Seven Innovative Biopharma Companies Secure Fresh Funding to Advance siRNA Therapies, ADCs, and Vaccines

Immunorock

Financing Round: Private Placement

Financing Amount: 184 million yen

On July 18, Immunorock Co. Ltd. announced the completion of a 183.7 million yen financing through a private placement. The company is developing a novel oral vaccine platform technology leveraging the properties of bifidobacteria and is currently focused on products such as the oral cancer therapeutic vaccine (B440). Traditional oral vaccines face the challenge of delivering antigen proteins to the body's largest immune organ—the intestinal immune system. Recent studies have found that the gut microbiota is closely related to intestinal immunity, and specific gut bacteria (such as bifidobacteria) can be taken up by dendritic cells in the Peyer's patches of the intestine and activate them.B440 is an orally administered Bifidobacterium-based WT1 cancer vaccine that strongly induces cytotoxic T cells (killer T cells), the core of anti-cancer immunity, and demonstrates anti-tumor effects in various preclinical cancer models.In preclinical studies, significant improvement in progression-free survival was observed in patients who developed WT1-specific cellular immunity induced by B440. Immunorock will initiate a Phase 1/2a clinical trial for patients with the rare disease malignant pleural mesothelioma in October this year.

Chimigen Bio

Financing Round: Pre-A Round

Financing Amount: Nearly 170 Million Yuan

On July 18, Chimigen Bio announced the completion of its Pre-A round of financing, which was oversubscribed, with a total scale of nearly 170 million yuan. This follows the first closing of the company's Pre-A round in February this year, continuing to attract new investors and existing shareholders' continuous investment. Chimigen Bio focuses on the development of innovative immunotherapies in the two major disease areas of cancer and viral infections. The proceeds from this round of financing will be used to accelerate the global early clinical development of its core products, SN3001 (a therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer) and SN2001 (an immunotherapy vaccine for chronic hepatitis B), upgrade the R&D center, and further expand the pipeline of therapeutic cancer vaccines. Chimigen Bio is driven by its proprietary SynNeogen vaccine platform.Its engineered fusion protein design combines innovation with clinical translation potential, focusing on activating the immune response of "cold tumors" through source-innovation technology and breaking the immune tolerance of tumor cells anew.。

Trioar

Financing Round: Series B

Financing Amount: 16 Million US Dollars

On July 17, South Korean biotech startup TRIOAR announced the completion of its Series B financing round, raising approximately $16 million (22.5 billion Korean won). The funds will be used to accelerate the development of its antibody drug discovery platform. TRIOAR currently possesses two core technology platforms: TROCAD, an innovative antibody platform that significantly enhances therapeutic indices, and TROSIG, a next-generation linker-toxin system designed to improve the stability and efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Moving forward, TRIOAR plans to leverage these two platforms to rapidly advance the preclinical and clinical development of novel ADC candidates.

TopGen Bio

Financing Round: Series B

Financing Amount: Nearly 40 Million US Dollars

On July 15, Drimmunity / Tcelltech (TopAlliance Biosciences) announced the completion of a nearly 40 million USD Series B financing round. TopAlliance Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of solid tumor immunotherapies. It was co-founded by Professor Lieping Chen, a pioneer in tumor immunology, and Professor Gangxiong Huang, an expert in immune cell therapy. The proceeds from this round of financing will be mainly used to support the Sino-US clinical development of the company’s core pipeline TX-103, the research and development of other pipeline projects, the expansion of the global team, as well as to accelerate the company’s international strategic layout and promote BD cooperation.TX-103 is a B7-H3 CAR-T cell therapy product that has entered the registration clinical trial and launched international clinical trials, targeting recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) and other solid tumors.。

ReEir

Financing Round: Undisclosed

Financing Amount: 580 Million Yen

On July 17, Ryeil Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a total financing of 580 million yen (approximately 28 million yuan). Ryeil is a startup company focused on developing regenerative medical technologies using patients' autologous peripheral blood. The company is currently developing a regenerative medical product, Repri cell (RE-01), for refractory ischemic lower limb ulcers. This product promotes angiogenesis, tissue regeneration, and has anti-inflammatory effects by extracting mononuclear cell populations from the patient's own peripheral blood, processing them with proprietary culture technology, and directly injecting them into the lesion site. RE-01 accelerates wound healing, improves blood flow, and promotes tissue repair. The funds from this round of financing will be used to advance physician-led clinical trials for patients with refractory ischemic (non-atherosclerotic) lower limb ulcers to verify the efficacy and safety of RE-01.

Ribo Bio

Financing Round: Equity Financing

Financing Amount: 33 Million US Dollars

On July 16, Ribo Bio announced that its R&D center, Ribo International (Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB), successfully completed a $33 million equity financing. Ribo Bio focuses on the research and development of small nucleic acid (siRNA) drugs and has established a rich product pipeline in the fields of cardiovascular, metabolic, liver, kidney, and other therapeutic areas. Its self-developed liver-targeting delivery technology has advanced multiple products to Phase 2 clinical trials, with efficacy and safety well validated clinically. Ribo International (Ribocure) serves as Ribo Bio’s global base for clinical development and business growth, leading and driving the clinical trials and business development of innovative small nucleic acid drugs worldwide.

Illimis Therapeutics

Financing Round: Series B

Financing Amount: 42 Million US Dollars

On July 14, Illimis Therapeutics announced the successful completion of a 58 billion KRW (approximately 42 million USD) Series B financing. Illimis is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for central nervous system and immune-related diseases. Its core technology is the self-developed GAIA (Gas6-mediated Anti-inflammatory Aptamer) platform.The platform develops therapeutic potential by modulating the TAM (Tyro3/Axl/Mer) receptor biological pathway — a key pathway controlling inflammation and immune responses.The company's leading pipeline, ILM01 (a drug for Alzheimer's disease treatment), will enter the preclinical stage in the second half of 2025, with an expected submission of a new drug clinical trial application (IND) by the end of 2027.

References:

[1]Official websites of various companies and publicly available information