ReviR Therapeutics Secures $30 Million Series A Financing to Advance AI-Driven, Oral Gene Therapy Targeting RNA for Neurodegenerative and Genetic Diseases

VCBeat learned第一时间 that on July 26, 2024, ReviR Therapeutics (ReviR, formerly known as 溪砾科技) announced the completion of a US$30 million Series A financing round. This round of financing was led byLapamCapitalLed by, existing shareholdersCDH Investments, Morningside Ventures, Yaho CapitalContinuous Investment,XtalPi, CMT Research Foundation (CMT Research Foundation, CMTRF)Follow-up Investment.

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 multiple neuroscience-related pipelines, including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), in preclinical and clinical stages.

ReviR Therapeutics, founded in 2021, has previously secured tens of millions of dollars in investments from top-tier investment firms such as Morningside Ventures, CDH Investments, Shunwei Capital, Sky9 Capital, Tiantu Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Yae Capital, and Capital O. The company has now established a comprehensive international team, an advanced AI platform, and a mature pipeline system. It focuses on developing multiple proprietary pipelines for hereditary rare diseases like neurodegenerative disorders, while also engaging in collaborations and pipeline development in areas such as cancer, immunology, and metabolism.

In drug development, over 80% of known disease-related proteins cannot be targeted by existing methods, posing the challenge of "undruggable" targets in innovative drug research. Traditional gene therapies face 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 means like injections, leading to irreversible treatments and low drug delivery efficiency.

ReviR Therapeutics develops innovative therapies based on the central dogma, starting from upstream RNA of proteins. Combining AI to develop orally administrable gene therapies, it regulates RNA through small-molecule drugs to influence protein expression, achieving therapeutic breakthroughs at the genetic level targeting disease mechanisms.

Currently, ReviR is focused on developing small molecules to regulate RNA splicing, utilizing 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 matured over three years of iteration, significantly accelerating the progress of pipeline development.

On this basis, the "orally deliverable gene therapy" developed by ReviR Therapeutics can regulate gene expression on one hand, making it suitable for a wide range of genetic diseases; on the other hand, it is easy to administer, highly accessible to patients, relatively reversible in treatment, and carries lower risks. This could bring new breakthroughs to various currently untreatable hereditary neurological disorders and cancers, benefiting hundreds of millions of patients worldwide.

Dr. Yang Li, Co-founder and Chairman of ReviR TherapeuticsRepresentation: There are numerous types of neurological diseases globally, with a vast number of patients. However, most of these diseases still face the situation of having no available treatment. ReviR is dedicated to developing orally administrable gene therapies, regulating genes at the RNA level, providing 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 optimizing and iterating our AI platform and steadily advancing our pipeline into clinical trials, ensuring that research achievements are successfully brought to market.

Mr. Yu Zhihua, Founding Partner of LapamCapitalRepresentation: Small-molecule targeted RNA is an extremely 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 efficient execution. 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, and we believe that ReviR has the potential to become a leader in the field of small-molecule targeted RNA drug development.

Dr. Shuhao Wen, Chairman of the Board of XtalPiRepresentation: Small molecule-targeted RNA significantly broadens the boundaries of drug development, with the potential to bring breakthroughs in entirely new therapies. ReviR's self-developed AI platform offers notable advantages in RNA functional structure analysis, small molecule screening prediction, and target binding assessment. The team has deep expertise in the field of drug development, while XtalPi and ReviR have established a close cooperative relationship over time. The application of an advanced AI + robotics drug discovery platform provides solid support. The current collaboration between the two parties 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.

ReviR Therapeutics (ReviR Therapeutics, Inc.), a biotechnology company that combines AI technology to develop small-molecule drugs targeting RNA, focuses on innovative drug research and development for central nervous system diseases, cancer, and other rare genetic disorders. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company’s core team members have deep expertise in computational biology, AI, RNA biology, and drug discovery. Leveraging its cutting-edge technology and AI-powered drug discovery platform, VoyageR, ReviR is advancing research into 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.

LapamCapital, headquartered in Beijing, is a leading biopharmaceutical venture capital firm in China. Currently, LapamCapital manages five RMB funds and one USD fund with a total scale exceeding 10 billion RMB. It is the only biopharmaceutical investment institution to have received funding support from both of China's top two RMB LP contributors—the National Social Security Fund and the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund. LapamCapital focuses on investments in innovative drugs and innovative medical devices, primarily targeting startups and early- to mid-stage companies. The firm has invested in over 120 companies to date, including more than 100 innovative drug companies and over 20 innovative medical device companies, such as Beta Pharma (SZ.300558), RemeGen (SH.688331), Ascentage Pharma (SH.688176), Kexin Technology (SH.688687), ImmuneOnco (HK.01541), Aibono (SH.688050), Contimed Pharmaceuticals (GYRE), Huahao Zhongtian, BinHui BioTech, Wuhe BaoAo, and many other high-profile projects. Several partners on LapamCapital’s management team possess over 20 years of international and domestic biopharmaceutical industry R&D and management experience, enabling them to provide comprehensive value-added services to portfolio companies.

XtalPi ("the Company" or "QuantumPharm Inc", stock code: 2228.HK) was founded in 2015 by three postdoctoral physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is an innovative R&D platform based on quantum physics, empowered by artificial intelligence and driven by robotics.

The company adopts a method that 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 domestic companies in industries such as pharmaceuticals and materials science (including agricultural technology, energy, new chemicals, and cosmetics).

The CMT 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 partners to resolve 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 is supported by donations from individuals and enterprises.

Morningside Ventures is one of the earliest institutions in China to engage in early-stage venture capital investment. Since its establishment in 2008, Morningside has consistently sought out, supported, and inspired solitary entrepreneurs, providing them with comprehensive support from morale to all aspects of business operations. We believe that if the world starts to believe in what others see as your madness, it will open up new horizons.

Investment enterprises include Ctrip (NASDAQ:CTRP), Huanju Group (NASDAQ:YY), Xiaomi Group (1810.HK), Kingsoft Office (688111.SH), XPeng Motors (NYSE:XPEV), Kuaishou (1024.HK), SenseTime (0020.HK), Keep (3650.HK), XtalPi (2228.HK), Horizon, WeDoctor Group, Pony.ai, PingCAP, etc.

CDH Investments, founded in 2002, is one of the earliest alternative asset management companies in China that focuses on the Chinese market. It was established by professional investors and financiers in collaboration with institutional investors such as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Its footprint has expanded from China to Southeast Asia.

CDH Investments is committed to creating long-term real 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.

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 deploying resources across 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.