Juventas bags $69m led by CMG-SDIC Capital

Cellular immunotherapy-focused biotech firm Juventas announced the completion of a new round of fundraising, bagging 450 million yuan ($69 million) led by CMG-SDIC Capital.

The round was also joined by new investors Shenzhen-based Tzitzit Asset, Tianjin Venture Capital, Ruisheng Investment, and Xiangrong Capital. A string of existing investors, including healthcare-focused Dalton Venture, Parkland Group’s investment arm Daxie Pengchuang Investment, Kaixin Biotechnology, and Jiadao Fanghua.

The lead investor CMG-SDIC Capital is an over 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) private equity fund co-launched by state-owned SDIC and China Merchants Capital.

The proceeds will be used for the development of clinical-stage injection, besides pipelines.

With headquarters in Tianjin and a research centre in Beijing, Juventas is designed to deliver affordable and safe cell therapy for patients who suffer from oncology diseases such as acute lymphatic leukemia and haematologic tumour.

In 2019, Juventas had secured 100 million yuan ($15 million) in a Series A+ round from Dalton Venture, Shanghai- listed Vcanbio Cell and Gene Engineering Corporation, and Panacea Venture, among others.

SDIC China Merchants is a professional private equity management institution with a cumulative asset scale of more than RMB 100 billion under management. Investors include financial institutions, social security funds, state-owned and private capital. The management team has long focused on investment in the advanced manufacturing industry, valued technological innovation, outstanding entrepreneurs and teams, and focused on investment in smart manufacturing, smart and new energy vehicles, life sciences, information and communication technology and other fields, committed to promoting green manufacturing, Digitalization and service-oriented development.