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Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) has become a "new track" that major developed countries and major economies around the world are competing to lay out, and investment and financing in the industry remain hot. In October, several companies in China focusing on the CGT field announced progress in financing. The editor summarizes as follows:
Introduction to financing events of some companies is as follows:
Be Biopharma：$82 Million FinancingOn October 22, Be Biopharma announced the completion of an $82 million financing round, which was supported by multiple venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies, including ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Takeda Ventures.The funding will be used to achieve clinical proof-of-concept for the company's lead project, BE-101, and to advance the development of BE-102.Be Biopharma is a company dedicated to the discovery andCompanies Developing B Cell Medicines (BCMs), with a strong and efficient B-cell drug platform that utilizes gene-editing technology to modify B cells, enabling them to continuously produce therapeutic proteins. This ultimately leads to the development of drug candidates that are persistent, titratable, and re-dosable without the need for preconditioning, holding the potential to become a “best-in-class” gene therapy. The company’s pipeline includes two key programs: BE-101 for the treatment of Hemophilia B, and BE-102 for the treatment of Hypophosphatasia (HPP). Currently, BE-101 has entered the clinical trial stage.XsellSmart:Over 100 Million Yuan in Series B1 FinancingIn October 2024, XsellSmart officially announced the completion of a market-driven Series B1 financing round exceeding 100 million yuan. This round of financing was led by Tylon/Taikun Capital, with investments from Qisheng Capital and Tianhui Capital, as well as additional investments from existing shareholders including Frees Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Sequoia China. The funds will be used to enhance XsellSmart's clinical-grade iPS-derived cell therapy pipeline for neurological diseases, further advance clinical research, and support multiple registration clinical trials.
XsellSmart has long been dedicated to the applied independent research and industrialization of iPS-derived cell therapies for neurological diseases. XsellSmart has independently designed and established a foundational technology platform, covering key technical platforms such as iPSC reprogramming and banking, gene editing of iPSCs, differentiation of iPSCs into subtype-specific neural cells, and the construction and evaluation of preclinical disease animal models. The company collaborates with multiple renowned research institutions and leading hospitals on technical research and clinical development, and undertakes key projects in cell therapy at the National Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center.XsellSmart has established a series of new technologies and platforms with independent intellectual property rights and international leadership, focusing on core main business for sustainable self-innovation. In 2023, XsellSmart's self-developed world-first clinical-grade iPS-derived subtype neural progenitor cell therapy for ALS received orphan drug designation from the U.S. FDA, granting it seven years of market exclusivity upon approval. This marks the first time a self-developed Chinese iPS-derived cell therapy has obtained FDA certification and been granted global orphan drug status.Saiyun Biotech:Tens of Millions of Angel Round FinancingOn October 28, XsellSmart announced that the company had successfully completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was jointly led by the Life Science Park Venture Capital Fund and a well-known fund, with follow-up investments from multiple entities including the InnoAngel Fund.
The success of this financing will provide strong support for the development of XsellSmart. Meanwhile, through friendly communication and cooperation with advanced research institutions in China and large tertiary hospitals, the company is expected to achieve greater breakthroughs in important areas such as the development of new delivery carriers and pipeline advancement, laying a solid foundation for subsequent investigator-initiated clinical trials and IND applications.
Currently, the R&D laboratory of XsellSmart has been established in the Zhongguan Village Life Science Park in Beijing. It has a research and process development team of more than ten people. The core technical staff hold doctoral degrees from both domestic and overseas institutions and have extensive experience in industry and academia. Relying on the comprehensive industrial chain support services provided by the park platform, XsellSmart has developed multiple pipelines in the fields of tumor targeting and cell gene therapy. The efficacy and safety testing of related delivery drugs, as well as process optimization, are currently underway.March Bio：$28.4 Million Oversubscribed Series A FinancingOn October 23, 2024, March Biosciences (March Bio) completed an oversubscribed $28.4 million Series A financing round, bringing the total funding to over $51 million. This round was led by Mission BioCapital and 4BIO Capital, and the funds will support the Phase II clinical development of its CD5 CAR-T therapy MB-105 for the treatment of T-cell lymphoma.
MB-105 is an innovative autologous CAR-T cell therapy specifically designed to overcome the main challenges of T-cell targeting and has demonstrated favorable safety and durable efficacy in a Phase I trial. March Bio also announced a collaboration with Volnay Therapeutics to advance the manufacturing process of MB-105, supporting its clinical development and future commercialization. The new funding will be used for clinical trials of MB-105 and further development of pipeline products, helping the company deliver potentially transformative therapies to cancer patients with unmet needs.
AvenCell：$112 Million Series B FinancingOctober 22,A company focused on advancing controllable autologous and allogeneic CAR-T cell therapiesAvenCell Therapeutics Announces $112 Million Series B FinancingThe funds from this financing will be used to further validate AvenCell's proprietary controllable universal CAR-T cell therapy platform, which generates CAR-T cells that can be rapidly "turned off" and "turned on" even after patients have received treatment. Compared with traditional cell therapies, this universal platform aims to treat various hematologic malignancies more safely and effectively.Currently, AvenCell's clinical pipeline includes a highly differentiated autologous CAR-T cell therapy, AVC-101, and an allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy, AVC-201, modified via CRISPR. Both pipelines target the CD123 antigen commonly found on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. AVC-101 and AVC-201 have shown encouraging safety and efficacy in early clinical trials. Additionally, AvenCell has multiple pipeline candidates expected to enter clinical stages within the next two years.
