Eleven Chinese Cell and Gene Therapy Companies Secure New Funding Rounds
ReviR Therapeutics
Innovative Drug Developer
Recently, multiple companies in China focusing on cell and gene therapy (CGT) have announced financing progress. This article will share basic information on 11 of these companies based on publicly available data.
On July 26, ReviR Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as ReviR) announced the completion of a US$30 million (approximately RMB 217 million) Series A financing round. This round was led by Longpan Investment, with continued investment from existing shareholders CDH Investments, FiveSource Capital, and Yaqi Capital. X-tal Technology and the CMT Research Foundation (CMTRF) also participated in the investment. The proceeds from this round will be used to further develop ReviR's self-developed AI drug discovery platform, VoyageR, and integrate AI technology with the extensive drug development experience of the ReviR team.
ReviR Therapeutics, founded in 2021, has previously secured tens of millions of dollars in investments from top venture capital firms including 5Y Capital, CDH Investments, Shunwei Capital, Sky9 Capital, Tiantu Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Yae Capital, and Capital O. The company has now established a complete international team, an advanced AI platform, and a mature pipeline system. It focuses on the development of multiple proprietary pipelines targeting neurodegenerative diseases and other hereditary rare diseases, while also engaging in collaborations and corresponding pipeline research in areas such as cancer, immunology, and metabolism.
In drug development, over 80% of known disease-related proteins cannot be targeted by existing methods, and the innovation of drugs targeting these proteins faces the challenge of being "undruggable." Traditional gene therapies encounter delivery difficulties, especially in the field of neurological diseases, where large-molecule drugs struggle to cross the blood-brain barrier. As a result, most treatments rely on invasive methods such as injections, which are irreversible and have low drug delivery efficiency.ReviR Therapeutics develops innovative therapies based on the central dogma, starting from the upstream RNA of proteins.Combining AI to develop orally administrable gene therapies, regulating RNA with small-molecule drugs, influencing protein expression, and achieving therapeutic breakthroughs at the genetic level based on disease mechanisms.Currently, ReviR is focused on developing small molecules to regulate RNA splicing, leveraging its self-developed VoyageR AI drug discovery platform for splice target prediction, molecular activity prediction, and molecular generation and optimization. The platform, trained on internally generated omics datasets, has become increasingly mature after three years of iteration, significantly accelerating the progress of pipeline research and development.On this basis, ReviR Therapeutics has developed"Oral Gene Therapy"On the one hand, it can regulate gene expression and is suitable for a wide range of genetic disease fields; on the other hand, it has low drug delivery difficulty, high patient accessibility, and the treatment is relatively reversible with lower risks.May bring new changes to a variety of currently untreatable hereditary neurological diseases and cancers, benefiting hundreds of millions of patients worldwide.
2、Cell Therapy Newcomer Xiatong Biotech Secures Investment from Well-Known Listed Company's Fund
News on July 19Xiatong Bio announced that it has received investment from a fund under a well-known listed company to accelerate investigator-initiated trials (IIT) for pipelines such as demyelinating diseases and new drug clinical trial applications (IND). Riemann Hypothesis served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing.
Xiatong Biotech, established in July 2022, is a company with highly applicable and original research in cell therapies via induced reprogramming pathways. It particularly stands in the international forefront for its integrated R&D process loop—encompassing theory, technology, and manufacturing—in the field of neurological diseases caused by demyelination.The company was the first internationally to demonstrate that exogenous OPCs can form myelin in vivo and established a commercial-grade in vitro industrial preparation technology for human-derived OPCs. Additionally, it pioneered a method to generate iNSCs in a single step from PBMCs as starting cells through transcription factor and small molecule-induced reprogramming. The cell source is abundant and unrestricted, and the entire process does not involve embryonic stem cells, thus avoiding ethical and tumorigenic risks.The company independently masters all key technical and process steps from the initial cells to the formulation cells, and the product preparation process has advanced to an industrial-scale production level.These advantages have been highly recognized by the capital community, and the funds will be mainly used to advance the IIT and IND pipelines for demyelinating diseases of the nervous system.The core team of the company is composed of top R&D members from both the industrial and scientific communities in China and abroad, with a long-term focus on fundamental research and technological development of cell-based drugs and therapies for neurological disorders.The founding team has decades of research experience in drugs for nervous system diseases and stem cell therapy, and is also a pioneer team in cell therapy for demyelinating diseases.The industrial transformation team is highly experienced, with clinical transformation expertise in several CGT (cell and gene therapy) products.The company's scientific advisory team includes Nobel laureates, experts from the National Thousand Talents Plan, and industry leaders, primarily focusing on fields such as neurological diseases and cell therapy.
