HCmed Innovations Secures Over RMB 100 Million in Series B Funding; Jinse Medical Advances MR-Based Surgical Navigation Solutions
Huichuang Medical
Near-Infrared Brain Function Imaging Product Developer
MiDIVI
Precision Visualized Healthcare Service Provider
In recent years, innovation in the healthcare and medical industry has been constantly emerging, developing into one of the most active sectors. 36Kr has witnessed and supported the growth of innovative companies in this field, bringing a professional voice to the industry.
To this end, 36Kr has launched the "Healthcare Industry Weekly" column, which will be released regularly in the future to provide readers with industry information from multiple perspectives, including capital, policy, finance, new products, and more.
Please check the healthcare industry weekly report for November 6. This weekly report includes financing news from the healthcare sector covered by "36Kr Venture Channel" last week.
Financing and Investment
"Huichuang Medical" Secures Over 100 Million Yuan in B-Round Financing
Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.Completed Over 100 Million Yuan in Series B Financing, Led by Zhongke Haichuang, with Yida Capital, Existing Shareholder Qingyuan Investment, and Daoyuan Capital as Follow-up Investors. This round of financing will be mainly used to further advance the brand building of the company’s near-infrared (fNIRS) brain function imaging products and clinical trials for transcranial light modulation treatment of degenerative diseases. Huichuang Medical, established in 2016, focuses on research work related to near-infrared brain function imaging and evaluation, providing multi-dimensional, quantitative brain function imaging solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. Notably, the company owns the first domestically produced NMPA-registered product with over 100 channels for near-infrared brain function imaging.
"Micro Spirit Medical" Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Plus Round Financing
Brain-Machine Intelligence Fusion Technology Company Weiling Medical Completes Tens of Millions of RMB in Angel Plus Round Financing, Led by Gaorong Capital, with Investments from Zhongfa Lingchuang Life Science Park Venture Capital Fund and Qiji Investment, and Follow-on Investment from Existing Shareholder CDH Investments.At the beginning of this year, MicroMedical has completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB., with the cumulative amount of the two rounds of financing reaching nearly 100 million yuan. It is reported that this round of financing will be mainly used to promote the research and development of a fully implantable medical-grade brain-computer interface system, including clinical research on implantable ultra-compliant high-density electrode arrays, clinical application verification of thousand-channel medical-grade neural signal acquisition and processing systems, finalization of hundred-channel neural electronic chips, as well as validation of bidirectional brain-computer interface precise neural regulation technology and wireless broadband communication of neural signals.
Industry Trends
Give Doctors a Pair of "X-Ray Eyes": 「Jinse Medical」Focuses on Developing MR Surgical Navigation Solutions | Early Stage Project
"As society develops, surgeries are increasingly pursuing precision and minimally invasive approaches; however, the narrow field of view and limited operating space during surgery present significant challenges to surgeons. But mixed reality technology can assist doctors in 'penetrating' the patient's body structure, and with the help of corresponding precision adjustment tools, precise surgical operations can be achieved," said Chen Liang, co-founder of Changzhou Jinse Medical Information Technology Co., Ltd., to 36Kr.
Changzhou Jinse Medical Information Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2016 and mainly engages in the technical development of digital technologies such as mixed reality (MR) and artificial intelligence in traditional medical device fields like orthopedics. The company's core founding team has been deeply involved in the digital healthcare sector since 2012, with team members having backgrounds from major "GPS" medical imaging giants such as GE, as well as traditional device companies like Stryker.
36Kr has learned that Jinse Medical has recently received tens of millions of yuan in investment from the Sanhe Municipal Government of Hebei Province and Jinchuang Investment Company. Currently, this round of financing has not been fully closed...Click here for more details）
Interview with Xiantong Pharmaceuticals: How to Become the "Cash King" of the Nuclear Medicine Track? | 36Kr Exclusive Interview
The landscape of diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is quietly changing.
For a period of 30 years prior to 2019, no new Alzheimer's Disease (AD) drug was approved for marketing globally. However, there has been a series of positive developments this year: On July 6, Leqembi, an Alzheimer’s treatment developed by Eisai and Biogen, was approved by the FDA for the treatment of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease; just over 10 days later, Eli Lilly also announced that it had submitted a marketing application to the FDA for its new Alzheimer’s drug Donanemab, with the FDA expected to make a decision before the end of 2023.
