Recently, multiple companies in China focusing on the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector have announced new financing developments. This article will share basic information on seven of these companies based on publicly available data.
1、StarryGene Completes Pre-A+ Round Financing of Tens of Millions of RMB
On March 19, StarryGene completed a Pre-A+ round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. This round was led by Cowin Venture Capital, with participation from Hefei Innovation Investment (Hefei High-Level Talent Project) and other institutions. The funds will be used to carry out Phase I/II clinical trials for the wAMD pipeline, and to advance the pharmaceutical, preclinical research, and IIT clinical trials for the dAMD pipeline.StarryGene is a high-tech enterprise that develops cutting-edge gene editing technologies and ophthalmic disease gene therapy products, focusing on the development of ophthalmic gene therapy drugs. The core team of StarryGene is a doctoral entrepreneurial team led by a "Distinguished Young Scientist," with two core technology platforms on the R&D side: the AAV-Antibody Gene Drug Platform (bispecific antibody optimization platform, capsid screening platform) and the gene editing platform. StarryGene's first-in-class innovative gene therapy drug "XMVA09 Injection" is the first gene therapy drug to achieve both bispecific targeting and intravitreal injection with an optimized capsid. Its indication is wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), and it has demonstrated significantly superior in vivo and in vitro efficacy compared to RGX-314, a leading product from the United States. Currently, the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for XMVA09 has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and the next phase will be the official launch of Phase I/II clinical trials.On March 20, BIOSMELT PHARMA announced an angel+ round of financing worth tens of millions, led by a well-known investment institution in China. This round of financing will mainly be used to accelerate the CDO/CMO platform capacity conversion at the Shanghai CMC R&D Center, while advancing the process development and IND application for client-commissioned pipelines at BIOSMELT PHARMA.
BIOSMELT PHARMA was founded in August 2021 as a CDO/CMO service enterprise focused on biotech innovation drugs, particularly novel CGT drugs. The Shanghai CMC R&D Center, located in the Wisdom Plaza of Minhang District’s Pujiang Lingang International Science and Technology City, covers an area of 3,000 square meters and complies with third-party GMP verification and BSL-2 laboratory requirements for pathogenic microorganisms. In 2022, BIOSMELT PHARMA acquired the media platform Yima Club, creating a competitive edge driven by a dual-core strategy of "technical services + brand expansion," empowering biotech innovation drug companies throughout their lifecycle to achieve rapid growth.
3、Simnova Completes RMB 200 Million Series A+ Financing
On March 11, Simnova, a Shenzhen-based biotechnology company focused on developing innovative immunocyte therapies, completed its RMB 200 million Series A+ round of financing. This round was led by You Mountain Capital, with participation from Origin Capital, Pudao Capital, and Guochuang Qinzhi. Heryue Capital served as the financial advisor for this round of financing.Simnova is a cell therapy biotechnology company at the clinical development stage. The company's universal NK platform features an innovative, proprietary CAR structure design and possesses mature and stable CMC capabilities for large-scale production of universal NK cells. The first CAR-NK pipeline, SNC103, achieved positive results in the IIT phase and has entered Phase I clinical trials. A dual CAR-T cell therapy, SNC109, which is based on another core platform and utilizes a self-developed dual-arm BiTE armored structure, was granted "Orphan Drug Designation" by the FDA for the treatment of malignant glioma. This product has also received clinical trial authorization from China’s CDE and is about to initiate Phase I clinical trials. Additionally, Simnova has formed a strategic partnership with ORNA, a cutting-edge U.S.-based biotechnology company, to develop next-generation universal in vivo cell therapy products using circular mRNA and targeted delivery platforms. This technology is expected to become another disruptive form of universal cell therapy, with broad potential applications in oncology, autoimmune diseases, and other therapeutic areas.
