3.15 Gala | The internet celebrity's ten-thousand-yuan "万能神药" exosome is actually a "three-no" product

“Exosomes have really been all the rage these past two years—they’ve been hailed as the darling of the anti-aging industry.” This is the most hype product category in the recent medical aesthetics market. The reporter learned, from introductions in multiple medical journals and from industry insiders, that the “exosomes” with miraculous-sounding claims presented by the hosts in the videos are actually bioactive substances secreted during stem cell culturing. But in the medical and academic communities, for multiple medical processes such as their mechanisms of action and clinical testing, they still can’t be clearly determined; most of it remains at the stage of academic research and theoretical research.

Precisely because these bioactive substances have yet to be settled, some businesses in the market have smelled an opportunity. In online marketing videos, exosomes are being used by some medical aesthetics institutions for beauty and anti-aging. But corresponding to the hosts’ mystical promotional videos, online is also full of complaints and gripes from consumers about “exosome anti-aging”: “I just got exosomes done, and my whole face got infected—severe acne.”

While merchants aggressively promote them, some consumers are also complaining that their consumer rights and interests were harmed. The reporter found out that in June 2025, the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration released a draft for comments, which would include exosomes—having therapeutic functions and relying on active ingredients—in drug regulation. But this is only a draft soliciting comments; its purpose is to control such substances from entering society and being abused or used incorrectly. As of now, there is still no exosome drug in China that has received approval for market sales. However, even after the national competent authorities have drawn a red line, these unapproved “exosome anti-aging” products are still popular in some medical aesthetics fields—and they come with steep prices.

To understand the specific situation, based on information provided by consumers, the reporter found an “exosome” product on the market called “Qingcheng.” This is a so-called “product” that is selling hot across major medical aesthetics institutions, and the product claims to be a “Class II medical device.” But the reporter learned that, currently, China does not allow medical device products with exosomes as an ingredient to be approved for market sales. Staff from the manufacturer, Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., told the reporter clearly after seeing them: the main ingredient of this product they make is exosomes, but in order to evade market regulation, they used the license for collagen. The staff did not conceal the违规 behavior of using a fake license.

Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Salesperson: All the products inside are produced by us. The certificate currently used is for collagen. In the classification of medical device certificates, there is no category for exosomes.

The national authorities have strict regulatory requirements for exosomes: exosome ingredients may not be added to Class II medical devices, and no products have been approved for market. The staff at Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. know this well.

Making products with certificate cover, adding ingredients in violation of rules, and selling in violation of rules—but this is not the full picture of the exosome-related chaos. Although up to now China has not approved and launched any products containing exosomes for sale, some companies in the market still engage in false advertising. They don’t just claim their exosome products can beautify and fight aging; they even exaggerate them to claim they can treat many diseases.

The reporter, citing the possibility of cooperation, contacted a company called Yuan Chuang Gene Technology Co., Ltd. located in a city in central China. The other party strongly invited the reporter to visit and inspect. To show the company’s strength, Mr. Han took the reporter around the company’s technology exhibition hall and its so-called “laboratory.” Before entering the “laboratory,” it’s mandatory to wear shoe covers, change into anti-dust protective suits, and put on caps. Mr. Han told the reporter that their exosome products are divided into several grades; what they sell to the medical aesthetics industry is the lowest grade, with the worst effects.

Yuan Chuang Gene Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Han: From the standpoint of technical difficulty, medical aesthetics is the lowest tier—next are sub-health wellness and various chronic diseases. The highest tier is cancer treatment.

Mr. Han candidly admitted that using exosomes to regulate the body and treat diseases has already been carried out as concrete sales work at his place. Mr. Han specially told the reporter that several middle-aged and elderly people in the adjacent meeting room came here after hearing online publicity, specifically to seek “treatments” for disease at their company.

Yuan Chuang Gene Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Han: Customers come to provide inspection reports, and we write the treatment plan. After that, they need to come here to have exosomes injected for body regulation.

