Two Chinese CGT Companies Secure Over RMB 100 Million Each in Funding and File IPO Prospectuses

Oct 21, 2024 20:30 CST Updated 20:30

Rigerna

Innovative Small Nucleic Acid Drug Developer

XsellSmart

Stem Cell Therapy New Drug Developer

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With continuous breakthroughs in the research and clinical progress of the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field, cell and gene therapies remain one of the hottest investment areas today.On October 21, Rigerna and XsellSmart both officially announced the completion of financing exceeding 100 million yuan. The specific details are as follows:

Rigerna

Rigerna Announces Over RMB 100 Million in Angel+ Round Funding, Led by Shanghai Science Investment and Qihang Investment, with Follow-up Investments from Xincheng Fund, JSG United Runpu, Yuanxi Haihe, and Additional Investment from Existing Shareholder Sanyi Innovation Investment. The funds will primarily be used for the clinical research of the company's first siRNA drug RG002C0106, advancement of multiple preclinical pipelines, and rapid development of non-liver tissue in vivo delivery technology and corresponding pipelines. To date, Rigerna has completed two rounds of financing totaling over RMB 200 million.

Rigerna was founded in 2022, focusing on the research and industrialization of small nucleic acid drugs. Dr. Huang Yuanyu, the founder, has over 16 years of experience in the nucleic acid pharmaceutical field. He has worked for leading small nucleic acid pharmaceutical companies for many years, leading the establishment of multiple small nucleic acid pharmaceutical technology platforms and the development of a series of small nucleic acid drugs, successfully advancing 5 siRNA drugs into Phase I-II clinical trials. The company's core team has over 10 years of industry experience, covering the entire process including nucleic acid biology, nucleic acid chemistry, drug delivery, project management, CMC research, regulatory submissions, and clinical development.

A series of key milestone progresses have been achieved, including: (i) the establishment of the global second-generation GalNAc conjugation delivery technology; (ii) the preclinical studies of the leading pipeline RG002C0106 have demonstrated excellent efficacy and safety, with clinical trials approved in both China and Australia. Clinical enrollment has been initiated, showing the potential to become the world's first-in-class small nucleic acid drug; (iii) multiple non-liver tissue delivery technologies have been developed based on various exclusive strategies. Among them, the renal tissue delivery technology is the world’s first and only one to have completed non-human primate trial validation, achieving over 70% inhibition efficiency.

In terms of external cooperation, Rigerna has attracted the attention of several international MNCs, publicly listed pharmaceutical companies in China, and Biotech firms. The company is actively exploring collaborations based on pipelines or technology platforms with these enterprises of different sizes, characteristics, and needs.

XsellSmart

XsellSmart Officially Announces Over 100 Million Yuan in B1 Round Market-Oriented Financing. This round of financing was led by Tylon/Taikun Capital, with co-investment from Qisheng Capital and Tianhui Capital. Existing shareholders including Frees Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Sequoia China also participated in the follow-up investment. The funds will be used to enhance XsellSmart's clinical-grade iPS-derived cell therapy pipeline for neurological diseases, further advance clinical research, and promote multiple registration clinical trials.

To date, XsellSmart has completed over 300 million yuan in A-round/A+-round/B1-round market-oriented financing within nearly two years: jointly invested by Frees Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Tailong/Taikun Capital, Gold Round Zhanhong, Sino-Singapore Capital, Oriza Holdings, Crestone Capital, Peking University Technology Transfer Fund, Jiacheng Capital, Alibaba Health, and Huatai Zijin, Qisheng Capital, Tianhui Capital, and other well-known market-oriented institutions.

XsellSmart was founded by Dr. Li Xiang, who returned to China full-time, and mainly develops iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells)-derived neural cells in the field of stem cells for the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease and other major diseases that currently have no clinical solutions. Since its establishment, XsellSmart has focused on developing new drug pipelines targeting Parkinson’s disease and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). The company is currently actively advancing clinical trials and is expected to expand to other neurological diseases in the future.

XsellSmart is committed to the application-oriented independent research and industrialization of iPS-derived cell therapies for neurological diseases. XsellSmart has independently designed and established a foundational technology platform, covering key technological platforms such as iPSC reprogramming and banking, gene editing of iPSCs, differentiation of iPSCs into subtype-specific neural cells, and the construction and evaluation of preclinical disease animal models. The company collaborates with multiple renowned research institutions and leading hospitals on technical research and clinical development, and undertakes key projects in cell therapy at the National Biomedicine Innovation Center.

XsellSmart's Clinical-Grade iPSC-Derived Dopaminergic Neural Progenitor Cell Injection Successfully Treated Parkinson’s Disease via Minimally Invasive Intracranial Stereotactic Injection into the Striatum at Shanghai East Hospital (East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University), Marking China’s First Clinical-Grade iPS-Derived Cell Transplantation for Parkinson’s Disease. This project is China’s first nationally registered clinical stem cell research program officially approved by two national regulatory authorities for clinical-grade iPS-derived cell therapy in neurological disorders. The surgery was completed within two hours: the first subject experienced no surgical or perioperative complications or other safety-related adverse events following transplantation with clinical-grade iPS-derived cells. To date, XsellSmart and its collaborating hospital have completed striatal stereotactic injection-based cell transplantation treatments in multiple Parkinson’s disease patients. The longest follow-up period exceeds six months, with no cell therapy-related adverse events reported, and significant improvements observed in overall "on-off" periods and efficacy scoring scales among several patients.

Summary

Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) is the new generation of precision therapies following small molecule and large molecule targeted therapies, leading a new wave in biopharmaceuticals. According to incomplete statistics, during Q1-Q3 of 2024, more than 60 CGT companies in China secured financing.

Source of the article: Official WeChat accounts of various companies

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