Recently, Suzhou Yinghui Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yinghui Medical") successfully completed its Series A1 round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. This equity financing was solely invested by Shengyuan Zhiben. The funds will be used for Phase I clinical research of Yinghui Medical's oncolytic virus product YH01.Suzhou Yinghui Medical Technology Co., Ltd. is an innovative oncolytic virus enterprise in China with full-chain industrial capabilities, including the design, construction, validation, process development, and large-scale production of oncolytic viruses. Its key technology is internationally leading. The project team is led by Huang Yinghui, a globally renowned expert in the field of virology, a tenured professor at the Torrey Pines Institute in California, USA, and the former dean of the College of Life Science and Bioengineering at Beijing University of Technology. The team includes fellows of the Royal Society of the UK, top experts from Beijing, operational experts with extensive business management experience, and industry experts with rich industrialization experience. They have already achieved a large number of core technologies with independent intellectual property rights. Suzhou Yinghui currently has five products, among which YH01, targeting triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), is the most advanced. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that this product has disruptive efficacy and is currently in Phase I clinical trials.
Recently, Hengyu Bio announced the successful completion of a nearly 200-million-yuan B-round financing. The funds will be used to further enhance the company's international compliance quality system construction, expand product lines, and accelerate the layout of overseas business. This round of financing was led by CMB International Capital, with investments from Hedda Health, Hongcheng Investment, Jincheng Talent Fund, Jiashan IPO Cultivation Fund, and continued support from existing shareholders Chengshu Investment and Mr. Zheng Xiaodong, Chairman of Dongfu Dragon.Hengyu Bio relies on international compliance standards and, with its excellent quality and technical strength, has built a Biosafety one-stop service platform focused on large-molecule drugs and CGT drugs. It has passed audits and certifications by the EU QP, CNAS, and ISO9001, meeting the stringent requirements of global regulatory authorities such as NMPA, FDA, and EMA, providing reliable assurance for innovative pharmaceutical companies.Recently, Addbio (Shenzhen Addbio Biomedical Co., Ltd.), a gene drug research and development company focusing on the underlying technology of gene editing, officially announced that it has completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions in the near term.This angel round of financing was led by Topright Partners, with follow-up investments from Entropy Continuation and other industry angel investors. The funds will mainly be used to advance the clinical layout of gene therapy and accelerate the construction of an in vivo gene editing technology platform.
Addbeck is the only gene drug research and development company in China that masters Type I CRISPR technology, which has been successfully applied to virus clearance. As a technology platform company, Addbeck continues to expand new application scenarios for gene editing.
7、Coze Yongxin Completes Tens of Millions of Financing
Recently, Shanghai Coze Wintech Biotechnology Co., Ltd. ("Coze Wintech") announced the completion of a multi-million-yuan financing round. This round was jointly led by Jiale Capital and Guohai Innovation Capital. The funds will be used for the research and development of a new nucleic acid delivery system and the industrialization of small nucleic acid monomer raw materials.
Coze Yongxin was founded in 2023, led by a team of PhDs and postdoctoral researchers from ETH Zurich.The company focuses on nucleoside monomers & phosphoramidites, delivery systems such as LNP and GalNAc, nucleotides, Clean Cap, biotin-TP (dNTP/NTP), CY3-TP (dNTP/NTP), CY5-TP (dNTP/NTP) derivatives, and other mRNA raw materials and excipients, as well as the custom synthesis of fluorine-containing compounds and heterocyclic compounds via CRO & CDMO services. It provides cost-effective products and process routes, supporting production scales ranging from milligram to kilogram levels, along with flexible solutions including FTE, CRO, and CDMO to meet diverse customer needs.With the core team members' years of experience in chemical synthesis and nucleic acid drug delivery system research and development, as well as in-depth market research on downstream markets, Coze Yongxin has continuously optimized internal control indicators and established a high-quality critical technology platform.At the same time, the company is also actively developing new products in biochemistry and new directions in organic chemistry, exploring novel nucleic acid drug delivery systems.
