Leaderna Therapeutics Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million in New Funding to Accelerate Oligonucleotide-based Drug Development

VCBeat learned第一时间 that Leaderna Therapeutics Ltd. ("Leaderna"), a company based in Chengdu, has recently completed a new round of financing worth nearly 100 million yuan. This round of investment was led by Hygeia Capital, with participation from new and existing shareholders including CASSTAR, Chengdu Biocity Jingchuang Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), Lhasa Huabo Health Development Co., Ltd., Juntian Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Dehou Investment, and Cao Jiaming. The proceeds from this financing will mainly be used to advance the clinical progress of Leaderna's small nucleic acid new drug pipeline, further expand the pre-clinical pipeline, and enhance the talent team.

Leaderna has built technology platforms for chemical modification and conjugation of oligonucleotide drugs, extrahepatic chemical delivery, and hepatocyte delivery, focusing on major chronic diseases. Through independent innovation and collaboration, the company has developed multiple R&D pipelines covering metabolic cardiovascular diseases such as abnormal blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, as well as central nervous system disorders. The Lipisense project, the world's first treatment for severe hypertriglyceridemia, has entered Phase I clinical trials; a project for long-acting hypertension treatment is about to enter clinical trials. Leaderna's successful completion of this round of financing will provide strong support for the company’s next phase of rapid development.

Dr. Du Jiangbo, Managing Partner of Hygeia Capital, stated: "As a revolutionary technology in the field of innovative drugs, small nucleic acid drugs have the potential to overcome the challenges faced by small molecules and antibodies, such as difficult drug targets and insufficient efficacy, becoming a core force in the third revolution of biomedicine. We believe that with the accelerating pace of aging in China, there will be an increasing need for next-generation drugs with better efficacy for chronic diseases like cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, and small nucleic acid drugs will play a key role in addressing these clinical needs. Leaderna, as an important player in this field, has a focused pipeline, a strong technical team, excellent execution capabilities, and extensive experience in project collaborations within the small nucleic acid drug space, showing great potential for rapid commercialization. In the future, it will be able to accelerate project advancement and company growth through various collaboration models. Hygeia Capital is delighted to partner with the Leaderna team, and we will promote cooperation with relevant industry resources to expedite the launch of innovative drugs that meet clinical needs, benefiting patients as soon as possible."

Dr. JinQiao Wan, Chairman and General Manager of Leaderna, stated: "It is remarkable that the company has successfully completed new financing during a capital winter in the innovative drug industry. We thank all new and existing shareholders for their recognition and support of Leaderna, as well as their confidence in China's small nucleic acid new drug initiatives. We also appreciate the persistence and hard work of every colleague at Leaderna! We will continue to strive to accelerate the progress of our original innovative drug projects to benefit patients sooner. At the same time, we will keep innovating, enhance our technology platforms, contribute to the research and development of small nucleic acid new drugs, create greater value for shareholders, and provide a broader stage for our employees."

Hygeia Capital was founded in 2017 by Mr. Wang Kai and has offices in Shanghai and Chengdu. It is a professional investment institution focusing on the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, with a team that has extensive industry background and experience in entrepreneurship/equity investment and capital market operations. It has invested in more than 30 high-quality enterprises such as Enty Medical (1501.HK), Cofoe Medical (301087.SZ), Viva Biotech, Zed Bio, ReceptoPharm, Synthgene Biotech, Huajian Future, Raytech, Gense Technologies, Enabling Biotech, Yafei Biotech.

In the spirit of "far-reaching aspirations and close integration, exploring things to gain knowledge," based on the dual-driven investment strategy of "VC investment" + "industrial empowerment," we aim to create the greatest investment value for investors and invested enterprises.

Leaderna Therapeutics Ltd, a biotechnology company co-founded by former senior executives of listed companies and overseas high-level talents, was officially established in 2022. Focusing on core technological innovations related to oligonucleotides and new drug development, the company has built a high-level R&D team. Leaderna has developed a small nucleic acid new drug pipeline in the fields of metabolism and cardiovascular-cerebrovascular diseases, immunity, and chronic inflammation, aiming to develop small nucleic acid drugs with potential Best-in-Class or First-in-Class qualities.