Leman Biotech Secures RMB 50 Million in Additional Funding to Advance Ultra-Low-Dose CAR-T Clinical Development

Recently, Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Leman"), a biotechnology company focusing on the research, development, production, and commercialization of innovative drugs for novel cancer immunotherapy, announced the completion of two additional rounds of financing, namely the Angel+ round and the Angel++ round, totaling 50 million yuan. The new shareholders in this round of financing include Fuho Capital, Guangzhou Yunfan Technology Co., Ltd., and private financial investors, while existing shareholders TIANTU CAPITAL and XtalPi continued their support. In addition, Leman and its metabolically enhanced CAR-T project have successively received various grants amounting to approximately 20 million yuan. Thus far, Leman has cumulatively obtained about 150 million yuan in angel financing and project funding. This round of financing will mainly be used for the IND application of metabolically enhanced CAR-T cell therapy drugs and to accelerate the clinical research of metabolically enhanced cell therapy drugs targeting solid tumors.

Leman Biotech was co-founded in July 2021 by Professor Li Tang's team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and XtalPi, and officially began operations 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 academic journals Nature Immunology (2021) and Nature Biotechnology (2024). Building on this, Leman Biotech has established a proprietary technology platform for the discovery, research, and production of biologic macromolecule drugs and novel immunotherapy cell drugs. At the same time, the company leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology to iteratively upgrade existing drugs, forming three core drug development pipelines: metabolically reprogrammed biologic macromolecule drugs, anti-exhaustion cell therapy drugs, and super-factor drugs.

Leman Biotech Co., Ltd.'s proprietary metabolically enhanced CD19 CAR-T cell therapy is currently undergoing investigator-initiated trial (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 over 20 adult patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia/lymphoma, all achieving complete remission (CR) and being discharged. Additionally, the IIT clinical research on metabolically enhanced CD19 CAR-T was officially launched at the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine by the end of March 2024, marking the expansion of this therapy’s indications to include pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory CD19-positive B-cell hematologic malignancies.

Notably, the metabolically enhanced CD19 CAR-T cell therapy not only achieved complete remission (CR) in over 20 patients with advanced relapsed or refractory leukemia/lymphoma in the IIT clinical study but also required an extremely low drug dosage—only 1% of the commercialized CAR-T dosage. This breakthrough will significantly shorten the production cycle of the drug, substantially reduce CAR-T manufacturing costs, and is expected to lower the price of what were previously "astronomically expensive" cell therapies, providing the possibility for this product to be included in China's national medical insurance directory in the future.

Leman Biotech Co., Ltd.'s clinical research achievements have received high attention from peers both in China and internationally, and have successively gained recognition at multiple top academic conferences, including an oral presentation of the latest breakthrough progress (Late-Breaking) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 2024), an oral presentation of the latest breakthrough progress (Late-Breaking) at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT 2024), an oral presentation at the European Hematology Association (EHA 2024), and an oral presentation at the Chinese Society for Cell Biology (CSCB 2024). The new round of financing will further advance our company's clinical translational research on metabolism-enhanced CAR-T cell therapy.

This round of financing received additional investments from existing shareholders XtalPi and TIANTU CAPITAL. XtalPi, as a globally leading platform technology company driven by AI and robotics innovation, has been actively seeking and supporting startups with breakthrough innovations and significant market potential, empowering the acceleration of advanced research achievements in the biopharmaceutical field towards clinical applications. The additional investments from existing shareholders such as XtalPi and TIANTU CAPITAL demonstrate the investors' full recognition of Leman Biotech Co., Ltd.'s various research advancements in the field of immunotherapy and their confidence in the future development of Leman.

Dr. Shu-Hao Wen, Chairman of XtalPiLeman Biotech Co., Ltd. stated: Relying on the team's deep accumulation in tumor immunology research and efficient execution, Leman 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 is expected to significantly reduce the production costs and sales prices of immune cell therapy drugs. By making high-tech achievements accessible to the public and creating true social value, this aligns perfectly with our original intention of investing in Leman.

