the ministerial level under the State Council and is primarily responsible for national public health. The NHC combines the responsibilities of the former NHFPC, the Leading Group Overseeing Medical and Healthcare Reform under the State Council, the China National Working Commission on Aging, partial responsibilities of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in relation to tobacco control, and partial responsibilities from the State Administration of Work Safety in relation to occupational safety. The predecessor of NHFPC is the MOH. Following the establishment of the SFDA in 2003, the MOH was put in charge of the overall administration of national health in the PRC excluding the pharmaceutical industry.

Medical Institutions Laws and Regulations

The Regulation on the Administration of Medical Institutions as promulgated by the State Council in 1994 and revised in 2016 provides the requirements for the establishment and administration of medical institutions. The establishment of medical institutions must comply with local governments’ plans for the establishment of medical institutions and the basic standards for medical institutions. To establish a medical institution, an entity or individual will be subject to the examination and approval of the health administrative department of the local government at or above the county level. A medical institution providing medical services must register and obtain a Medical Institution Practice License. An entity or individual that has not obtained a Medical Institution Practice License may not carry out diagnosis or treatment activities. The revised Rules for Implementation of the Administrative Regulation on Medical Institutions, as promulgated by the NHFPC in February 2017, further regulates the approval on the establishment, registration, validation and practice of medical institutions.

Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of our VIE, obtained a Medical Institution Practice License in September 2017, with a five-year validity from March 2015 to March 2020. This license was renewed in February 2020, and the renewed license has a five-year validity until February 2025.

The Measures for the Administration of Clinical Testing Laboratories in Medical Institutions, which was promulgated by the MOH in February 2006 and became effective in June 2006, provides regulations on the examination, establishment, quality management and safety practice of clinical testing laboratories in medical institutions.

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The Measures for the Administration of Clinical Gene Amplification Testing Laboratories in Medical Institutions, as promulgated by the MOH in December 2010, provides the requirements for medical institutions to carry out clinical gene amplification test techniques. A clinical gene amplification testing laboratory refers to a laboratory that detects specific DNA or RNA by amplification to perform disease diagnosis, treatment monitoring and prognosis determination. The MOH is responsible for supervising and administering clinical gene amplification testing laboratories in medical institutions nationwide. The health administrative authorities at the provincial level are responsible for supervising and administering clinical gene amplification testing laboratories in medical institutions within their respective administrative regions. This regulation also provides the examination and establishment of clinical gene amplification testing laboratories, laboratory quality management and laboratory supervision and management.

The Notice for the Basic Standards for Clinical Testing Laboratories (for Trial Implementation), as promulgated by the NHFPC in July 2016, further provides the standards and requirements for clinical testing laboratories.

The Notice for the Further Administration of Clinical Gene Amplification Testing Laboratories in Medical Institutions as promulgated by the Guangdong Health Department in September 2012 provides that medical institutions carrying out clinical gene amplification test techniques must apply for technical access from the Guangdong Health Department, and the Guangdong Clinical Laboratory Center is authorized as the technical auditing institution of clinical gene amplification testing technology.

The Notice for the Further Administration of Department Office and Medical Technology in Clinical Institutions, as promulgated by the Guangdong Health Department in May 2016, further provides for the management of medical technology. Clinical gene amplification testing technology, as a limited medical technology, is subject to the examination and approval of the Guangdong Health Department.

Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of our VIE, obtained its Certificate of Clinical Gene Amplification Testing Laboratory in August 2015, with a five-year validity from August 2015 to August 2020. As of the date of this annual report, we are in the process of renewing such certificate, which is taking longer than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd. obtained its Certificate of High Throughput Sequencing Testing Laboratory in May 2018, with a five-year validity from May 2018 to May 2023.

Medical Devices Administration Laws and Regulations

According to the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Products and Technologies Related to Clinical Use of Gene Sequencing, as promulgated by the CFDA and NHFPC in February 2014, gene sequencing diagnostic products (including gene sequencer and related diagnostic reagents and software) are regulated as medical devices and must be registered pursuant to relevant regulations.

The Regulation on the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices, as amended by the State Council in May 2017, regulates entities that engage in the research and development, production, operation, use, supervision and administration of medical devices in the PRC. Medical devices are classified according to their risk levels. Class I medical devices are medical devices with low risks, and the safety and effectiveness of which can be ensured through routine administration. Class II medical devices are medical devices with moderate risks, which are strictly controlled and administered to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Class III medical devices are medical devices with relatively high risks, which are strictly controlled and administered through special measures to ensure their safety and effectiveness. The evaluation of the risk levels of medical devices take into consideration the medical devices’ objectives, structural features, methods of use and other factors. Registration certificates are required for Class II and Class III medical devices. The classification of specific medical devices is stipulated in the Medical Device Classification Catalog, which was issued by the CFDA on August 31, 2017 and became executive on August 1, 2018.

The Administrative Measures for the Registration of Medical Devices, or the Medical Devices Registration Measures, as promulgated by the CFDA in October 2014, provide that Class I medical devices are subject to record-filing, while Class II and Class III medical devices are subject to registration. According to the Medical Devices Registration Measures, the registration and record-filing of IVD reagents that are regulated as medical devices are governed by the Administrative Measures for the Registration of IVD Reagents, which was first promulgated by the CFDA and took effect on July 30, 2014, and amended on January 25, 2017. Pursuant to the Administrative Measures for the Registration of IVD Reagents, Class I IVD reagents are subject to filing, and Class II and Class III IVD reagents are subject to inspection, approval and registration.

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According to the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Evaluation and Approval System and Inspiring Innovation of Drugs and Medical Devices, the evaluation and approval for the application of innovative medical devices will be prioritized. In November 2018, the NMPA released the Special Review Procedures for Innovative Medical Devices, which provides that the NMPA will prioritize applications for qualified innovative medical devices. These rules specify requirements for the application of innovative medical devices, including certificates, intellectual property, process and results of product research and development and other technical documents.

