METiS Pharmaceuticals Secures $100M Series C Financing to Advance AI-Driven Drug Delivery Platforms and Pipeline Development

On June 21, 2024, METiS TechBio, an innovative biotechnology company focused on "AI + drug delivery," announced the completion of a $100 million Series C financing round. This round was led by a fund under CICC Capital Operation Co., Ltd., with follow-up investments from Taiping Hong Kong Insurance Technology Innovation Fund under China Taiping. Together with previous investments from top institutions such as Sequoia China, Guoshou Equity, PICC Equity, FiveSource Capital, Frees Fund, Source Code Capital, Lightspeed Lightstone, and Laisi Capital, METiS TechBio has raised nearly $300 million in total.

METiS TechBio was founded in 2020 by Dr. Hongmin Chen, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, along with Dr. Cai-Da Lai and Dr. Wen-Shou Wang, both top scientists from MIT. The company leverages artificial intelligence to drive precise targeted drug delivery and drug discovery, focusing on the development of innovative nanomaterials and creating more effective therapeutic drugs for patients. It has now become one of the world's leading drug delivery platforms. The funds from this round of financing will also be mainly used to further advance the construction of the AI + drug delivery platform and the development of its self-owned pipeline, supporting METiS TechBio’s continuous innovation in the field of drug delivery.

According to predictions by Nova One Advisor, the market size of CGT and mRNA therapies is expected to soar to $156.2 billion by 2033, attracting significant attention from investors and companies. In the development of CGT and mRNA drugs, "drug delivery" technology is a critical bottleneck for ensuring their successful entry into cells for expression, involving key issues such as targeting tissues and organs, efficient intracellular delivery, and endosomal escape. Figuratively speaking, this delivery process is like a rocket precisely launching a satellite into a specific orbit, enabling the satellite to function properly.

As a leading company in the field of "AI + drug delivery," METiS TechBio, in the absence of open-source datasets and delivery-related algorithms, started from scratch to innovatively develop groundbreaking artificial intelligence and computational simulation algorithms for the generation and design of ionizable lipids and the design and simulation of LNP nanomaterials. Combined with world-leading high-throughput experimental techniques and animal validation platforms, METiS TechBio has established its own data and algorithmic barriers. Currently, METiS TechBio has independently developed three core AI+ technology platforms: an AI-driven nucleic acid delivery system design platform (AiLNP), an AI-driven mRNA sequence design platform (AiRNA), and an AI-driven small molecule formulation design platform (AiTEM). Furthermore, METiS TechBio has created a proprietary technical route that deeply integrates dry and wet experiments, achieving efficient drug delivery and drug discovery.

Based on the AI drug delivery platform and integrating the rapidly advancing large models and generative AI technologies, METiS TechBio has established the world's first METiSLipidLM lipid language model and PhatGPT lipid generation model, creating a million-level lipid library and successfully breaking through international patent barriers. Meanwhile, METiS TechBio combines innovative molecular simulation technology to simulate various microscopic processes of LNPs in vivo and in vitro, relying on a world-class experimental validation platform to empower the development of multi-organ targeted nanomaterials, achieving the successful implementation of AI + nanomaterial applications.

In the field of liver targeting, METiS TechBio has achieved best-in-class global leadership, with delivery efficiency surpassing industry giants by more than 20 times. In areas such as lung targeting, it has also achieved an order-of-magnitude improvement in efficacy compared to top overseas pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, METiS TechBio has pioneered targeted delivery technologies for systemic muscles, the brain, immune organs, and tumors, successfully leading the world in overcoming the "bottleneck" challenge of multi-organ and tissue targeting. This brings opportunities for drug development in nucleic acid gene therapies for cancer, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions.

Relying on its self-developed technology platform, METiS TechBio has established several R&D pipelines, covering small molecule drugs and nucleic acid drugs mainly based on mRNA. The focus is on indications with significant clinical needs in China and globally, such as cancer, central nervous system diseases, and liver diseases.

The small molecule pipeline, which is currently the most advanced, has successfully entered Phase III clinical trials in June 2023. The mRNA immunotherapy pipeline is also expected to enter clinical trials this year. This indicates that the company has completed the rapid transformation and upgrade from a technology platform to a product platform, validating the R&D capabilities of METiS TechBio's AI-driven drug delivery platform.

