66 Chinese Innovative Biopharma Companies Secure $8.5B in Q3 2024 Amid Strategic Policy Support

According to the statistics from Zhi Drug Bureau, in the third quarter of 2024, there were a total of66 CompaniesInvolved new drug R&D companies have completed a new round of financing, with a disclosed total amount of approximately6.084 billion yuanRMB.

Financing Overview

With the country"Full-Chain Support for Innovative Drug Development Implementation Plan"The implementation of significant favorable policies has injected new vitality and support into innovative drugs. Under the combined effect of a series of measures, China's innovative drug industry has entered a new golden period of development.

In the third quarter of 2024, financing activities in the innovative drug sector remained notably active.Focus on the Early Stage, a total of 66 financing events occurred, among which early-stage financing activities at or before Series A accounted for the majority, with a total of 38 cases, representing 57.5%.

In terms of the amount, seed rounds and angel rounds are mostly tens of millions of yuan in financing. Overall, Series A rounds have seen more large-scale financing events. Mature projects have shown stable performance, with a total financing amount of 6.084 billion yuan, compared to the total amount in the second quarter.A decrease of approximately 27.2%。

Specifically, in July, domestic innovative drugs in China raised over 4 billion yuan, reaching a quarterly financing peak. Among them, there were 12 financing events reaching the hundred-million-yuan level, originating from Lu ye Pharma and its subsidiary companies.Lu ye Pharma (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., securing a strategic investment of up to 1.6 billion yuan from Shenzhen Lu Ye Private Equity Investment Fund, becoming the largest financing in Shenzhen this year.

Nucleic acid drugs, ADC drugs, and CGT (cell and gene therapy) track-related therapies remain highly sought after in the capital market. The previously mentioned Shenzhen Lu Ye Pharma is this year's dark horse in the CGT field.

AusperBioA rising star in nucleic acid drug development, having completed a 100 million RMB Pre-A+ round of financing in November last year, and within less than a year, secured another 37 million RMB in Series A funding. Another small nucleic acid drug development companyASOcura, completing nearly 100 million yuan in Series A financing, with state-owned capital entering the market.Rona TherapeuticsFocused on the research, development, and production of nucleic acid drugs, it received $35 million in Series A+ funding participated by Eli Lilly.

Wuxi Zhikang Hongyi Biotechnology Co., Ltd.AndDashi PharmaceuticalAlso a developer of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC), Wuxi Zhikang Hongyi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has garnered attention from Xichuang Investment, Binhu Industrial Group, and WuXi Biologics, securing hundreds of millions in funding.

In early August, the proportion of startups reached a new high, with only antibody drug developersMaiji BiotechnologyCompleted a Series B round of over 200 million RMB in financing, with the rest being small-scale financing activities of early-stage companies. Therefore, the disclosed amount has significantly decreased, with only 997 million RMB in financing completed and three events exceeding the 100 million RMB level.

"PharmaGPT"PharmolixRaised nearly 100 million RMB in seed and angel funding rounds, and was incubated and established in 2023 by the Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR) of Tsinghua University.

Rare Sugar Mass Production Technology EnterpriseMicroCytoCompleted over 300 million yuan in Series A financing, closing three rounds of financing within a year with investments from numerous national teams and star investment institutions. One of its products, mannitol, is widely used in pharmaceuticals, food, and daily chemical fields. MicroCyto's industrial production base is expected to be completed and operational by the end of the year.

In September, which has just passed, the financing situation was almost the same as in August, with a total of 20 companies completing RMB 904 million in financing, including four deals exceeding RMB 100 million. Participants included Shanghai Biomedical Fund, SDIC, Fosun Pharma's fund, Maotai Fund, Shenzhen Capital Group, and more.Capital Injection from Numerous Top-Tier Investment Institutions。

From the perspective of financing geographical distribution,Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regionsIt has always been a popular place for financing, with 20 companies in Shanghai, 14 in Guangdong, 8 in Jiangsu, and 7 in Zhejiang. Additionally, 5 companies in Beijing have successfully completed their financing.

The following is a summary of financing events:

Top 10 Financing Events by Amount

Lu ye Pharma

Round: Strategic Investment

Amount: 1.6 billion RMB

Shenzhen Lu ye Pharma Receives Strategic Investment of Up to 1.6 Billion RMB from Shenzhen Green Leaf Private Equity Investment FundShenzhen Lu Ye Pharma is an innovative drug research and development manufacturer that focuses on the R&D, production, and sales of innovative drugs. The company has reached an internationally advanced level in advanced drug delivery technology fields such as microspheres, liposomes, and transdermal drug delivery. It has achieved multiple accomplishments in new molecular entities and bio-antibodies and is also making strategic layouts and developments in cell therapy and gene therapy.

Rona Therapeutics

Round: A+ Round

Amount: 35 million US dollars

Rona Therapeutics Completes $35 Million Series A+ Financing. This round of financing was led by LongRiver Jiangyuan Investment, with participating investors including Zhaode Investment, Boyuan Capital, Zhongqi Capital, and Lilly Asia Ventures.

