Six Chinese Cell and Gene Therapy Companies Secure New Funding and Advance Toward IPO

RecentlyIn China, multiple companies focusing on cell and gene therapy (CGT) have announced financing progress. This article will share basic information on six of these companies based on publicly available data.

1、Wuhan Kaidewei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Completes Nearly 200 Million Yuan in Series B Financing, Actively Advancing the Development of Oncolytic Virus and HPV Therapeutic Vaccine Products

On December 5, Wuhan Kaidewei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a nearly 200 million yuan B-round financing, led by Fir Creek Capital with an investment of 50 million yuan, and followed by Wuhan GaoKe, Hongtai Industrial Finance, Hubei Science Investment, Jiuzhou Tong Chuchang Investment and other institutions. The funds from this round will be used for the clinical development and market expansion of the company's various products in the field of gynecological oncology diagnosis and treatment.

Wuhan Kaidewei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was founded by renowned scientist Professor Ma Ding, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The company has deeply laid out the entire process of screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment for gynecological tumors. Two of its original in vitro diagnostic kits have been approved to enter the National Medical Products Administration’s innovative medical device review fast track for two consecutive years. These kits are expected to aid in the rapid screening and precise diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancers such as endometrial cancer and cervical cancer, as well as their precancerous lesions. This will significantly improve patient accessibility while reducing unnecessary invasive examinations and medical costs.At the same time, the company relies on the decades of research accumulation by Academician Martin's team to actively develop oncolytic viruses and therapeutic HPV.International cutting-edge innovative therapies such as vaccines. Currently, a novel recombinant oncolytic adenovirus product independently developed by the company has been approved to enter Phase I clinical research.Segment, which is expected to improve the widespread efficacy issues of existing oncolytic virus products and break through treatment bottlenecks for patients with solid tumors such as ovarian cancer.

2、Yiming Angke Successfully Raises 230 Million Hong Kong Dollars

Recently, Yiming Angke Biomedical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed company, announced that according to the terms of the placement agreement, it successfully closed the transaction on November 28, 2024, completing the placement of new H shares. A total of 33.15 million shares were placed at a price of HK$7.05 per share, representing approximately 8.86% of the company's issued share capital and approximately 9.50% of the total issued H shares before the closing. After the closing, the total number of issued shares increased from 374 million to 407 million, and the total number of issued H shares increased from 349 million to 382 million. The net proceeds from this placement amounted to approximately HK$230 million, with a net placement price of approximately HK$6.93 per share.

Yiming Angke Biomedical Technology(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was founded in 2015 and is committed to the development and research of immunotherapy products for cancer, including bispecific antibodies, novel recombinant proteins, and TANKTM cell therapy.

3、Enka Saiyao Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in A++ Round Financing

Recently, Enkaipharma (Shanghai Enkai Cell Technology Co., Ltd.) announced the completion of a multi-million yuan A++ round of financing, led by 3SBio, with participation from Zhangjiang Heli Venture Capital, Yijin Capital, and others. The funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate the research and development and clinical trial progress of Enkaipharma's pipeline products.

4、Rongze Group Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Strategic Financing

Rongze Group, established in 2014, is a platform enterprise specializing in the development and application of cutting-edge life science technologies. It focuses on the development and clinical application of cell and gene therapy technologies, the construction of human life sample banks, contract research and development services for biopharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine, and other core businesses. After years of development, Rongze Group has built multiple cell and gene drug development laboratories that meet GMP standards in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and other locations. Currently, it has developed various cell and gene therapy product pipelines targeting major diseases such as cirrhosis, cartilage defects, cancer, and congenital cardiomyopathy. Additionally, around the field of cell and gene technology, the group has jointly established technology transfer platforms and clinical research centers with multiple institutions both domestically and internationally.

5、Laymon Bio Completes Over 100 Million Yuan in Series A Financing First Close

Recently, Shenzhen Lemong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the successful completion of the first close of an over RMB 100 million Series A financing round. This round was led by Fuhui Venture Capital, with participation from Junyi Investment and XtalPi, among others. The funds will primarily be used for IND applications for ultra-low-dose metabolism-enhanced CAR-T cell therapies, the development of automated production processes, and accelerating the clinical translation of metabolism-enhanced solid tumor cell treatment drugs.

Lemang Bio was co-founded by Professor Li Tang's team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and XtalPi. It is an innovative drug research and development company specializing in cancer immunotherapy, combining immunometabolic reprogramming (Meta 10) with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI). The core team of Lemang Bio comes from several prestigious universities at home and abroad, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Chicago (UCHI), Peking University (PKU), Zhejiang University (ZJU), and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and has gathered many senior professionals in the field of cell therapy. Under the leadership of Professor Li Tang, the core team has delved into frontier research in the field of cancer immunotherapy, publishing related work in top international academic journals such as Nature, Nature Biotechnology, and Nature Immunology, and has applied for multiple PCT patents and Chinese patents. Addressing the long-standing key issue of T-cell exhaustion that limits the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, Lemang Bio has developed the world’s first IL-10-mediated immunometabolic reprogramming technology (Meta 10), based on the founding team’s cutting-edge research achievements. Preclinical studies have shown that the Meta 10 metabolic reprogramming technology platform can effectively overcome T-cell exhaustion and induce the formation of stem-like memory immune cells. Based on this, Lemang Bio has established a proprietary discovery, research and development, and production technology platform for biologic macromolecular drugs and novel immune cell therapies.

6、Kanglin Bio Completes 150 Million Yuan Series A Financing

Recently, Kanglin Biotechnology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. ("Kanglin Biotech"), which focuses on the R&D and commercialization of innovative gene therapy drugs, announced the successful completion of its Series A financing. This round of financing was jointly invested by Zhejiang Province's "4+1" Biopharmaceuticals and High-end Medical Devices Industry Fund and existing shareholder Zhejiang Miyin Investment Management Co., Ltd., with a total financing amount of 150 million yuan.