This C-round financing will further accelerate METiS TechBio's research and development process and enhance the company's competitiveness in the AI drug discovery field. METiS TechBio will use the funds from this round of financing to continue strengthening team building and promoting the research and clinical application of more innovative drugs.

In addition to independent research and development, METiS TechBio actively seeks external collaborations, adopting a dual-driven model of "independent R&D + co-development" to propel corporate growth. Currently, through co-development or the external licensing of its technology platform, METiS TechBio has established in-depth collaborations with top pharmaceutical companies both within and outside China. The R&D speed and success rate of its technology platform have gained industry recognition. Through close cooperation, METiS TechBio is expected to achieve technological breakthroughs and commercial applications on a global scale, contributing significantly to the advancement of the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Lai Caida, Co-founder & CEO of METiS TechBio, stated: "We are highly honored to receive the support of this round of financing, which will provide strong momentum for METiS TechBio’s further development in the AI-driven drug discovery field. We understand that the next 2-3 years will be a crucial period for the industry, as the global community is accelerating the development of nanodelivery materials and major pharmaceutical companies are actively seeking long-term drug delivery partners. We are firmly committed to advancing ‘AI + Drug Delivery’ technology, with the ambition to become the SpaceX of the pharmaceutical industry by designing world-class nano-rockets to solve the most challenging technical problems in the field. At the same time, we look forward to collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies in China to build an ecosystem for nucleic acid drugs in the country, bringing more innovative drugs to clinical trials."

METiS TechBio Co-Founder & CRDO Academician Hongmin Chen stated: "We are very grateful for the strong support from our investors since the Series C round. The development prospects for nucleic acid gene drugs are immense, and there are still many unmet clinical needs waiting for us to develop newer and more effective drugs. Over the past four years, we have built world-leading AI + drug delivery R&D capabilities. Moving forward, we will push more drugs into clinical trials, providing patients worldwide with more innovative therapies. We are delighted to receive the support of CICC Capital Operation Co., Ltd. and China Taiping."

CICC Capital stated: "In the global AI drug research and development field, METiS TechBio is an international team that understands both pharmaceuticals and AI. In this era full of challenges and opportunities, we look forward to the METiS TechBio team continuing to leverage its technical advantages and innovation capabilities to write a new chapter."

Taiping Hong Kong Insurance Sci-Tech Innovation Fund stated: "The CGT industry is currently a major hotspot in research and development, and advancements in delivery technology will significantly break through the limitations of traditional drug formulations, offering an extremely wide range of application scenarios. We look forward to the company continuing to drive revolutionary developments in the pharmaceutical industry, bringing more hope and health to patients worldwide."

METiS TechBio (METiS Pharmaceuticals) was founded in 2020 as an innovative biotechnology company driven by AI for drug delivery and drug discovery. METiS TechBio aims to revolutionize the development of innovative drugs by integrating advanced technologies such as novel AI, machine learning, and quantitative simulations with drug development. This approach enables more efficient and precise advancement in the design of innovative delivery materials, candidate drug selection, formulation design, development of "programmable nucleic acid drugs," and nucleic acid delivery design. The goal is to bring revolutionary medicines to patients worldwide, addressing unmet clinical needs.

CICC Capital is the private equity investment fund business operation platform of China International Capital Corporation ("CICC"), managing CICC's private equity investment fund businesses both domestically and overseas. It has developed into one of China's leading private investment management institutions. Currently, the types of funds under management include RMB corporate equity investment funds, fund of funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, USD corporate equity investment funds, etc.

Taiping Hong Kong Insurance Sci-Tech Innovation Fund was initiated and established by Taiping Financial Holdings Company Limited, the overseas integrated investment platform of China Taiping. The fund focuses on areas such as healthcare and related technologies. It adheres to its base in Hong Kong, serves national strategies, and actively invests in high-quality equity projects with long-term investment value. China Taiping is the most enduring indigenous insurance brand in Chinese history and has been listed among the Fortune Global 500 for six consecutive years.