Hengsai Biotech Secures Tens of Millions in Series A+ Financing to Advance DC Vaccine Pipeline and Clinical Submissions

Following the completion of a billion-yuan financing round in November 2023, Hengsai Biotech recently announced that it has secured another multi-million yuan A+ round of financing. The funds will be used to advance the expansion of its product pipeline and clinical applications, as well as the construction of the Zhongshan R&D center and pilot production facility. This round of financing was jointly invested by CUIHENG GROUP, Zhongshan Xiwan Investment Holding Development Co., Ltd., Zhongshan Venture Capital Co., Ltd., and Chengming Capital.

Hengsai Biotech, established in 2018, is an innovation-driven enterprise dedicated to the research and development as well as industrialization of dendritic cell vaccines (DC vaccines). It is also a national high-tech enterprise. The company has successfully built the Eco-DCVax platform, aiming to break through industrialization technological barriers and develop high-quality DC vaccine products that are safe, efficient, convenient for administration, and globally First-in-Class with independent intellectual property rights. The developed product—therapeutic dendritic cell vaccine—provides new treatment approaches and strategies for diseases in urgent clinical need of effective therapies, such as recurrent and refractory tumors, chronic viral infections, and autoimmune diseases.

Hengsai Biotech's R&D center and pilot workshop located in Lingang Lanwan, Shanghai, were officially put into use in 2021. A large-scale R&D/production base is currently under construction. The company has now established stable cooperative relationships with multiple domestic and international scientific research institutions and Class III Grade A hospitals. It is in the process of dual IND submissions in China and the United States, conducting clinical research and technical cooperation to comprehensively verify the clinical safety and efficacy of DC vaccines.

Dr. Hui Ning Liu, Founder and CEO of Hengsai BiotechExpressed: We are very grateful for the recognition and trust from this round's investors—CUIHENG GROUP, Zhongshan Xiwan Investment Holding Development Co., Ltd., Zhongshan Venture Capital Co., Ltd., and Chengming Capital. Recently, the external market environment has undergone profound changes and adjustments, and the entire biopharmaceutical industry is undergoing a transformative evolution amidst challenges. The Hengsai team has adhered to our original mission, overcome difficulties, and forged ahead, achieving many remarkable accomplishments: the safety and efficacy of our first dendritic cell vaccine, KSD-101, have been preliminarily validated in clinical IIT studies, with initial research findings published at the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting; we have also successfully completed a billion-yuan Series A financing round. Moving forward, we will continue to uphold our spirit of innovation and the advantages of teamwork, focus on core technologies, enhance the company’s competitiveness, lay a solid foundation for sustainable development, and wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to developing safer and more effective products for patients.

Lin Xuesong, General Manager of the Investment (Business) Department of CUIHENG GROUPRepresentation: The biopharmaceutical industry is a key development focus for Cuiheng New District in Zhongshan City. As a popular research area within the biopharmaceutical sector, cell therapy has seen proactive industrial investments by CUIHENG GROUP in this field. Based on the DC vaccine developed by Hengsai Bio, which boasts advantages such as broad application prospects, low cost, good efficacy, minimal side effects, and convenient clinical use, CUIHENG GROUP invested in Hengsai Bio through a participating fund in 2021 and successfully attracted the company to establish itself in Cuiheng New District. Since securing financing in 2021, Hengsai Bio has experienced rapid growth, establishing a mature DC vaccine preparation process and building a robust product pipeline. Clinical results from its lead pipeline have shown significant efficacy in cancer patients. With this increased investment in Hengsai Bio, CUIHENG GROUP will continue to support the rapid development of Hengsai Bio, driving it to become a globally leading DC cell therapy enterprise. CUIHENG GROUP consistently adheres to an operational philosophy of growing together with its enterprises, providing full-cycle services to companies within its industrial parks. By fostering a "landlord + shareholder" industrial ecosystem, it achieves mutual success between the park and its resident enterprises.

Xiwan Investment Holding Development Co., Ltd. Investment TeamRepresentation: Hengsai Biotech is a key investment attraction project of Zhongshan Cuiheng New Area and an important layout for the development of cell drugs in Cuiheng New Area. Currently, the company mainly focuses on the research and development of product pipelines targeting lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric cancer caused by EBV. The future market prospect is enormous. The team of the company's founder, Dr. Liu Huining, has a solid theoretical foundation and rich practical experience in DC cell vaccine research and development. The first product pipeline, KSD-101 (indication for lymphoma caused by the EBV virus), has shown significant therapeutic effects in preclinical studies. Moreover, the company’s products have short production cycles and low costs, making the treatment affordable for ordinary families. When these products are launched into the market in the future, they will be a boon for all humanity.

Zhongshan Venture Capital Investment TeamRepresentation: The core founding team of Hengsai Bio has many years of industry experience in cell culture and therapy. The company has now established a mature DC vaccine preparation technology platform and possesses a compliant and scientific product quality control system. Based on this, the company has developed internationally and domestically leading DC vaccine products that greatly meet clinical needs and are easy to commercialize. After this round of financing, we believe Hengsai will further accelerate the research and development of its core pipeline products and be a pioneer in the DC vaccine industry. We look forward to Hengsai Bio developing more products with the advantages of good efficacy, low side effects, and convenient clinical use, truly benefiting patients and bringing us more surprises.

Qiu Feng, Investment Director of Chengming CapitalRepresentation: Hengsai Biotech's DC therapeutic vaccine product is one of the few in the cell therapy field that can cure patients with minimal side effects. A U.S.-based company successfully developed a product based on DC immunotherapy, creating significant commercial value. However, due to unsatisfactory treatment outcomes, the field has seen little advancement over the past decade. Hengsai Biotech, however, has addressed the challenge of low cell purity during large-scale production and enhanced the targeting ability of DC cells through specialized training, marking a historic breakthrough in this domain. Hengsai Biotech’s lead product pipeline, KSD-101, primarily targets lymphoma caused by the EBV virus, a condition currently lacking effective treatments. Preclinical studies have shown remarkable therapeutic effects, and the future launch of this product promises to benefit many patients. The company’s other pipeline products based on its DC cell platform technology are also highly promising.