The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Manufacture of Medical Devices, as promulgated by the CFDA in November 2017, regulates entities that engage in the manufacturing of medical devices in the PRC. The food and drug administration authorities at or above the county level regulate medical device manufacturing within their administrative regions, including manufacturing-related licensing and registration, contract manufacturing and manufacturing quality controls. Production permits are required for the manufacture of Class II and Class III medical devices. A medical device production license is valid for five years, which may be extended upon expiration in accordance with relevant administrative provisions. Medical device manufacturers are not required to obtain a medical device operation license to sell their self-manufactured products.

The Good Manufacturing Practice Rules for Medical Devices, as promulgated by the CFDA on December 29, 2014 and effective on March 1, 2015, provide basic principles for quality control systems for medical devices manufacturing, and these rules are applicable to the entire process of design and development, production, sales and post-sale services of medical devices.

The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Business Operation of Medical Devices, as promulgated by the CFDA in November 2017, regulates entities conducting the business operation of medical devices in the PRC. Medical devices are assigned to one of three regulatory classes based on the level of control necessary to assure the safety and effectiveness of the device. Business activities involving medical devices are regulated in accordance with the classification of each of the medical devices. No registration or license is required for business activities involving Class I medical devices. Registration is required for business activities involving Class II medical devices, and licenses are required for business activities involving Class III medical devices. A medical device operation license is valid for five years, which may be extended upon expiration in accordance with relevant administrative provisions. Medical devices manufacturing enterprises engaging in the sale of self-produced products are not required to obtain a medical device operation license.

According to the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices, entities are prohibited from using or operating unregistered, expired, invalid or obsolete medical devices or those without a certificate of conformity.

Pursuant to the Notice on Strengthening the Administration of Import and Use of Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, as promulgated by the CFDA in October 2010, medical institutions may only purchase qualified medical devices from enterprises with a medical device manufacture license or a medical device operation license.

Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of our VIE, obtained Class I medical devices record-filing certificates for our general kit for sequencing reaction, nucleic acid extraction or purification reagent, sequencing kit for gene sequencing and library kit for gene sequencing (DNA interruption linking) in May 2016, January 2017, April 2017 and December 2017, respectively. Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd. also obtained a Class III medical device registration certificate for our human EGFR/ALK/BRAF/KRAS fusion gene mutation detection kit (reversible termination sequencing) and mutation gene analysis software for non-small cell lung cancer in July 2018 and August 2019, respectively.

Guangzhou Burning Rock Dx Co., Ltd. obtained a Class III medical device manufacture license for our human EGFR/ALK/BRAF/KRAS fusion gene mutation detection kit (reversible termination sequencing) in August 2018, with a term of five years.

Guangzhou Burning Rock Medical Devices Co., Ltd. obtained a medical device operation license for Class III medical devices in April 2016, with a term of five years.

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Medical Devices Subject to Cold Chain Management

According to the Guidelines for Cold Chain (Transport & Storage) Management of Medical Devices, as promulgated by the CFDA in September 2016, medical devices subject to cold chain management, such as our reagent kits, are medical devices requiring refrigeration and frozen management in the process of transportation and storage in accordance with relevant instructions and labels. Medical device manufacturers and wholesalers must equip with cold storage, refrigerated vehicles and containers, and other facilities and equipment, which fit the variety and scale of the medical devices they produce or operate. To ensure proper temperature control during transportation, operators must choose a reasonable means of transportation, and take adequate temperature control measures based on transportation conditions, which, among others, include the quantity of medical devices subject to cold-chain management, the distance and time requirements, and the temperature requirements. Operators who engage third-party carriers must examine the carrier’s qualifications and capabilities, and enter into relevant agency agreements for transportation.

Tendering Processes for Medical Devices

The Chinese government has implemented measures to encourage pooled procurement of expensive medical consumables through tendering processes. In June 2007, MOH issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Centralized Procurement of Medical Devices, which requires that all non-profit medical institutions established by local governments, associations or state-owned enterprises participate in the centralized procurement. Public tendering will be the principal method for centralized procurement.

Policies on NGS-based Cancer Therapy Selection

In recent years, China has introduced a series of policies that support the development of NGS-based cancer therapy selection. The table below presents a selection of these policies introduced by relevant governmental authorities in China from 2014 to 2020:

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Other Significant PRC Regulations Affecting Our Business Activities

Commercial Bribery Regulations

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which became effective on December 1, 1993 and was amended on November 4, 2017 and April 23, 2019, respectively, with the most recent amendment coming into force on January 1, 2018. The Anti-Unfair Competition Law provides that a business operator commits a crime if it offers money or any other bribes in the course of selling or purchasing products.

Medical device companies involved in criminal investigations or administrative proceedings related to bribery are listed in the Adverse Records of Commercial Briberies by their respective provincial health and family planning administrative departments. Pursuant to the Provisions on the Establishment of Adverse Records of Commercial Briberies in the Medicine Purchase and Sales Industry, which became effective on March 1, 2014, provincial health and family planning administrative departments are responsible for formulating the implementing measures for the establishment of Adverse Records of Commercial Briberies. If a company is listed in the Adverse Records of Commercial Briberies for the first time, its products may not be purchased by public medical institutions. A company will not be penalized by the relevant PRC government authorities merely by virtue of having contractual relationships with sales agents or third-party promoters who are engaged in bribery activities, so long as such company and its employees are not utilizing the sales agents or third-party promoters for the implementation of, or acting in conjunction with them in, the prohibited bribery activities. In addition, a company is under no legal obligation to monitor the operating activities of its sales agents and third-party promoters, and will not be subject to penalties or sanctions by relevant PRC government authorities as a result of failure to monitor their operating activities.