3、Fosun Pharma and Kite Pharma Increase Investment in Fosun Kite
July 19,Fosun Pharma announced that its controlling subsidiary, Fosun Pharma Industry, has signed a "Debt-to-Equity Conversion and Capital Increase Agreement" with Kite Pharma and Fosun Kite. Fosun Pharma Industry and Kite Pharma plan to convert their respective outstanding claims of $28.5 million each into equity in the joint venture Fosun Kite, thereby making a proportional capital increase in Fosun Kite.Fosun Pharma Industry and Kite Pharma will convert their respective outstanding debt principal of $28.5 million into an additional registered capital of $28.5 million for Fosun Kite.After the completion of this capital increase, the registered capital of Fosun Kite will increase from US$214 million to US$271 million. The shareholding percentages of Fosun Pharma Industry and Kite Pharma in Fosun Kite will remain unchanged (both still at 50%).
Fosun Kite is mainly engaged in the research and development, production, and commercialization of tumor immunotherapy cell therapy products. The proceeds from this capital increase will be mainly used for the commercialization of Fosun Kite's products and investment in its R&D pipeline. According to the announcement, as of December 31, 2023, Fosun Kite's total assets amounted to RMB 9.87 billion, its owner's equity was RMB 1.61 billion, and its total liabilities were RMB 8.26 billion. In June 2021, Fosun Kite’s first CAR-T cell therapy product, Yikaida (Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Injection), was approved for marketing in China, becoming the first approved CAR-T cell therapy product in China. It has been approved for two indications: for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after receiving second-line or above systemic treatment, and for the treatment of adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (r/r LBCL) who are ineffective with first-line immunochemotherapy or relapse within 12 months after first-line immunochemotherapy. The third indication for Yikaida (for the treatment of relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r iNHL), including adult patients with follicular lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma) has been approved for clinical trials in China and included in the breakthrough therapy drug program. Currently, this indication is in the bridging clinical trial phase in China.
4、Daru Biotech Announces Completion of RMB 250 Million Series A+ Financing
On July 19, RiboNova BioPharma (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("RiboNova BioPharma" for short) officially announced the successful completion of a US$35 million (approximately RMB 250 million) Series A+ financing round. 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, a globally leading nucleic acid innovative drug platform company, focuses on the treatment of metabolic diseases and central nervous system degenerative diseases. Rona Therapeutics is committed to developing best-in-class siRNA drugs, demonstrating unique differentiation and innovation in cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, and kidney diseases within its liver-targeted metabolic pipeline. Additionally, Rona Therapeutics explores the potential of extrahepatic nucleic acid delivery in the field of central nervous system degenerative diseases, successfully establishing its proprietary extrahepatic delivery platform aimed at treating complex diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, where traditional drug therapies have proven ineffective.
5、Regem Bio Completes Series A Strategic Financing
On July 19, Ruijiming (Shandong) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Ruijiming Biotech) announced the completion of its Series A financing round, led by Huixi Industrial Investment's Life Science Venture Capital (Huzhou) partnership, with Shanghai Shuiyang Management Consulting Co., Ltd. participating as a follower. This financing will accelerate the commercial production and international market expansion of Ruijiming Biotech's self-developed nucleic acid series raw materials.
6、Haobo Medicine Completes RMB 260 Million Series A Financing
On July 15, Haobo Medicine announced that it had recently completed a Series A financing round of 37 million US dollars (approximately 260 million RMB). This round of financing was led by InnoPinnacle Fund with additional investment, and jointly participated by YuanSheng Ventures, H&K Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and YuanSheng Capital. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used to rapidly advance the Phase II clinical trial of Haobo Medicine's potential cornerstone drug for hepatitis B cure, AHB-137, explore combination therapy regimens, and support a series of development work including CMC production. Meanwhile, the financing will also be used to expand the proprietary Med-Oligo™ technology platform and its product pipeline.
