ReviR Therapeutics Secures $30 Million Series A Financing to Advance Oral Gene Therapy Platform Targeting RNA
ReviR Therapeutics
Innovative Drug Developer
July 26, 2024ReviR Therapeutics (ReviR Therapeutics Announces Completion of $30 Million (Approx. RMB 217 Million) Series A Financing, this round of financingLed by Longpan Investment, with continued investment from existing shareholders CDH Investments, Five Source Capital, and Yiyi Capital, followed by XtalPi and the CMT Research Foundation (CMTRF).This round of investment will be used to further develop ReviR's self-developed AI drug discovery platform, VoyageR, and combine AI technology with the extensive drug development experience of the ReviR team to continuously advance the existing Huntington's disease (HD) pipeline as well as preclinical and clinical stage development of multiple pipelines related to neurological diseases, including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
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 built 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 pipeline R&D in areas such as cancer, immunology, and metabolism.
In drug development, over 80% of known disease-related proteins cannot be targeted by existing means, and innovative drug research 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. The vast majority can only be administered through invasive methods like injections, resulting in irreversible treatment effects and 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 molecule generation and optimization. The platform is trained on internally generated omics datasets and 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.
Dr. Yang Li, Co-founder and Chairman of ReviR TherapeuticsRepresentation: There is a wide variety of neurological diseases globally, with a large patient population. However, most of these diseases still face the situation of having no effective treatment. ReviR focuses on developing orally administrable gene therapies, regulating genes at the RNA level to provide clinical options that are more convenient and safer. We deeply appreciate the recognition and support from both new and existing shareholders. Currently, ReviR is gradually transitioning from early platform development to the clinical stage. We will continue to optimize and iterate our AI platform and advance our pipeline into clinical trials, bringing research achievements to market.
Mr. Yu Zhihua, Founding Partner of Longpan InvestmentRepresentation: Small molecule targeted RNA is a very challenging and entirely new field. Compared to protein targets, RNA targets have broader potential, but the corresponding development difficulty is also greater. We highly value ReviR's platform technology, which can identify potential RNA targets while having the capability to efficiently develop safe and effective RNA-targeted therapies, creating orally administrable small molecule drugs for undruggable targets. The ReviR team possesses extensive experience in computational biology, RNA biology, and drug development, demonstrating high execution efficiency. We hope that under the leadership of the core team, the company will soon advance its drug pipeline into clinical trials, benefiting patients. We will continue to leverage our experience and resources to support the team in driving corporate growth, believing that ReviR has the potential to become a leader in the field of small molecule targeted RNA drug research and development.
Dr. Shu-Hao Wen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, XtalPiSmall-molecule targeted RNA has greatly expanded the boundaries of drug development, with the potential to bring breakthroughs in entirely new therapies. ReviR's self-developed AI platform offers significant advantages in RNA functional structure analysis, small-molecule screening prediction, and target binding evaluation. The team has deep expertise in the field of drug discovery, while XtalPi and ReviR have established a close cooperative relationship over time. The application of an advanced AI + robotics-enabled drug discovery platform provides strong support. Currently, the collaboration has already yielded pipeline results, with plans to advance to the clinical stage in the future. RNA targets offer vast development potential, and we look forward to advancing RNA therapy innovation through our joint efforts, bringing more high-quality and efficient innovative drug options to patients worldwide.
About ReviR Therapeutics
ReviR TherapeuticsReviR Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that combines AI technology to develop small-molecule drugs targeting RNA, focusing on innovative drug research for central nervous system diseases, cancer, and other rare genetic disorders. Founded in 2021, the company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with core team members deeply experienced in computational biology, AI, RNA biology, and drug discovery. ReviR leverages its cutting-edge technology and AI-driven drug discovery platform, VoyageR, to research more effective and safer disease-modifying therapies. The company is currently concentrating on applying SpliceR modulation technology to target RNA, aiming to address unmet clinical needs in genetic diseases.
