Leman Bio Secures RMB 50 Million in Fresh Funding to Advance Metabolically Enhanced CAR-T Therapies

Recently, Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Leman Bio"), announced the completion of...Two Rounds of New Financing: Angel+ Round and Angel++ Round Totaling 50 Million Yuan。

The new shareholders in this round of financing include Fuhui Venture Capital, Yunfan Technology Investment, and private financial investors, while the existing shareholders Tiantu Investment and Crystal Tech continue to support.

In addition, Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. and its metabolism-enhanced CAR-T project have successively received various grants totaling approximately 20 million yuan.

Thus far,Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. has cumulatively received approximately 150 million yuan in angel funding and project grants.

This round of financing will be mainly used forIND Application for Metabolism-Enhanced CAR-T Cell Therapy, accelerating the clinical research of metabolism-enhanced cell therapy drugs for solid tumors.

Leman Bio was founded by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.Professor Tang Li's TeamCo-founded with XtalPi in July 2021 and officially launched in February 2022.

Leman Biotech's core technology Meta 10 has demonstrated significant potential in curing solid tumors, with related findings published in the prestigious international academic journals Nature Immunology (2021) and Nature Biotechnology (2024).

On this basis, Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. has established a technology platform for the discovery, research and development, and production of biologics and novel immunotherapy cell drugs with independent intellectual property rights.

At the same time, the company utilizes cutting-edgeArtificial Intelligence (AI) Technology for Iterative Upgrading of Existing Drugs, forming three core drug research and development pipelines: metabolic reprogramming biomacromolecular drugs, anti-exhaustion cell therapy drugs, and superfactor drugs.

Leman Biotech Co., Ltd's proprietary metabolically enhanced CD19 CAR-T cell therapy is currently undergoing IIT clinical research at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China (Anhui Provincial Hospital) and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

The project has successfully completed the enrollment and treatment of more than 20 adult patients with relapsed/refractory leukemia/lymphoma, all of whom achieved complete remission (CR) and were discharged.

In addition, the clinical research (IIT) of metabolism-enhanced CD19 CAR-T was successfully launched at the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine at the end of March 2024, marking that the indications for this therapy will be further expanded to include pediatric relapsed or refractory CD19-positive B-cell hematologic malignancies.

Notably, the metabolically enhanced CD19 CAR-T cell therapy achieved complete remission (CR) in all over 20 patients with advanced relapsed/refractory leukemia/lymphoma in the IIT clinical study., and the required drug dose is extremely low - as low as 1% of the commercialized CAR-T dose.

This breakthrough will greatly shorten the production cycle of drugs and significantly reduce the production cost of CAR-T, which is expected to substantially lower the price of cell therapy drugs that were originally "astronomically expensive," making it possible for this product to be included in China's national medical insurance catalog in the future.

This round of financing received additional investments from existing shareholders, Crystal Digital Technology and TianTu Investment.

Dr. Shuhaowen, Chairman of XtalPi, said:Leman Biotech, relying on the team's deep accumulation in tumor immunology research and efficient execution, has rapidly established a comprehensive immune metabolism reprogramming technology platform for drug development within two years, while also laying out an extensive product pipeline. Through continuous technological innovation, Leman Biotech is expected to significantly reduce the production costs and sales prices of immune cell therapy drugs. Bringing high-tech achievements to the public and creating true social value is precisely the original intention behind our investment in Leman Biotech.

Wei Guoxing, partner of TianTu Investment, said:Leman Biotech's team not only possesses a forward-looking development blueprint but has also demonstrated outstanding execution capabilities. Its core technology is unique, with significant differentiation. Since the company's establishment, it has rapidly achieved a series of remarkable phased results, fully showcasing its distinctive qualities as an innovative and high-growth biopharmaceutical enterprise.

Dr. Cheng Hao, Partner of Fuhui Venture Capital, stated:In recent years, tumor immunotherapy has developed rapidly, with huge clinical demand and market potential. We have full confidence in Leman’s technical strength and enormous potential in the field of immunotherapy, and we look forward to their provision of more effective and accessible solutions for patients as soon as possible, contributing significantly to the advancement of cancer treatment.

Professor Tang Li, co-founder and chairman of Leman Bio, stated:We are very grateful to all new and existing investors for their recognition and support of Leman, which has made it possible to transform "ideas" in the lab into "effective treatments" that save lives. At the same time, we deeply appreciate the efforts and execution of clinical research experts and their teams, enabling metabolically enhanced CAR-T immunotherapy drugs to continuously achieve new breakthroughs in clinical research.

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