Product Liability Regulations

In addition to a strict new medical products approval process, certain PRC laws have been promulgated to protect the rights of consumers and to strengthen the control of medical products in China. Under current PRC law, manufacturers and vendors of defective products in China may incur liability for loss and injury caused by such products. Pursuant to the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC promulgated on April 12, 1986 and amended on August 27, 2009, a defective product that causes property damage or physical injury to any person may subject the manufacturer or vendor of that product to civil liability for such damage or injury. On May 28, 2020, the Third Session of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the Civil Code of the PRC which took effect on January 1, 2021, and replaced the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC. The Civil Code of the PRC provides that the defective product that causes any property damage or physical injury to any person may subject the manufacturer or vendor of that product to civil liability for such damage or injury.

On February 22, 1993, the Product Quality Law of the PRC, or the Product Quality Law, was promulgated to supplement the Civil Law of the PRC aiming to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the end-users and consumers and to strengthen the supervision and control of the quality of products. The Product Quality Law was revised by the National People’s Congress on July 8, 2000, August 27, 2009 and December 29, 2018. Pursuant to the revised Product Quality Law, manufacturers who produce defective products may be subject to civil or criminal liability and have their business licenses revoked.

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The Law of the PRC on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers was promulgated on October 31, 1993 and was amended on August 27, 2009 and October 25, 2013 to protect consumers’ rights when they purchase or use goods and accept services. All business operators must comply with this law when they manufacture or sell goods and/or provide services to customers. Under the amendments made on October 25, 2013, all business operators must pay high attention to protecting customers’ privacy and must strictly keep confidential any consumer information they obtain during their business operations. In addition, in extreme situations, pharmaceutical product manufacturers and operators may be subject to criminal liability if their goods or services lead to the death or injuries of customers or other third parties.

We are not aware of any material product liability related litigation or other legal proceedings against us arising from the gene testing products or services that we provide to our customers.

Law of PRC Tort Liabilities

On May 28, 2020, the Third Session of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the Civil Code of the PRC which took effect on January 1, 2021, and replaced the Tort Law of the PRC. Under the Civil Code of the PRC, if damages to persons are caused by defective products due to the fault of a third party, such as the parties providing transportation or warehousing services, the producers and the sellers of the products have a right to recover their respective losses from such third parties. If defective products are identified after they have been distributed, the producers or the sellers must take remedial measures, such as issuance of a warning or recall of products, in a timely manner. The producers or the sellers will be liable under tort if they fail to take remedial measures in a timely manner or have not made efforts to take remedial measures, thus causing damages. If the products are produced or sold with known defects and cause deaths or severe adverse health issues, the infringed party has a right to claim punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Intellectual Property Laws and Regulations

China has made substantial efforts to promulgate comprehensive legislation governing intellectual property rights, including laws and regulations on patents, trademarks, copyrights and domain names.

Patents

Pursuant to the PRC Patent Law, most recently amended in October 2020, and its implementation rules, most recently amended in January 2010, patents in China fall into three categories: invention, utility model and design. An invention patent is granted to a new technical solution proposed in respect of a product or method or an improvement of a product or method. A utility model is granted to a new technical solution that is practicable for application and proposed in respect of the shape, structure (or a combination of both) of a product. A design patent is granted to a new design of a certain product in shape (overall or partial), pattern (or a combination of both) and in color, shape and pattern combinations aesthetically suitable for industrial application. Under the PRC Patent Law, the term of patent protection starts from the date of application. Patents relating to invention are effective for twenty years, and utility model and design patents are effective for ten years from the date of application. The PRC Patent Law adopts the principle of “first-to-file” system, which provides that where more than one person files a patent application for the same invention, a patent will be granted to the person who first files the application.

Existing patents can be narrowed, invalidated or unenforceable due to a variety of grounds, including lack of novelty, creativity, and deficiencies in patent application. In China, a patent must have novelty, creativity and practical applicability. Under the PRC Patent Law, novelty means that before a patent application is filed, no identical invention or utility model has been publicly disclosed in any publication in China or overseas or has been publicly used or made known to the public by any other means, whether in or outside of China, nor has any other person filed with the patent authority an application that describes an identical invention or utility model and is recorded in patent application documents or patent documents published after the filing date. Creativity means that, compared with existing technology, an invention has prominent substantial features and represents notable progress, and a utility model has substantial features and represents any progress. Practical applicability means an invention or utility model can be manufactured or used and may produce positive results. Patents in China are filed with the State Intellectual Property Office, or SIPO. Normally, the SIPO publishes an application for an invention patent within 18 months after the filing date, which may be shortened at the request of applicant. The applicant must apply to the SIPO for a substantive examination within three years from the date of application.

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The PRC Patent Law provides that, for an invention or utility model completed in China, any applicant (not limited to Chinese companies and individuals), before filing a patent application outside of China, must first submit it to the SIPO for a confidential examination. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the denial of any Chinese patent for the relevant invention. This added requirement of confidential examination by the SIPO has raised concerns by foreign companies that conduct research and development activities in China or outsource research and development activities to service providers in China.

Patent Enforcement

Unauthorized use of patents without consent from owners of patents, forgery of patents belonging to other persons, or engaging in other patent infringement acts, will subject the infringers to infringement liability. Serious offenses such as forgery of patents may be subject to criminal penalties.

When a dispute arises out of the infringement of a patent owner’s patent rights, PRC law requires that the parties first attempt to settle the dispute through mutual consultation. However, if the dispute cannot be settled through mutual consultation, the patent owner, or an interested party who believes the patent is being infringed, may either file a civil legal suit or file an administrative complaint with the relevant patent administration authority. A Chinese court may issue a preliminary injunction upon the request of the patent owner or an interested party before instituting any legal proceedings or during the proceedings. Damages for infringement are calculated as the loss suffered by the patent holder arising from the infringement, and if the loss suffered by the patent holder arising from the infringement cannot be determined, the damages for infringement are calculated as the benefit gained by the infringer from the infringement. If it is difficult to ascertain damages in this manner, damages may be determined using a reasonable multiple of the license fee under a contractual license. Statutory damages may be awarded in circumstances where damages cannot be determined by the calculation standards described above. The damage calculation methods will be applied in the order described above. Generally, a patent owner has the burden of proving that the patent is being infringed. However, if the owner of an invention patent for manufacturing process of a new product alleges infringement of its patent, the alleged infringer has the burden of proof.

