Seven Beijing-Based Innovative Drug Developers Secure Funding and Advance Toward IPO

Apr 28, 2024 17:23 CST Updated 17:23

Anlong

Gene Therapy Drug Developer

▎Edited by the Wuxi AppTec content team

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region isOne of the four major clusters of China's biopharmaceutical industry development. Among them, Beijing's biopharmaceutical industry stands out in innovation capability and has abundant clinical resources. It has built key parks such as Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Daxing Biopharmaceutical Industry Base, and Yizhuang Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park to high standards, giving rise to a group of innovative drug startups that have gained capital attention. According to incomplete statistics from Insight Innovation,2From 2024 to present, at least 7 innovative drug companies in Beijing have received financing., with a total disclosed amount exceeding 800 million yuan。The highlights worth paying attention to are as follows:

Cell and gene therapy receives considerable attention:Four Financing Companies Focus on Cell and Gene Therapy: Including Yinzhen Gene, Anlong Biotech, Huixin Medical Valley, and Nuowei Biotech, with Technologies Covering Gene Editing Based on Novel Cas Nucleases, Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) Gene Therapy, and More.Via stem cells and autologous memory lymphocytes, etc.。

Antitumor drugs continue to be the focus of research and development:Among the companies that have received financing, four are involved in the research and development of anti-tumor drugs. Notable emerging companies include Novo Biotechnology, which focuses on early cancer treatment, and antibody drug developer Anlong Biopharmaceuticals.Shuoxing Bioetc.

Hualvax: Vaccine and New Drug Development Company

News on March 22, Walvax Biotech announced the completion of a 600 million yuan B-round financing. This round was jointly led by Beijing Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund and Ming Tai Fund under Huayin Capital, with participation from Shuimu Chunjing Capital, Shunxi Fund under Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co., Ltd., Grassroots Capital, and Jincheng Fund. Walvax Biotech was founded in 2019.Dedicated to the research, development, and industrialization of human vaccines and innovative adjuvantsThe founder and chairman of the company is Mr. Wang Hailong. The funds from this Series B round will mainly be used to advance the clinical trials of the company’s shingles vaccine, influenza vaccine, and other products, as well as for the construction of vaccine production bases and adjuvant production facilities.

GeneCorrect: Gene Editing Drug Development Company

April 3, Yin ZhengjiDue to (GenEditBio)Announced the completion of a multi-million dollar Pre-A+ round of financing.Yinzhen Gene Focuses on Developing Next-Generation Gene Editing Tools Based on Novel Cas Nucleases, and has excavated dozens of natural Cas nucleases with high efficiency and high precision in human cells. The company uses high-throughput screening tools to screen lipid nanoparticles (LNP) systems targeting the liver and engineered, fast-acting, minimal residue ribonucleoprotein delivery vectors (ePDV) targeting outside the liver, to solve the delivery issues associated with novel gene editors. It is reported that this round of financing will be used to support the development of the company’s next-generation gene editing tools and the rapid advancement of its product pipeline.

Anlong: Gene and Nucleic Acid Drug Research and Development Company

On January 23, AnlongBio announced the completion of a multi-million yuan A+ round of financing. AnlongBio is committed to the research and development of gene therapy and small nucleic acid drugs.Anlong Biotech has built the ANOG small nucleic acid drug technology platform, which can target drugs to non-liver tissues based on the Gal-Mola carrier.Currently applied in the research and development of drugs for fields such as hepatitis B and hypertension. According to the company's official website, Anlong Biotech owns proprietary intellectual property rights for non-liver carriers that target tissues such as the brain, eyes, lungs, fat, muscles, and tumors, enabling localized drug delivery and potentially allowing for longer dosing intervals. The company has collaborated with two listed companies (KawinTech and Salubris) to develop oligonucleotide drugs targeting hepatitis B and hypertension respectively.