Previous article recommendation:
Costing Only One-Tenth of Global Commercial Counterparts, India Develops an Affordable Version of the Sky-High Priced CAR-T Cell Therapy — NexCAR19
NeuroD1 Gene Therapy by Shenxi Biotech Successfully Administers First Patient Globally
Bi Jingquan: Striving to Improve the Ecological Environment for the Development of the Innovative Drug Industry
Shanghai Ruijin Hospital Achieves New Breakthrough in ALS Treatment: First Innovative Therapy for SOD1 Gene Mutation Applied for the First Time in China
Hoyoo Bio and SaliX Biotech Reach Strategic Cooperation to Jointly Advance the R&D and Application of Treg Cell Therapy
Preliminary Efficacy of Huayi Lejian's Hemophilia A Gene Therapy Product in the First Six Patients of Phase I Registrational Clinical Study is Significant
Yimeng Bio Guangzhou GMP Production Base Launched to Boost Cell Therapy Industry Development
World's First! Patient with Kidney Disease Successfully Receives Genetically Edited Pig Kidney Transplant, Expected to Be Discharged Soon
JW Therapeutics' CAR-T Product "Relmacabtagene Autoleucel" Achieved Sales of 174 Million Yuan in 2023
General Office of the State Council Issues Important Action Plan
Progress in Organoid Technology and Industry
New Progress in Nearly 100 Million Yuan Fraud Case Against Leading CDMO Company: Actual Controller Has Paid Nearly 90 Million Yuan Which Has Already Been Received
A Cell Therapy Company Goes Public
The State Council Issued a Heavyweight Document, Strongly Supporting the Development of 5 Types of Pharmaceutical Enterprises, Involving the Development and Industrialization of New Drugs Such as Cell Therapy and Gene Therapy
The State Council Amends the "Regulations on the Administration of Human Genetic Resources," New Rules to Take Effect on May 1, 2024
Investment of nearly 1 billion yuan, construction area of approximately 150,000 square meters, focusing on cell therapy, gene therapy, and vaccine industries... ...
Simnova Completes RMB 200 Million Series A+ Financing
CAR-T Therapy by CoStim Pharmaceuticals Launches at 1.15 Million Yuan, with Expected Annual Sales Peak Exceeding 1 Billion Yuan
Two National Scientific Research Platforms Approved and Established by Subsidiaries of CNBG, Sinopharm Group, Officially Unveiled
TIL Cell Therapy Priced at 3.7 Million Shows Promising Market Potential, with First-Quarter Sales Expected to Exceed 30 Million
Fosun Pharma Subsidiary's NK Cell Therapy GCK-01 Approved for Clinical Trials
First in China, Yaotang Biotech's In Vivo Gene Editing Drug YOLT-201 Approved for Clinical Trials
Guangdong Province Releases New Policy! Focus on Five Major Projects: Gene Technology, Cell Therapy, AI + Biomedicine, Synthetic Biology
Covering an area of approximately 13,000 square meters, the Simnova Cell Therapy Drug Industrialization Base project has been launched.
Another Global Strategic Center of a Pharmaceutical Giant Settles in Shanghai, to Establish Shanghai as an Important R&D Base in the Field of Cell Therapy
The First AAV Gene Therapy for Hemophilia A Falls Far Short of Sales Expectations Last Year
Xiong'an Officially Issues! Support for the Development of Modern Life Sciences and Biotechnology Industries such as Cell Therapy, Genetic Engineering, and Tissue Engineering
Government Invests 6 Billion Yuan to Fund the Establishment of a Life Health Research Institute, Focusing on Cutting-edge Topics such as Cell and Gene Therapy
Disclaimer: The content is sourced from the official accounts of the Cell and Gene Therapy Field, the aforementioned companies' official websites, and other sources.This article is intended for knowledge sharing. All content is for reference only and does not constitute any advice.