When the reporter proposed wanting to visit how the company injects exosomes into patients, Mr. Han said that injection of their “exosome” products carries a very high regulatory risk. Since the state has not approved these products, they do not inject exosomes into patients at the company; therefore they refused the reporter’s request.

The reporter continued to investigate further. Not only Yuan Chuang Gene Technology Co., Ltd.—in a city in southwest China, a company called Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. also had its company head, Mr. Tan, tell the reporter bluntly that they were using exosomes to treat diseases as well.

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: I’m for medical-grade. I dare to infuse and I dare to target. This morning I shipped 360 vials; one customer ordered it, because their child’s epilepsy needs a full year’s supply.

Reporter: Is it one and the same thing they inject?

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: It’s the same kind of thing as what’s used for beauty—only the method of use is different.

Seeing the reporter was skeptical, Mr. Tan directly took out what she claimed to be “medical-grade exosome frozen original solution” from the refrigerator and “on the level” showed it to the reporter. The packaging of the item had no product information whatsoever—absolutely a “three-nothing” product.

Reporter: Does it have a medical device license type 2, medical device license type 3, or a cosmetic filing number?

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: No, no, no. Exosomes are called a technology—not a product you’re selling.

Reporter: If it’s a product, then that wouldn’t be allowed, right?

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: A product definitely wouldn’t work.

Reporter: Why not?

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: It hasn’t been approved yet. What we can sign for you is only a technical service, and that way you bypass all legal risks.

By disguising this “three-nothing” product as a “technical service,” exosomes flowed into the market. To prove the medical efficacy of their product, Mr. Tan directly took the reporter to the company’s so-called “laboratory” to watch in person.

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: We take the exosomes out from here—that’s the laboratory.

Right after he said that, a call came in, urging Mr. Tan to deliver the exosome product. Upon hearing that a patient was about to be treated for disease by infusion of exosomes, Mr. Tan invited the reporter along to deliver the product, to demonstrate the strength of his own product.

Following Mr. Tan, the group drove more than ten minutes to a local hospital. In the hospital’s fifth-floor premium medical area, the reporter witnessed the consumers getting their intravenous infusion of “‘three-nothing’ exosomes”!

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: This was taken from the laboratory; they already have it running. She has a bit of discomfort in her feet and is sub-healthy. This one’s got kidney discomfort. I was too rushed to put labels on it—there’s information on the bag: exosomes 250 billion (particle count).

In Mr. Tan’s presentation, diseases such as epilepsy, arthritis, and diabetes can all be resolved by infusing “‘three-nothing’ exosomes.” But when the reporter asked to see data reports that could verify exosomes have therapeutic effects, Mr. Tan refused. Mr. Tan also told the reporter that because the company lacks medical qualifications, exosome injections can only be carried out by cooperating with medical institutions; in the industry, this operation is called “borrowing the stage to do the performance.”

Reporter: How much do you charge them for this?

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: Is it an operation fee? Small room: 500 yuan. Large room (shared): 200 yuan.

So-called “exosomes” with no national approval, no passage through any clinical trials, and no efficacy data were packaged by these companies as a “miracle drug that cures all diseases,” and they were even injected into patients’ bodies using the “borrowing the stage to do the performance” method—and the profits from this business are considerable.

Jibozeer Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. Tan: First time: 150 billion (particle count). Second time: 200 billion (particle count). Third time: 250 billion (particle count). In this step-by-step way, totaling 600 billion (particle count), we charge customers 60,000 yuan.

Researcher Yang Yue, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University: All medical technologies and drugs, before being used in humans, require very strict preliminary pharmaceutical research and clinical research. You validate the safety and efficacy of medical technologies and drugs through this kind of rigorous process. If you use them in the human body without approval from the drug regulatory authorities, there may be some risks. After this product is administered to the human body, it can cause damage to organs and functions, even permanent damage.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Exosomes