Aurealis Pharma is a clinical-stage innovative drug development company operating simultaneously in China and the United States, committed to developing First-in-class and Best-in-class proprietary innovative targeted delivery small nucleic acid drugs. Aurealis Pharma owns the proprietary intellectual property Med-Oligo™ ASO patent technology platform, focusing on functional cures for chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and highly efficient targeted treatments for liver diseases, while expanding into targeted small nucleic acid therapies for new targets beyond the liver. The strategy of Aurealis Pharma is to combine its world-leading Med-Oligo™ oligonucleotide technology with specific and highly efficient targeting technology to address a wide range of currently unmet medical needs.
7、ReviR Therapeutics Secures Additional Tens of Millions in A+ Round Financing
On July 11, Leap Biotech announced: Following the over 100-million-yuan Series A financing obtained in April this year, the company has secured several tens of millions in its Series A+ round. This round of financing saw participation from the well-known investment institution Guoke Venture Capital, and the funds will primarily be used to advance the company’s innovative pipeline in the field of stem cell therapy and to accelerate clinical translation.
Since its establishment, Leapcell Bio has been committed to developing a new generation of cell therapy drugs based on human pluripotent stem cell technology, with research pipelines covering Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The company possesses an independently developed innovative technology platform for human pluripotent stem cells, including neural differentiation technology, SISBAR lineage tracing technology, stem cell gene editing technology, and GMP-grade hiPSC construction. Leapcell Bio has an innovation R&D center and GMP cleanroom facility spanning 4,000 square meters located in the Life Science Park of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Several of the company’s research achievements have been published in top international academic journals such as *Nature Methods* and *Cell Stem Cell*. The IND clinical trial application is expected to be completed in 2024, with plans to begin patient enrollment in early 2025.
On July 12, Vertebrum Medical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("Vertebrum Medical" or "the Company") announced the completion of an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan. This round of investment was jointly led by Shanghai Kailiyan Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("Kailiyan Medical") and Zhangjiang Life Health Industry Incubation Angel Fund ("Zhangke He Miao Fund"), with Huayi Capital participating. The funds raised will mainly be used for the company's development of cell therapy products targeting lumbar disc degeneration, providing strong momentum for the company’s future continuous growth.
9、AccuraGen Completes A+ Round Financing
Recently, Chengdu Zhongke Aoge Biotechnology Co., Ltd. ("Zhongke Aoge" for short) announced the completion of a nearly RMB 10 million A+ round of financing, with the investor being Dingzhou Yichuang. This round of financing will support Zhongke Aoge in the in-depth research and development of gene-edited pigs and company operations, accelerating the clinical transformation progress of xenotransplantation. To date, Zhongke Aoge has cumulatively obtained nearly RMB 100 million in financing.
10、Antishengshi Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Series A Financing, Led by SDIC Venture Capital
Recently, Suzhou Antion Biotech Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Antion Biotech") announced the completion of a nearly 100-million-yuan Series A round of financing. This round of financing was led by SDIC Venture Capital, with follow-up investments from existing shareholders and Ruihe Venture SCA3 Industry Fund, supporting Antion Biotech in promoting new technology research and development, commercial production implementation, and international operation strategic layout. The funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate the advancement of products for indications such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, and Huntington's Disease, and apply for registration clinical trials, promote the product development of multiple subsequent innovative pipelines, and facilitate international cooperation.
Antishengshi was founded in 2017 as China's first company to develop ASO drugs targeting RNA processing. Focusing on technological innovation, the company has made breakthrough progress in recent years in areas such as RNA splicing regulation and novel RNA processing. The company currently has more than ten R&D pipelines, among which drug development for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3) has yielded encouraging preclinical data, demonstrating significant clinical research value. Notably, FY015A, a product targeting Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3, has successfully completed dosing in two patients in a recently initiated IIT clinical study, with no drug-related adverse events observed.
11、EnzymeTech Completes Tens of Millions of RMB in Angel Round Investment
Recently, Shanghai EnzymeYou Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as: EnzymeYou Technology) has completed an angel round of investment worth tens of millions of RMB, led by Linear Capital, with participation from MiraclePlus and Dandelion Ventures. The funds from this round will mainly be used for advancing experiments related to enzyme-catalyzed DNA synthesis, instrument development, and team building.
EnzymeTech, founded in March 2023 and located in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, is dedicated to designing enzyme molecular machines for efficient DNA synthesis by developing algorithms for protein-nucleic acid interactions. This enables the de novo synthesis of genes at a low cost and on a large scale, generating vast amounts of high-quality biomolecular data to bridge large models with the microscopic molecular world.
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