As of December 31, 2020, we held 16 patents in China, which will expire between 2025 and 2039. We held one patent in Hong Kong, which will expire in 2038. As of the same date, we had ten pending patent applications in China, five pending patent applications in Hong Kong, two pending patent applications in the United States, two pending patent applications in Europe, two pending patent applications in Japan, one pending patent application in Canada, one pending patent application in Brazil, one pending patent application in Singapore, one pending patent application in Australia, and five international applications strategically filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, of which one is the basis of pending registration for our MSI calling algorithms in the U.S., European Patent Office and Japan and another two are the basis of pending registration for brELSA^™, our targeted DNA-methylation based library preparation method for early cancer detection, in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and the European Patent Office.

Trade Secrets

According to the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the term “trade secrets” refers to technical and business information that is unknown to the public, has utility and may create business interests or profits for its legal owners or holders, and is maintained as a secret by its legal owners or holders.

Under the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which was promulgated on September 2, 1993 and was amended on November 4, 2017 and April 23, 2019, respectively, business persons are prohibited from infringing others’ trade secrets by: (1) obtaining the trade secrets from the legal owners or holders by any unfair methods such as theft, bribery, intimidation, solicitation or coercion; (2) disclosing, using or permitting others to use the trade secrets obtained illegally under item (1) above; (3) disclosing, using or permitting others to use the trade secrets in violation of any contractual agreements or any confidentiality obligation or the requirements of the legal owners or holders to keep such trade secrets in confidence; or (4) abetting a person, or tempting, or aiding a person into or in acquiring, disclosing, using, or allowing another person to use the trade secret of the right holder in violation of his or her non-disclosure obligation or the requirements of the right holder for keeping the trade secret confidential. If a third party knows or should have known that an employee or former employee of the right owner of trade secrets or any other entity or individual conducts any of the illegal acts listed above, but still accepts, publishes, uses or allows any other to use such secrets, this practice will be deemed as an infringement of trade secrets. A party whose trade secrets are being misappropriated may petition for administrative corrections, and regulatory authorities may stop any illegal activities and fine infringing parties in the amount of RMB100,000 to RMB1,000,000, and where the circumstance is serious, the fine will be RMB500,000 to RMB5,000,000. Alternatively, persons whose trade secrets are being misappropriated may file lawsuits in a Chinese court for loss and damages incurred due to the misappropriation.

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The measures to protect trade secrets include oral or written non-disclosure agreements or other reasonable measures to require the employees of, or persons in business contact with, legal owners or holders to keep trade secrets confidential. Once the legal owners or holders have asked others to keep trade secrets confidential and have adopted reasonable protection measures, the requested persons bear the responsibility for keeping the trade secrets confidential.

Trademarks

The PRC Trademark Law and its implementation rules protect registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Office of State Administration of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the registration and administration of trademarks throughout the PRC. The Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. As of December 31, 2020, we had 242 registered trademarks and 47 pending trademark applications in the PRC.

Copyright

Pursuant to the Copyright Law of the PRC, as amended, copyrights include personal rights such as the right of publication and that of attribution as well as property rights such as the rights of production and distribution. Reproducing, distributing, performing, projecting, broadcasting or compiling a work or communicating the same to the public via an information network without permission from the owner of the copyright therein, unless otherwise provided in the Copyright Law of the PRC, constitutes infringements of copyrights. The infringer must, according to the circumstances of the case, undertake to cease the infringement, take remedial action, and offer an apology or pay damages.

Pursuant to the Computer Software Copyright Protection Regulations promulgated on December 20, 2001 and amended in January 8, 2011 and January 30, 2013, a software copyright owner may complete registration formalities with a software registration authority recognized by the State Council’s copyright administrative department. A software copyright owner may authorize others to exercise that copyright, and is entitled to receive remuneration. As of December 31, 2020, we had four software copyrights.

Domain Names

Domain names are protected under the Administrative Measures on the Internet Domain Names promulgated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is the main regulatory body responsible for the administration of PRC internet domain names. As of December 31, 2020, we had four registered domain names, including our official website.

PRC Regulation on Data Protection

The Basic Standards for Medical Laboratories (for Trial Implementation), as promulgated by the NHFPC in 2016, provides that medical laboratories must establish information management and patient privacy protection policies. The Measures for the Administration of General Population Health Information (for Trial Implementation) as promulgated by the NHFPC in 2014 sets forth the operational measures for patient privacy protection in medical institutions. The measures regulate the collection, use, management, safety and privacy protection of general population health information by medical institutions. Medical institutions must establish information management departments responsible for general population health information and establish quality control procedures and relevant information systems to manage this information. Medical institutions must adopt stringent procedures to verify the general population health data collected, timely update and maintain the data, establish policies on the authorized use of this information, and establish safety protection systems, policies, practice and technical guidance to avoid divulging confidential or private information.

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To comply with these laws and regulations, we have required our customers and research partners to consent to, or obtain consent from the tested individuals to, our collection and use of their personal information for our genetic tests. We have also established information security systems to protect tested individuals’ privacy, including data access restrictions and monitoring, data storage, database encryption and backup procedures.

PRC Regulation on Labor Protection

Under the Labor Law of the PRC, effective on January 1, 1995 and subsequently amended on August 27, 2009 and December 29, 2018, the PRC Employment Contract Law, effective on January 1, 2008 and subsequently amended on December 28, 2012 and the Implementing Regulations of the Employment Contract Law, effective on September 18, 2008, employers must establish a comprehensive management system to protect the rights of their employees, including a system governing occupational health and safety to provide employees with occupational training to prevent occupational injury. Employers are also required to truthfully inform prospective employees of the job description, working conditions, location, occupational hazards and status of safe production as well as remuneration and other conditions as requested by the Labor Contract Law of the PRC.