About Longpan Investment
Longpan Investment, headquartered in Beijing, is a leading biopharmaceutical venture capital firm in China. Currently, Longpan Investment manages five RMB funds and one USD fund, with a total scale exceeding 10 billion RMB. It is the only biopharmaceutical investment institution that has received funding support from China's two top RMB LP contributors—the National Social Security Fund and the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund. Longpan Investment focuses on investments in innovative drugs and innovative medical devices, primarily targeting startups and early to mid-stage companies. It has invested in over 120 companies to date, including more than 100 innovative drug enterprises and over 20 innovative medical device companies. Notable projects include Betta Pharmaceuticals (SZ.300558), RemeGen (SH.688331), Asieris Pharmaceuticals (SH.688176), Kanger Tech (SH.688687), ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (HK.01541), Aibonode (SH.688050), Kangtini Pharmaceuticals (GYRE), Huahao Zhongtian, BinHui BioTech, and Wuhe Bona, among other star projects. The Longpan Investment management team includes several partners with over 20 years of international/domestic biopharmaceutical industry R&D and management experience, providing comprehensive value-added services to portfolio companies.
About XtalPi
QuantumPharm Inc ("the Company" or "QuantumPharm Inc", Stock Code: 2228.HK) was founded in 2015 by three MIT postdoctoral physicists and is an innovative R&D platform based on quantum physics, empowered by artificial intelligence, and driven by robotics.
The company combines first-principles calculations based on quantum physics, artificial intelligence, high-performance cloud computing, and scalable and standardized robotic automation to provide drug and materials science R&D solutions and services for global and Chinese companies in industries such as pharmaceuticals and materials science (including agrotechnology, energy, new chemicals, and cosmetics).
About CMTRF
The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation (CMTRF) is a patient-led nonprofit organization focused on advancing therapy research for CMT and achieving treatments for CMT. In response to the difficulties and obstacles encountered during the research process, the foundation actively seeks collaborators to address them. To date, CMTRF has funded 24 projects, eight of which have been successfully completed. Among the completed projects, five have developed clinical candidate drugs, one of which, DTx Pharma's candidate drug, was acquired by Novartis for $1 billion. The foundation was established by two patients who are eager to accelerate CMT treatment and operates with funding support from individuals and enterprises.
About Wu Yuan Capital
5Y Capital is one of the earliest institutions in China to engage in early-stage venture capital. Since its establishment in 2008, 5Y Capital has consistently sought out, supported, and inspired solitary entrepreneurs, providing them with comprehensive support ranging from spiritual encouragement to all aspects of business operations. We believe that when others begin to believe in what they once saw as your madness, the world will open up in remarkable ways.
Investment enterprises include Ctrip (NASDAQ:CTRP), HYY Group (NASDAQ:YY), Xiaomi Group (1810.HK), Kingsoft Office (688111.SH), XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV), Kuaishou (1024.HK), SenseTime Group (0020.HK), Keep (3650.HK), XtalPi (2228.HK), Horizon Robotics, WeDoctor Group, Pony.ai, PingCAP, etc.
About CDH Investments
CDH Investments, founded in 2002, is one of the earliest alternative asset management companies focused on the Chinese market, established by professional investors and financiers in collaboration with institutional investors such as GIC of Singapore. Its footprint has expanded from China to Southeast Asia.
CDH Investments is committed to creating long-term tangible value for its portfolio companies, focusing on discovering outstanding enterprises and allocating resources to them. Based on the realities of China's economy and its future development, the company continues to invest in China's real economy, further concentrating on technological innovation, and striving to help portfolio companies transform industry landscapes to create social value.
About Yiyi Capital
Yiyi Capital was founded in 2018, with primary investment areas including artificial intelligence, life sciences, and synthetic biology. It has been deeply engaged in healthcare and life health, systematically investing in multiple subfields such as innovative drugs, medical devices, in vitro diagnostic testing, consumer healthcare, and AI combined with biotechnology. Yiyi Capital is committed to serving outstanding entrepreneurial teams, closely collaborating with entrepreneurs, nurturing excellent new productive forces, and channeling more long-term and patient capital into technological innovation through its expertise.
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