Five Chinese CGT Companies Secure New Funding and Advance Toward IPO Filings

In June, several companies in China focusing on the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector announced new financing developments. This article will share basic information on five of these companies based on publicly available data.

1Huawei Hengyuan Completes A1 Round of Financing

Huawei Hengyuan is an enterprise that owns the world's first innovative, fully independent intellectual property rights in human immune privilege Sertoli cell technology, with its core team originating from Tsinghua University. The company focuses on the research and development of innovative cell drugs and medical devices in the fields of autoimmune diseases, regenerative medicine transplantation, and assisted reproduction. In terms of its drug pipeline, the development of two cell-based drugs targeting rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes is proceeding steadily. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the preclinical research phase for the rheumatoid arthritis pipeline, and the rheumatoid arthritis cell injection has passed IIT ethical review and entered the clinical trial stage. In the field of diabetes treatment, the diabetes immune privilege artificial pancreas project has entered the preclinical research phase and is preparing for an IND application, with significant efficacy observed in animal models. Currently, Huawei Hengyuan has successfully established a clinical-grade iPSC editing and transformation platform as well as a universal transplantation protection carrier platform, achieving major breakthroughs in the development and production of cell therapy products.Using these advanced technology platforms, the company can complete the production of Sertoli cells required for clinical use in as fast as 10 days.Compared with the traditional cell production process, this speed significantly improves efficiency while ensuring cell quality and quantity. This not only reduces production costs but also provides strong support for the clinical application and commercial promotion of cell therapy products.

On June 12, BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology announced that it planned to strategically invest in Suzhou Geek Gene Technology Co., Ltd. through an equity increase. This transaction marks an important step for the innovative pharmaceutical company in the field of cell therapy. According to the announcement, BrightGene will acquire 4.1667% of Geek Gene’s equity for a consideration of 20 million yuan. The equity increase was completed at a premium. After the transaction is completed, Yong Junjiao will hold 31.2383%, BrightGene's chairman Yuan Jiandong will hold 1.2144%, and BrightGene Bio-Medical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. will hold 4.1667%.

Since its establishment in 2021, Suzhou Geek Gene Technology Co., Ltd. has relied on a high-throughput omics technology platform to focus on the development of innovative T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Its core team consists of scientific research talents from top universities such as Peking University and Harvard University, with extensive experience accumulated in single-cell technology research and clinical applications. The company has launched its first tumor-reactive T-cell therapeutic product, GK01, and preliminary studies have shown promising preclinical results.

3Innovent Vitality Completes New Round of Financing

Report on June 16th stated,Zhongji Zhiyao（GenMedicn) Completed A+ round of financing, with investors being Broadcom Capital and Kangyuan Huiying Investment.This round of financing will help further advance its R&D pipeline and accelerate the industrialization process of innovative drugs.

Zhongji Zhiyao is a gene therapy drug development enterprise dedicated to making gene therapy drugs available in routine application scenarios. Guided by "science-driven concepts" and "long-term strategic planning," the company currently focuses on the field of lentiviral vector hematopoietic stem cells and has advanced a series of genetic anemia drug pipelines into clinical trials. After five years of development, the company has achieved a leading position in areas such as gene cassette design, lentiviral vector production, and hematopoietic stem cell formulations.The company has independently built and fully operates a 2,600-square-meter pilot workshop, equipped withViral VectorProcess Development and cGMP Drug Preparation Capabilities. In 2023, the company independently completed the production of clinical-grade lentiviral vectors and hematopoietic stem cell preparations, and treated two patients with severe β-thalassemia using self-produced preparations. In January 2024, the company's gene therapy drug for β-thalassemia, GMCN-508B, received tacit approval from the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration for its Investigational New Drug (IND) application.

With a core team boasting 10 years of experience in cell and gene therapy R&D, Zhonghui Pharmaceutical has broken through physiological barrier limitations by engineering exosome modifications and achieving efficient protein encapsulation, enabling precise delivery of therapeutic substances to target organs via exosomes. Leveraging the valuable biological resources from biobanks, large-scale cell culture technology, gene editing technology, cell engineering techniques, and exosome preparation technology, the company is driving the commercialization of biologically innovative products in pharmaceuticals and medical aesthetics. In terms of pipeline development, Zhonghui Pharmaceutical...Already in"Gene-Edited Engineered Stem Cells with Hair Growth Function"Completed basic research in the field and obtained multipleCore data items. It can highly express two specific active proteins and has demonstrated significant hair growth effects in human clinical trials. This round of financing will accelerate the advancement of exosome process research for gene-edited engineered stem cells, developing products that can reactivate dormant hair follicle stem cells and restore the ability of human hair growth. The company is researching exosome-encapsulated drug-targeted delivery technology, which can treat androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, and various types of hair loss including chemotherapy-induced alopecia. In addition, Zhonghui Pharmaceutical is exploring exosomes and gene-edited engineered stem cells in Type II diabetes and ophthalmology fields, while strengthening cooperation with top global scientific research institutions and medical institutions to build an innovative shared ecosystem, jointly promoting the rapid development of applied science in exosomes.