Pursuant to the Law of Manufacturing Safety of the PRC, effective on November 1, 2002 and amended on August 27, 2009 and August 31, 2014, manufacturers must establish a comprehensive management system to ensure manufacturing safety in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, national standards, and industrial standards. Manufacturers not meeting relevant legal requirements are not permitted to commence manufacturing activities.

Pursuant to the Administrative Measures Governing the Production Quality of Pharmaceutical Products effective on March 1, 2011, manufacturers of pharmaceutical products must establish production safety and labor protection measures in connection with the operation of their manufacturing equipment and manufacturing process.

Pursuant to applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, including the Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011 and amended on December 29, 2018, the Interim Regulations on the Collection and Payment of Social Security Funds, which became effective on January 22, 1999 and amended on March 24, 2019, the Interim Measures concerning the Maternity Insurance of Employees, which become effective on January 1, 1995, and the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance, which became effective on January 1, 2004 and was subsequently amended on December 20, 2010, employers must contribute, on behalf of their employees, to a number of social security funds, including funds for basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, basic medical insurance, work-related injury insurance and maternity insurance. If an employer fails to make social insurance contributions timely and in full, the social insurance collecting authority will order the employer to make up outstanding contributions within the prescribed time period and impose a late payment fee at the rate of 0.05% per day from the date on which the contribution becomes due. If such an employer fails to make the overdue contributions within the time limit, the relevant administrative department may impose a fine equivalent to one to three times the overdue amount.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Offshore Investment by PRC Residents

In July 2014, SAFE issued SAFE Circular 37 and its implementation guidelines. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 and its implementation guidelines, PRC residents (including PRC institutions and individuals) must register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment in an overseas special purpose vehicle, or SPV, directly established or indirectly controlled by PRC residents for the purposes of offshore investment and financing with their legally owned assets or interests in domestic enterprises, or their legally owned offshore assets or interests. PRC residents required to make these registrations are also required to amend their registrations with SAFE when there is a change to the basic information of the SPV, such as changes of a PRC resident individual shareholder, the name or operating period of the SPV, or when there is a significant change to the SPV, such as changes of the PRC individual resident’s increase or decrease of its capital contribution in the SPV, or any share transfer or exchange, merger, division of the SPV. In February 2015, SAFE further promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Simplifying and Improving Policies for the Foreign Exchange Administration of Direct Investment, or the SAFE Circular 13, effective June 2015. SAFE Circular 13 amends SAFE Circular 37 by requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than the SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant onshore company, including the payment of dividends and other distributions to its offshore parent or affiliate, the capital inflow from the offshore entities and settlement of foreign exchange capital, and may also subject relevant onshore company or PRC residents to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations.

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Regulations Relating to Employee Stock Incentive Plan

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Rules. In accordance with the Stock Option Rules and relevant rules and regulations, PRC citizens or non-PRC citizens residing in China for a continuous period of not less than one year, who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, must register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain procedures. We and our employees who are PRC citizens or who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year and who participate in our stock incentive plan will be subject to these regulations. In addition, the SAT has issued circulars concerning employee share options or restricted shares. Under these circulars, employees working in the PRC who exercise share options, or whose restricted shares vest, will be subject to PRC individual income tax, or the IIT. The PRC subsidiaries of an overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold IIT of these employees related to their share options or restricted shares. If the employees fail to pay, or the PRC subsidiaries fail to withhold, their IIT in accordance with relevant laws, rules and regulations, the PRC subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.

Regulations Relating to Dividend Distributions

The principal regulations governing distributions of dividends paid by wholly foreign-owned enterprises include:

Under these laws and regulations, foreign-invested enterprises in China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profit (based on PRC accounting standards) each year to its general reserves until the accumulative amount of such reserves reach 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. A foreign-invested enterprise has the discretion to allocate a portion of its after-tax profits to staff welfare and bonus funds. A PRC company may not distribute any profits until any losses from prior fiscal years have been offset. Profits retained from prior fiscal years may be distributed together with distributable profits from the current fiscal year.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange

The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, most recently amended in August 2008. Under the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of foreign currency-denominated loans.

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In August 2008, SAFE issued the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular No. 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency-registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular No. 142 provides that RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the enterprise’s business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within China. SAFE also strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of foreign-invested enterprises. The use of such Renminbi capital may not be changed without SAFE’s approval, and such Renminbi capital may not in any case be used to repay Renminbi loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. In March 2015, SAFE issued SAFE Circular No. 19, which took effective and replaced SAFE Circular No. 142 on June 1, 2015. Although SAFE Circular No. 19 allows for the use of Renminbi converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital for equity investments in China, the restrictions continue to apply as to foreign-invested enterprises’ use of the converted Renminbi for purposes beyond the business scope, for entrusted loans or for inter-company Renminbi loans. SAFE promulgated the Notice of the SAFE on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue Renminbi entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to issue loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 or Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties.

In November 2012, SAFE promulgated the Circular of Further Improving and Adjusting Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Foreign Direct Investment, which substantially amended and simplified foreign exchange procedures. Pursuant to this circular, the opening of various special purpose foreign exchange accounts (e.g., pre-establishment expenses accounts, foreign exchange capital accounts and guarantee accounts), the reinvestment of lawful incomes derived by foreign investors in China (e.g. profit, proceeds of equity transfer, capital reduction, liquidation and early repatriation of investment), and purchase and remittance of foreign exchange as a result of capital reduction, liquidation, early repatriation or share transfer in a foreign-invested enterprise no longer require SAFE approval, and multiple capital accounts for the same entity may be opened in different provinces, which was not previously permitted. In addition, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Printing and Distributing the Provisions on Foreign Exchange Administration over Domestic Direct Investment by Foreign Investors and the Supporting Documents in May 2013 and amended in October 2018, which specifies that the administration by SAFE or its local branches over direct investment by foreign investors in the PRC shall be conducted by way of registration and banks shall process foreign exchange business relating to the direct investment in China based on the registration information provided by SAFE and its branches.