Sailxin Bio:Tens of Millions of Yuan in Pre-A Round FinancingOn October 18, 2024, XsellSmart announced the completion of a Pre-A round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB, jointly completed by Zeyu Capital and Semir Ventures. The funds will mainly be used to advance the clinical trials of the NP001 project and support the research and development of other products in the pipeline, with the aim of accelerating the clinical translation and commercialization process of Treg therapy.XsellSmart has always been committed to the development of Treg cell therapy drugs. With a fully independent and innovative Treg pipeline layout, an experienced management (or collaboration) team, and several key R&D projects advancing rapidly, it has become an important force in the field of Treg drug research and development. Compared with traditional Treg research approaches, XsellSmart's development strategy is more prominent and advantageous, offering more treatment options for patients with neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases.Currently, XsellSmart has four Treg cell therapy drugs under development.The NP001 project is the most advanced in research progress, having already obtained ethical approval for an investigator-initiated (IIT) clinical trial from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. At the same time, CMC development and non-clinical studies that meet IND application requirements are nearing completion, with plans to file an IND application with the U.S. FDA and China's NMPA by the end of this year. The Treg-targeted product NC001 is expected to confirm its candidate molecule by the end of this year, entering the formal CMC development phase early next year. The allogeneic NP005 project is also under concurrent development.
Hongchen Bio:Tens of Millions of Angel Round FinancingRecently, Wuhan Hongchen Innovation Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. This round of financing was led by Jiadao Capital and Ruijiang Investment, with several well-known investors following suit.
Wuhan Hongchen Innovation Biotechnology Co., Ltd., established in 2023, is a high-tech enterprise focused on the research and development of innovative stem cell drugs. Starting with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), the company provides scalable, low-cost stem cell therapy solutions for critical diseases such as spinal cord injuries, which currently lack substantial clinical solutions.
In September 2024, the industrialization project of Hongchen Bio Stem Cell Research and Development Center officially commenced at Phase 2 of Wuhan Optics Valley Biolnnovation Park. After the project begins operations, it will be able to simultaneously carry out the research and development of at least four innovative stem cell drugs, with an estimated annual production of over 40,000 cell preparations and a total output value reaching 200 million yuan.It is reported that the industrialization project of Hongchen Bio Stem Cell Research and Development Center has a construction area of 1726.27 square meters, including multiple functional areas such as research and development, testing, and storage.It is expected that XsellSmart will file an IND for a Class I new drug of spinal GABAergic stem cells for the treatment of spinal cord injury in H2 2025, and conduct a Phase I clinical trial in H1 2026.; Prepare the application materials for the company's second spinal glutamatergic neural progenitor cell drug.
Ruijian Pharmaceuticals:Over 100 Million Yuan in Series B FinancingOn October 14, Wuhan Ru Jian Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Ru Jian Pharmaceutical") announced the completion of a Series B financing round exceeding 100 million yuan. This round of financing was jointly led by Ceyuan Capital and Guosheng Capital, with participation from well-known industry investment institutions and Wuhan Optics Valley Industrial Investment. At the same time, the B+ round of financing for Ru Jian Pharmaceutical is also about to enter the final stage and will be closed in the near future.
Ruijian Pharmaceuticals focuses on the development of universal chemically induced cell therapy drugs.The funds from this round of financing will be used to accelerate the advancement of the company's Parkinson's disease treatment products NouvNeu001/NouvNeu003 and ophthalmic treatment product NouvSight001 in clinical trials in both China and the United States, as well as to strengthen the R&D progress of multiple innovative pipelines and the establishment of clinical capabilities.
Ruijian Pharmaceuticals, established in 2017, is an international innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on the field of regenerative medicine. The company, through its unique technology platform, concentrates on small molecule chemical transcriptional regulation-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and has multiple potential "first-in-class" pipeline products covering neurodegenerative diseases, ophthalmology, and more.
City Therapeutics：$135 Million Series A FinancingOn October 8, City Therapeutics announced its establishment,Founded by John Maraganore, Ph.D., founding CEO of Alnylam and a pioneer in RNAi therapeutics, who serves as the company's Executive Chairman, along with key scientists and business leaders in the RNAi field,Its vision is to lead the future of RNA interference (RNAi)-based new drugs.InUnder the leadership of Dr. John Maraganore, the company completed a $135 million Series A financing round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from other leading life science investors, including Fidelity, Invus, Slate Path Capital, and Rock S.Prings Capital, Regeneron Ventures, AN Ventures, and other undisclosed investors.City Therapeutics is building an siRNA engineering platform designed to design, improve, and optimize RNAi-based drugs.City Therapeutics is building an innovative RNAi therapy pipeline, with its lead program expected to enter clinical development by the end of 2025 or around that time.Thereafter, the company’s product engine aims to deliver sustainable, high-impact RNAi drugs, with 1-2 new IND applications annually starting from 2026.References: Announcements and official WeChat accounts of various companies
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