Antisense Therapeutics Announces Nearly RMB 100 Million Series A Funding Led by SDIC Chuangye to Advance ASO Drug Pipeline

Recently,ASOcura Announces Completion of Nearly RMB100 Million Series A Financing. Led by SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd., with Follow-on Investment from Existing Shareholder and Heryan Venture SCA3 Industry Fund, to Support ASOcura in Advancing New Technology R&D, Commercial Production Implementation, and International Business Strategy Layout.The funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate the advancement of products targeting indications such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, and Huntington's Disease, as well as to apply for registration in clinical trials. It will also promote the product development of multiple subsequent innovative pipelines and enhance international cooperation.

SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. has a deep industry background and rich investment experience in the biopharmaceutical field. In the future, ASOcura will leverage the resource advantages of its new shareholders to accelerate the company's growth and internationalization process. At the same time, ASOcura will continue to strengthen platform construction and pipeline advancement, providing patients with more efficient and precise treatment services.

Regarding this investment, SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. expressed that they are optimistic about ASOcura's innovation capabilities and development potential in the RNA-targeted antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) field. They hope this round of funding will advance ASOcura’s research and development progress across multiple pipelines, especially for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3. This financing marks another significant layout by SDIC Venture Capital in the life sciences and healthcare sector. In the future, they will continue to actively seek out and support life sciences and healthcare projects with innovation capabilities and market prospects, jointly promoting the rapid development of the life sciences and healthcare industry in China.

Founder of ASOcura, Professor Yimin HuaThe significance of this round of financing is: Our goal is to quickly push several products targeting neuromuscular rare diseases into clinical trials. Currently, there are no effective treatments for these rare diseases, or although drugs are available on the market, their efficacy is very unsatisfactory. The ASO products we have developed using the latest platform technology improve genetic defects at the source of the disease and have shown good efficacy and safety in animal models. The support from SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. not only provides us with financial security for research and development but also brings strong momentum for our technology to be rapidly transformed into clinical applications.

With the funds in place, ASOcura plans to accelerate the preparation of clinical trials for its multiple ASO drug projects and expand its R&D team to enhance the company's original R&D capabilities. In addition, the company will strengthen cooperation with scientific research institutions and biopharmaceutical enterprises both domestically and internationally, jointly advancing scientific research and drug development in fields such as neuromuscular diseases and cancer.

ASOcura, founded in 2017, is the first company in China to develop ASO drugs targeting RNA processing. Focusing on technological innovation, the company has made breakthrough progress in RNA splicing regulation and novel RNA processing in recent years. ASOcura currently has more than ten R&D pipelines. Among them, drug development for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3) has yielded encouraging preclinical data, showing significant clinical research value. Notably, FY015A, a product targeting Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3, has successfully completed dosing in two patients in a recently initiated IIT clinical study, with no drug-related adverse events observed.

Dr. Yimin Hua, the founder of ASOcura, is the inventor of the groundbreaking nucleic acid drug SPINRAZA. Building on the founder's successful R&D experience and technical expertise, the company leverages multiple core technologies as platforms for developing therapeutic ASO drugs, including splicing-switching ASO technology, 5D-ASO technology, ASO-mediated RNA editing technology, and conjugated ASO technology to enhance extracellular hepatic absorption. This has enabled the company to build a distinctive and highly competitive new drug R&D capability. ASOcura has acquired several proprietary technologies with independent intellectual property rights, including two applications for national invention patents in China, two PCT patent applications, four U.S. invention patent applications, and one each in Japan and South Korea. The company has been granted one invention patent each in China, the U.S., and Japan. In addition to multiple ongoing rare disease pipelines, the company has also made progress in product development for indications such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Since its establishment, the company has secured two rounds of financing, including 30 million yuan in angel funding and 26 million yuan in pre-A round funding. This nearly 100-million-yuan A round financing marks ASOcura's entry into a phase of rapid development.

ASOcura Laboratory and Animal Facility

SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. was established in 2016 as a venture capital fund management company specifically set up by the State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC) to implement the national innovation-driven development strategy, deepen its comprehensive strategic cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology, and accelerate the transfer and transformation of national scientific and technological achievements through market-oriented methods. SDIC Venture Capital focuses on the investment goal of transforming scientific and technological achievements, concentrating on key areas such as advanced manufacturing, electronic information, biomedicine, materials, and energy. Through platforms like the National Science and Technology Major Project Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC Hi-Tech (Shenzhen) Venture Capital Fund, SDIC (Ningbo) Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, and SDIC (Guangdong) Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund, it aligns with China's regional development strategies, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It continuously promotes breakthroughs in the independent innovation of core technologies and builds a robust ecosystem for investing in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.