Furthermore, SAFE Circular No. 13 delegates the authority to enforce the foreign exchange registration in connection with the inbound and outbound direct investment under relevant SAFE rules to certain banks and therefore further simplifies the foreign exchange registration procedures for inbound and outbound direct investment.

Regulations on Enterprise Income Tax

Pursuant to the EIT Law effective as of January 2008 and as last amended in December 2018, the income tax rate for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises is 25% with certain exceptions. To clarify certain provisions in the EIT Law, the State Council promulgated the Implementation Rules of the EIT Law in December 2007, which became effective in January 2008 and as amended in April 2019. Under the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules of the EIT Law, enterprises are classified as either “resident enterprises” or “non-resident enterprises.” Besides enterprises established within the PRC, enterprises established outside of China whose “de facto management bodies” are located in China are considered “resident enterprises” and are subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate for their global income. In addition, the EIT Law provides that a non-resident enterprise refers to an entity established under foreign law whose “de facto management body” is not within the PRC, but has an establishment or place of business in the PRC, or does not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC but has income sourced within the PRC.

The Implementation Rules of the EIT Law provide that since January 2008, an income tax rate of 10% will normally be applicable to dividends declared to non-PRC resident enterprise investors that do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC, or have such establishment or place of business but the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. The income tax on dividends may be reduced pursuant to a tax treaty between China and the jurisdictions in which the non-PRC shareholders reside.

Other PRC National- and Provincial-Level Laws and Regulations

We are subject to changing regulations under many other laws and regulations administered by governmental authorities at the national, provincial and municipal levels, some of which are or may become applicable to our business. These laws and regulations governing both the disclosure and the use of confidential patient medical information may become more restrictive.

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We also comply with numerous additional national and provincial laws relating to matters such as safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, environmental protection and fire hazard control in all material aspects. We believe that we are currently in compliance with these laws and regulations; however, we may be required to incur significant costs to comply with these laws and regulations in the future. Unanticipated changes in existing regulatory requirements or adoption of new requirements could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The chart below sets forth our corporate structure and identifies our principal subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report:

Contractual Arrangements

Investment in China by foreign investors is subject to certain restriction under PRC laws and regulations, in particular, the Catalog of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment, and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (2020 Edition), or the Negative List. Industries not listed in the Negative List are generally permitted and open to foreign investment, unless specifically prohibited or restricted by the PRC laws and regulations. While foreign investors are given access to the medical device industry according to Negative list, foreign ownership is prohibited in businesses involving the development and application of genomic diagnosis and treatment technology. We are a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and, as a result, our subsidiaries in China are considered foreign-owned enterprises. To comply with the PRC laws and regulations described above, we primarily conduct our business in China through our VIE and its subsidiaries in China, based on a series of contractual arrangements among the VIE, its shareholders and our WFOE.

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Agreement that Allows Us to Receive Economic Benefits from the VIE

Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

Pursuant to the exclusive business cooperation agreement, as amended and restated on October 21, 2019, which was entered into between the WFOE and the VIE, WFOE or its designated party has the exclusive right to provide the VIE with business support, technology service, consulting service and other services. In exchange for these services, the VIE will pay a service fee, equal to the VIE’s profit before tax, after recovering any accumulated losses of the VIE and its subsidiaries from the preceding fiscal year, and deducting working capital, expenses, tax and a reasonable amount of operating profit according to applicable tax law principles and tax practice. Without the prior written consent of the WFOE, the VIE may not accept any services covered by this agreement from any third party, and may not cooperate with any third party in respect of the same. The WFOE will exclusively own the proprietary rights, ownership, interests and intellectual property rights produced or created in connection with the performance of this agreement. Unless terminated by the WFOE, this agreement will remain effective for ten years. The WFOE may at its sole discretion unilaterally extend the term of this agreement prior to its expiration upon notice to the VIE.

Agreement that Provides Us with Options to Purchase the Equity Interests in and Assets of the VIE

Exclusive Option Agreement

Pursuant to the exclusive option agreement, as amended and restated on October 21, 2019, which was entered into among the WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders, the shareholders of the VIE have irrevocably and unconditionally granted the WFOE or its designated party an exclusive option, where permitted by the PRC law, to purchase all or any portion of their respective equity interests in the VIE. The purchase price for any equity interest upon exercise of this option will be calculated as then registered capital of the VIE multiplied by the percentage of such equity interest in proportion to the total equity of the VIE. However, if applicable PRC law contains compulsory requirement regarding transfer of equity interest, the WFOE or any third party designated by the WFOE is entitled to pay the lowest price permitted by the PRC law as purchase price. In addition, pursuant to this agreement, the VIE has irrevocably and unconditionally granted the WFOE or its designated party an exclusive option, where permitted by applicable PRC law, to purchase all or any portion of its assets. The purchase price upon exercise of this option will be the higher of (i) the net book value of the assets to be purchased or (ii) the lowest price permitted by applicable PRC law.

Without the prior written consent of the WFOE, the shareholders of the VIE may not, in any manner, supplement, modify or amend the articles of associations and by-laws of the VIE; increase or reduce its registered capital or change the structure of registered capital in other manners; sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of its assets, legal or beneficial interests in business or revenue or allow any encumbrance on the same; assume, inherit, guarantee any debt, or allow the existence of any debt, except for debts incurred in the ordinary course of business and debts known and agreed in writing by the WFOE; cause the VIE to enter into any material contract outside the ordinary course of business; cause the VIE to provide loans, credits or guarantees in any form to any other persons; cause or permit the VIE to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any other persons, or acquired or invested by any other persons; cause the VIE to liquidate, dissolve or de-registrate; request the VIE to distribute dividends to its shareholders, or propose or vote in favor of any shareholders’ resolution for such distribution of dividends. This agreement will remain effective until all equity interests in the VIE held by its shareholders has been transferred to the WFOE or its designated party in accordance with provisions of this agreement. The WFOE may at its sole discretion unilaterally terminate this agreement prior to its expiration upon notice to the VIE.