Rona Therapeutics is a nucleic acid drug developer that focuses on the research, development, and production of nucleic acid drugs, primarily targeting disease areas such as metabolism, central nervous system, ophthalmology, and oncology.

Xili Technology

Round: Series A

Amount: 30 million US dollars

Xili Technology Completes $30 Million Series A Financing, Led by Longpan Investment, with Continuous Investment from Existing Shareholders CDH Investments, FiveSource Capital, and Yiyi Capital, and Participation from XtalPi and CMT Research Foundation.

Stream BioTech is a targeted RNA small molecule drug developer that drives innovative drug discovery with artificial intelligence algorithms and genetic technology. Focusing on RNA spatial structure computation, the company has built the voyageRTM AI platform to develop small molecule drugs targeting RNA, addressing unmet clinical needs in oncology and rare diseases over the long term.

AusperBio

Round: Series A

Amount: 37 million US dollars

AusperBio Announces Completion of $37 Million Series A Financing. This round of financing was led by InnoPinnacle Fund, with participation from Vivo Capital, Hanking Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and YuanSheng Capital.

AusperBio is a developer of small nucleic acid drugs for hepatitis B, dedicated to the research and development of innovative drugs and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of chronic hepatitis B and other major infectious diseases.Currently, the three major innovative pipelines laid out by AusperBio—small nucleic acid drug platform for HBV cure, therapeutic vaccine platform for HBV treatment, and the intranasal antibody platform developed in collaboration—have all entered the clinical application stage.

MicroCyto

Round: A Round

Amount: 300 million yuan

MicroCyto AnnouncesCompleted Over 300 Million Yuan in Series A FinancingThe leading investor of this round of financing is Jingguotou Fund, with Beijing Municipal Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund, Shenzhen Capital Group, and Hebei Industry Investment Jincái Synthetic Equity Investment Fund following suit. Existing shareholders Shunxi Fund and Henan Investment Group Huirong Fund continued to increase their investment.

MicroCyto is a synthetic biology technology developer dedicated to producing various compounds using low-carbon, energy-saving, and sustainable methods for applications in pharmaceuticals, daily chemicals, agriculture, food, feed, and materials.

Maiji Biotechnology

Round: B Round

Amount: 200 million yuan

Shanghai Maiji Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Announces Completion of B Round Financing, Raising Over 200 Million RMB

Shanghai Maiji Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is an independent biotechnology company focused on research and clinical development.Since its establishment in 2016, it has always focused on the treatment of allergic and autoimmune chronic inflammatory diseases. The company utilizes its unique TEADA high-throughput antibody screening platform to develop innovative antibody drugs with high biological activity and high drug-like properties, achieving results in key indications such as respiratory diseases, dermatitis, and nephropathy.

Junhe Alliance

Round: B+ Round

Amount: Over 200 Million Yuan

Junhe Alliance Completes Over 200 Million Yuan in B+ Round Financing, with Cumulative Financing Reaching Nearly 350 Million Yuan. The B+ round was led by SDIC Venture Capital, with participation from Hongsheng Capital, Yuanhe Holdings, and So-Young Group.

Junhe Alliance is a recombinant protein drug developer. Junhe Alliance has built a recombinant protein drug development platform that combines drug-like properties and innovation, covering high barriers and industrialized technological reserves such as efficient expression systems for recombinant proteins, micro-denaturation separation and purification technology, in vitro protein folding and self-assembly systems, and long-acting sustained-release technology.

Baoji Pharmaceutical

Round: C Round

Amount: Hundreds of millions of yuan

Baoji Pharmaceuticals Completes CNY Hundreds of Millions in Series C Financing, Led by Shanghai Biomedical Fund with Participation from Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Group, Baoshan State-owned Investment Group, and Existing Shareholder Center Laboratories Limited.

Baoji Pharmaceutical is a biopharmaceutical R&D producer, a Sino-foreign joint venture biopharmaceutical enterprise integrating drug research and development and production. It can scale up the production of recombinant protein drugs and recombinant antibody drugs, focusing on providing innovative and disruptive solutions for clinical demand.

Lingkang Era

Round: B Round

Amount: 190 million yuan

LinkHealth Era$190 Million Series B FinancingThis round of financing was led by Zhongshan Venture Capital, with Cuihong Venture Capital adding to their investment again, and participation from West Bay Capital among others.

Lingkang Times is a biopharmaceutical CDMO service provider. Relying on its robust dual-core platforms — mammalian cell platform and microbial platform — Lingkang Times offers CDMO services ranging from drug feasibility evaluation, preparation of high-quality pharmacological and toxicological research samples, to process development, clinical filing support services, as well as clinical sample production and commercial manufacturing.。

Luoqi Bio

Round: B2 Round

Amount: Nearly 200 Million Yuan

Shanghai Luoqi Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. announced the successful completion of a nearly 200 million RMB B2 round of financing. This round was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with participation from Huangpu Biomedical Industry Fund and Jiuyu Investment, while the existing shareholder Shengdi Investment continued to increase its investment.

Lokon Biotech was founded in 2017, focusing on the research and development of inhalable nanobody drugs. It has now established a complete R&D, CMC, and pilot production system, and built five innovative technology platforms.

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