Huixin Medical Valley:Neural Stem Cell Therapy Company

On February 26, Huixin Yiguo announced the completion of a pre-A round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB.The financing funds will be used to advance the development and clinical efficacy verification of Huixin Medical's new generation of stem cell therapies for nervous system diseases.

Huixin Medical Valley was founded in July 2021, dedicated to applying induced neural stem cell (iNSCs) technology in drug research for neurological diseases and the development of innovative therapies.The companyThe first pipeline under research is precisely derived from the differentiation of iNSCs.Dopaminergic Neural Precursor Cells (iNSC-DAP) Injection, under development for the treatment of Parkinson's disease。This is a Class 1 biological new drug, administered via intracranial injection, which can replace and supplement necrotic dopaminergic neurons to achieve physiological dopamine secretion in the brain. The goal is to achieve long-term efficacy with a single transplant, alleviating symptoms and halting disease progression. In July 2023, the first neurosurgical operation using iNSC-DAP autologous cell transplantation for Parkinson's disease was successfully completed at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University. This clinical research project has been registered as an investigator-initiated trial (IIT).

Novo Biotech: Anti-tumor Nucleic Acid New Drug R&D Company

News on March 30: NEWISH (Beijing Newish Biotech Co., Ltd.) announced that it has completed a Pre-B+ round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan led by Yicun Capital earlier this year. Founded in 2014, NEWISH is committed to the research and development of innovative biopharmaceuticals in the field of anti-tumor treatments. The company's CEO is Dr. Liu Defang. NEWISH has collaborated with Academician Jiang Jiandong to establish the STARi nucleic acid drug development platform.This platform adopts a strategy of targeting enhanced T-cell immunity by linking chemokines, aiming to develop a new generation of tumor vaccines.According to the news release from Walvax Biotech, the company has filed for three Class 1 new drugs in the past three years and successfully obtained IND approval. The funds from this round of financing will mainly be used to advance the clinical trials of its two nucleic acid-based tumor vaccine Class 1 new drugs and to develop and register the next generation of innovative product pipelines. Notably, on October 23 last year, Walvax Biotech announced the completion of a 50 million yuan pre-B round of financing, and the fact that it has raised two rounds in a short six months shows that it is highly regarded.

Shuò Xīng ShēngThing:Nano Multi-Antibody Drug Development Company

In early March, Beijing Shuoxing Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Shuoxing Bio") announced the completion of a multi-million RMB A+ round of financing.Stellar Biologics was founded in 2019. Based on its proprietary nano-multi-antibody biopharmaceutical platform technology, the company focuses on breakthroughs in indications that currently lack treatment options and is committed to...Develop innovative multifunctional antibody drugs toAnd clinical research and commercialization worldwide.

According toSparkStar Biotech Official Website,The company has built a pipeline of approximately 10 products under research, covering the fields of oncology, inflammation, ophthalmology, and neurological diseases. Among them, the drug with faster progress, SM3321, is aTumor Dual-Target and CD16A Agonist-Mediated Nanopolyantibody Drug, which has already been granted IND approval in both China and the U.S., and Phase I clinical trials have been initiated. Preclinical studies show that the product has good anti-tumor efficacy and safety; its unique structural design enables high-affinity targeting and binding to multiple tumor sites while activating immune cell function, achieving specific killing of tumor cells while minimizing non-specific toxic reactions.

Shadong Bio: Anti-tumor Drug Research and Development Company

In February, Shadong Bio completed a financing of 51.08 million RMB, with Hite Bio as the investor. Shadong Bio, established in 2001, is an anti-tumor drug research and development company.Dedicated to the research, development, and production of genetically engineered anti-tumor drugs, one gene-engineered anti-tumor drug is currently undergoing Phase 2b clinical trials, and multiple gene-engineered drugs with independent intellectual property rights are under development.In November last year, Epnemab, a recombinant protein developed by Shadong Bio, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China, with the trade name Shaite, for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

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