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Agreements that Provide Us with Effective Control over the VIE

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement, as amended and restated on October 21, 2019, which was entered into among WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders, each shareholder of the VIE has pledged all of its respective equity interests in the VIE to the WFOE to guarantee the performance of the VIE and its shareholders of their respective obligations under the exclusive business cooperation agreement, the exclusive option agreement, the agreement for power of attorney as well as their respective liabilities arising from any breach of any obligation thereunder. If the VIE or any of its shareholders breaches any obligation under these agreements, the WFOE, as pledgee, may dispose of the pledged equity interest and have priority to be compensated by the proceeds from the disposal of such equity. Each of the shareholders of the VIE agrees that before its obligations under these agreements are discharged and the amounts payable under these agreements are fully paid, it will not dispose of the pledged equity interest, create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interest without the prior written consent of the WFOE. The equity interest pledge agreement will remain effective until the VIE and its shareholders have discharged all their obligations and fully paid all the amounts payable under these agreements. We completed the registration of the pledge of equity interest with the relevant office of the State Administration for Market Regulation on November 25, 2019 in accordance with applicable PRC law and regulations.

Agreement for Power of Attorney

Pursuant to the agreement for power of attorney, as amended and restated on October 21, 2019, which was entered into among the WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders, each shareholder of the VIE irrevocably authorizes the WFOE or its designated person to act as the attorney-in-fact to exercise all such shareholder’s voting and other rights associated with the shareholder’s equity interests in the VIE, such as the right to appoint or remove directors, supervisors and officers, as well as the right to sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of all or any portion of the equity interests held by such shareholder, or of the assets held by the VIE. The parties have agreed that the WFOE is entitled to unilaterally amend, modify or supplement this agreement for power of attorney and the other parties will cooperate where there is a request in respect of the same by the WFOE. This agreement for power of attorney will remain effective until it is terminated by the WFOE.

Spousal Consent Letters

The spouses of Yusheng Han, Gang Lu, Zhigang Wu, Dan Zhou, Peijing Si, Dong Yin and Jin Zhao each signed a spousal consent letter on October 21, 2019. Under these letters, each signing spouse has agreed that he or she is aware of the equity interests beneficially owned by his or her spouse in the VIE and the relevant contractual arrangements in connection with such equity interests. Each signing spouse has unconditionally and irrevocably confirmed that he or she does not have any equity interest in the VIE and will not take any action that may interfere with the contractual arrangement including any claims in respect of the equity interests held by his or her spouse. Each signing spouse has further confirmed that in any event he or she is conferred with any equity interest, he or she is willing to be bound by the relevant contractual arrangements unconditionally as if being a party thereof, and undertakes to take all necessary measures for the performance of those arrangements.

Financial Support Undertaking Letter

Pursuant to the financial support undertaking letter addressed to our VIE, dated October 21, 2019, we undertake to provide unlimited financial support to our VIE to the extent permissible under the applicable PRC laws and regulations, regardless of whether our VIE has incurred an operational loss. The form of financial support includes but is not limited to cash, entrusted loans and borrowings. We will not request repayment of any outstanding loans or borrowings from our VIE if it or its shareholders do not have sufficient funds or are unable to repay such loans or borrowings. The letter is effective until the earlier of (i) the date on which all of the equity interests of our VIE have been acquired by us or our designee, and (ii) the date on which we, in our sole and absolute discretion, unilaterally terminates the applicable financial support undertaking letter.

Voting Proxy Agreement

Pursuant to the voting proxy agreement entered into between our company and our WFOE, dated October 21, 2019, our WFOE irrevocably and unconditionally undertakes to exercise its rights under the agreement for power of attorney, as amended and restated on October 21, 2019, by and among our WFOE, our VIE and its shareholders, in accordance with our company’s instruction.

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In the opinion of Shihui Partners, our PRC counsel:

However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may in the future take a view that is contrary to or otherwise different from the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, or if these regulations or their interpretations change, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in the PRC—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.” for more details.

Our corporate headquarters, central laboratory and manufacturing facilities are located in Guangzhou, China. We also have a research and development center in Shanghai and offices in Beijing. These facilitates have an aggregate of over 13,000 square meters. We currently lease all of our facilities. We believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities, principally through leasing, to accommodate our future expansion.

ITEM 4A. UNSOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” or in other parts of this annual report on Form 20-F.

Overview

We aim to transform precision oncology and early cancer detection. We are China’s leading NGS-based cancer therapy selection company. Our cancer therapy selection platform is built upon our advanced proprietary technologies, comprehensive portfolio of products and a two-pronged market-driven commercial infrastructure addressing both larger hospitals through our in-hospital model and smaller hospitals through our central laboratory model.

We primarily offer cancer therapy selection tests under our central laboratory model, where our central laboratory processes cancer patients’ tissue and liquid biopsy samples delivered to us from hospitals across China and issues test reports. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, 15,821, 23,075 and 25,262 patients took our tests, respectively. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, revenue from sale of cancer therapy selection tests under our central laboratory model contributed 77.3%, 72.4% and 69.2% of our total revenues, respectively.

In 2016, we became China’s first NGS-based cancer therapy selection company to offer an in-hospital model, providing turn-key solutions to address Chinese hospitals’ challenges in adopting NGS-based cancer therapy selection. Under this model, we have partnered with 52 Class III Grade A hospitals to establish in-hospital laboratories, enabling our partner hospitals to perform NGS-based cancer therapy selection on their own using our reagent kits. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, revenue from fees we received for facilitating the hospitals’ purchases of laboratory equipment and sales of reagent kits under the in-hospital model contributed 15.9%, 23.0% and 27.4% of our total revenues, respectively.