Wei Guoxing, Partner of TIANTU CAPITALLeman 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 Fuho CapitalIn recent years, the rapid development of tumor immunotherapy has led to significant clinical demand and market potential. We have great confidence in Leman Biotech Co., Ltd.'s technical capabilities and enormous potential in the field of immunotherapy. We look forward to their provision of more effective and accessible solutions for patients as soon as possible, making an important contribution to advancements in cancer treatment.

Professor Tang Li, Co-founder and Chairman of Leman Biotech Co., Ltd.Expressed: Deep gratitude to all new and existing investors for their recognition and support of Leman Biotech. It is this support that has turned laboratory "ideas" into "effective treatments" that save lives. At the same time, heartfelt thanks go to clinical research experts and their teams for their efforts and execution, which have enabled continuous breakthroughs in clinical studies of metabolism-enhanced CAR-T immunotherapy drugs. Special thanks are also extended to patients and their families for their trust and support, which has greatly strengthened our confidence in developing groundbreaking anti-cancer drugs! This round of financing will help us accelerate the advancement of core pipelines into clinical trials, expedite the development and reserve of new technologies, and further expand the application scope of the Meta 10 technology platform, allowing safe, effective, and accessible immune-metabolic reprogramming drugs to benefit more cancer patients sooner.

Fuho Capital is a VC investment institution focused on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and early-stage investments in technology companies. It excels in investments within fields such as healthcare and advanced manufacturing, with a management team that possesses extensive experience in both industrial sectors and equity investments. Fuho Capital has consistently adhered to the investment philosophy of "Professionalism, Long-term Vision, Pragmatism, and Collaboration." In the direction of biopharmaceutical investments, it upholds a dual strategy of "Biopharmaceutical Industry Investment + Leading Sub-sector Guidance," precisely targeting leading enterprises across the entire biopharmaceutical industry chain. Fuho Capital maintains a deep strategic partnership with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Zhongshan Municipal Government, and is committed to promoting the establishment and development of more high-quality innovative pharmaceutical companies in Cuiheng New District, Zhongshan City.

Founded in 2002, TIANTU CAPITAL is one of the earliest professional institutions in China to engage in equity investment. It has a professional investment team of over 50 people based in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The VC team of TIANTU CAPITAL was established in 2016. Currently, it manages five VC funds, two angel funds, and one US dollar fund, with cumulative assets under management exceeding 8 billion RMB. After eight years of practice, it has formed a relatively mature investment decision-making system and invested in more than 100 early-stage projects.

XtalPi is a world-leading technology company driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics innovation. Founded in 2015 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, XtalPi is committed to advancing the digital and intelligent transformation in life sciences and new materials fields. The company leverages cutting-edge technologies and capabilities such as quantum physics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and large-scale experimental robotics clusters to provide innovative technologies, services, and products for global industries including biomedicine, chemicals, new energy, and advanced materials.

Leman Biotech Co., Ltd, a clinical-stage innovative drug development company in the field of immunometabolism, was co-founded by Professor Li Tang's team from EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Switzerland, and XtalPi. Based on the innovative technology of immunometabolic reprogramming (Meta 10) combined with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), the company focuses on developing metabolism-enhanced cancer immunotherapy drugs. The core technology Meta 10 has demonstrated significant potential to cure solid tumors, with related findings published in top-tier international academic journals such as Nature Immunology and Nature Biotechnology. Multiple PCT patents and Chinese patents have been filed. Currently, the company is growing rapidly, with 70% of its senior R&D staff coming from prestigious universities both domestically and internationally, possessing extensive industrialization experience. Progress across multiple R&D pipelines is proceeding smoothly. Metabolism-enhanced CAR-T cell therapy is undergoing investigator-initiated trials (IIT) (NCT05715606, NCT05747157, NCT06120166), with over 20 patients achieving complete remission and being discharged. Since 2022, the company has secured approximately 150 million yuan in angel investments and project funding, winning more than 20 national or provincial awards in the biopharmaceutical field. It also received an oral presentation for the latest breakthrough (Late-Breaking) progress at the AACR 2024 (American Association for Cancer Research) and ASGCT 2024 (American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy) conferences (the only one in China). Leman Biotech, originating from Switzerland, is committed to overcoming key challenges in immunotherapy, improving response rates and efficacy, and striving tirelessly toward the ultimate goal of curing cancer!