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We also generate a small portion of revenue from pharma research and development services we provide to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, which contributed 6.8%, 4.6% and 3.4% of our total revenues in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

We have achieved rapid growth since commercializing our first cancer therapy selection test in 2014. Our revenue increased by 82.7% from RMB208.9 million in 2018 to RMB381.7 million in 2019, and further increased by 12.6% to RMB429.9 million (US$65.9 million) in 2020. Our gross profit increased by 102.4% from RMB135.1 million in 2018 to RMB273.3 million in 2019, and further increased by 14.8% to RMB313.9 million (US$48.1 million) in 2020. Our gross profit margin was 64.7%, 71.6% and 73.0% in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. We incurred net loss of RMB177.5 million, RMB169.2 million and RMB407.2 million (US$62.4 million) in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

We believe there are several important factors that have impacted and that we expect will continue to impact our operating performance and results of operations, including:

Market Adoption of Our Cancer Therapy Selection Products and Services

We currently derive substantially all of our revenues from the sale of our therapy selection tests. We expect our continued growth and business prospects to depend significantly on our ability to increase market adoption of our cancer therapy selection tests, as well as our ability to increase physician and patient awareness of cancer therapy selection in China in general. Although China’s cancer genotyping industry is expected to continue to grow rapidly, cancer therapy selection companies like us face challenges in raising awareness and adoption of their products and services by physicians, patients, hospitals and others in China’s medical community. Among these challenges are that cancer therapy selection tests can be prohibitively expensive and the interpretation of testing results can be time consuming and require knowledge and skills that are not yet widely available in China. We have approached these challenges by building and continually advancing a robust technology platform that we believe will allow us to address many of these challenges.

To increase the market awareness and adoption of our cancer therapy selection tests, we conduct marketing activities to educate hospitals, physicians and pharmaceutical companies on the benefits of our cancer therapy selection products and services. We also participate in research studies and clinical trials in cooperation with oncology key opinion leaders and pharmaceutical companies that validate our cancer therapy selection tests and technologies.

Testing Volume and Hospital Coverage under Our Central Laboratory Model

Our revenue and results of operations are primarily dependent on testing volume and hospital coverage under our central laboratory model. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, revenue from sale of cancer therapy selection tests under our central laboratory model contributed 77.3%, 72.4% and 69.2% of our total revenues, respectively. We expect the central laboratory model to continue to contribute a significant portion of our revenue going forward. As such, our results of operations are affected, and will continue to be affected, by the volume of testing and hospital coverage under our central laboratory model. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, 15,821, 23,075 and 25,262 patients took our tests, respectively. To generate sufficient volumes of demand for our central laboratory business, we will need to maintain and continue to develop relationships with hospitals and physicians. We may need to hire additional sales and marketing staff to support our growth.

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Success of Our In-hospital Model

Since 2016, we have been actively expanding our cancer therapy selection business under the in-hospital model, where we offer Chinese hospitals a turn-key solution that allows them to perform cancer therapy selection tests using our products in in-hospital laboratories that we help them establish.

The in-hospital segment is expected to become an increasingly important segment of China’s NGS-based cancer therapy selection market. Although there are substantial challenges in getting hospitals to adopt the in-hospital model, once the in-hospital laboratories, equipment and systems are in place, we sell them our reagent kits on a recurring basis, creating high barrier to entry and high customer loyalty.

Despite the large and rapidly growing demand and higher customer loyalty, establishing in-hospital laboratories usually involves long ramp-up periods—from laboratory design, tender, laboratory equipment sourcing and system installation to ongoing training and support. Accordingly, our in-hospital model requires significant upfront investment, which in turn may affect our short-term results of operations. In addition, revenue from this model depends on our partner hospitals’ clinical needs and budgets for cancer therapy selection products and services, which are beyond our control.

Our Ability to Successfully Develop Early Cancer Detection Products

Investing in the research and development of new products is critical to our long-term competitiveness. In 2016, we started our research and development on the use of targeted DNA methylation in early cancer detection. Developing early cancer detection product candidates requires a significant investment of resources over a prolonged period of time, and we expect to continue to make sustained investment in this area.

Key Components of Results of Operations

Revenues

Our revenues consist of revenues from services and revenues from sales of products, and are derived from three sources: (i) central laboratory business; (ii) in-hospital business; and (iii) pharma research and development services. The table below sets forth a breakdown of our revenues in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total revenues for the periods indicated:

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Central laboratory business

Central laboratory business revenue is generated from sales of our cancer therapy selection tests to individual patients. Patients pay us for these tests with out-of-pocket payments after their physicians have ordered our tests. We recognize revenue upon the delivery of test reports to the individual patients.

In-hospital business

Under our in-hospital business, we (i) in some instances facilitate the hospitals’ procurement of laboratory equipment required to set up their in-hospital laboratories, for which we charge a fee, and (ii) sell our reagent kits to hospitals for them to perform cancer therapy selection testing in the in-hospital laboratories we helped them establish. Revenues from fees we receive for facilitating laboratory equipment purchases are recorded on a net basis when we have completed our facilitation services. Revenues from reagent kit sales are recorded on a gross basis when the reagent kits are delivered to hospitals.

Pharma research and development services

We provide pharmaceutical research and development services to international and domestic pharmaceutical companies primarily in relation to the development of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for various types of cancer, and to hospitals for their studies on cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Cost of Revenues

Our cost of revenues consists of cost of services and cost of goods sold and are incurred from three sources: (i) the cost of revenues for our central laboratory business, which primarily includes cost of laboratory consumables used in cancer therapy selection testing, the manufacturing cost of our reagent kits, personnel cost and depreciation and amortization, (ii) the cost of revenues for our in-hospital business, which primarily includes the cost of materials, manufacturing costs of our reagent kits and personnel cost, and (iii) the cost of revenues for pharma research and development services, which primarily includes costs of laboratory consumables used in pharma research and development services. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our cost of revenues for the periods indicated.