This is undoubtedly good news for Alzheimer's patients. However, "patients often visit the hospital only after clinical symptoms such as cognitive and functional impairments appear, by which time the disease has already progressed to an advanced stage. Conducting relevant diagnosis and treatment at this point may yield minimal results," stated Xiantong Pharmaceutical.
How to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in its early stages has become a new challenge...Click here for more details）
Overseas New Things
Overseas New Things | Imagine Pharma Raises $32.5 Million in Series A Funding to Develop IMG-1 Peptide Drug
Imagine Pharma is a biotechnology company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, focusing on commercial opportunities related to the novel IMG-1 peptide.
On October 31, the company announced that it had raised $32.5 million in Series A funding. This round of financing was led by IP Investors, with an initial investment of $10 million, bringing the total financing to date to $40 million. Certified Public Accountant John T. Callaghan will join the company's board of directors on behalf of the investor group.
The company plans to use the funds to advance key projects in regenerative medicine, oral drug delivery, and therapeutic fields. The specific projects that will be funded by this investment include: commercialization of novel nutritional supplements, completion of preclinical studies and IND submissions for oral erythropoietin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, advancement of AIPC research collaboration with LyGenesis, further expansion of the company’s islet isolation services, and development of strategic partnerships across all platforms...Click here for more details）
Overseas New Things | Engine Biosciences Raises $27 Million in Series A Funding to Build Precision Medicine R&D Platform for Cancer Drug Production
Engine Biosciences is a company headquartered in Singapore and California, USA, leveraging machine learning and biological discovery to develop precision drugs for cancer treatment.
On October 31, Engine Biosciences announced that it had secured $27 million in Series A financing. This round of funding was led by Polaris Partners, with participation from ClavystBio, Invus, EDBI, and new investors Coronet Ventures and SEEDS Capital. Concurrently with the financing, Dr. Wen Qi Ho, Head of Therapeutics at ClavystBio, joined Engine's board of directors. The company intends to use these funds to support the translation of R&D projects derived from its proprietary NetMAPPR machine learning network biology platform and CombiGEM combinatorial genetics system into clinical applications.
Engine Biosciences deciphers complex biological problems through integrated computational and experimental approaches to develop impactful precision medicines. The company has identified numerous promising drug targets and predictive biomarkers for patients most likely to benefit, and is currently advancing its oncology therapeutic pipeline toward clinical trials both independently and in collaboration with partners, while also progressing treatments in other disease areas through collaborations...Click here for more details）
Global New Things | MapLight Therapeutics Raises $225 Million in Series C Funding to Develop New Therapies for Central Nervous System Disorders
MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company located in San Francisco, California, USA, dedicated to developing targeted novel therapies to improve the lives of patients with difficult-to-treat brain disorders.
On October 30, MapLight Therapeutics announced the completion of a $225 million Series C financing round. This round was led by Novo Holdings, 5AM Ventures, Cowen Healthcare Investments, and other investors. Concurrent with the financing, Jim Trenkle, Partner at Novo Holdings' venture capital division, will join the MapLight Therapeutics Board of Directors.
The company plans to use the funds from this round of financing to push the novel M1/M4 muscarinic agonist ML-007C-MA, combined with a precisely matched peripheral muscarinic antagonist, into Phase 2 trials for the treatment of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease in 2024, and to advance other pipeline projects to continue making progress...Click here for more details）
Focus Analysis
How Did This Anticancer Wonder Drug Achieve $100 Billion in Sales Over 10 Years? | Focus Analysis
Regarding surpassing "Humira," K drug finally achieved it in the third quarter of 2023.
Recently, Merck's financial report showed that the company's revenue in the third quarter of 2023 was $15.962 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Among this, the PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (K drug) achieved sales of $6.3 billion during the period, a year-on-year increase of 17%; the cumulative sales in the first three quarters have reached $18.403 billion. In the same period, the sales of the previous "blockbuster drug" Humira were $11.1 billion, with Keytruda surpassing Humira by nearly $7 billion. The highly anticipated competition between the two major products has finally come to an end.
Thanks to this, Merck has raised its full-year sales guidance from the previous $58.6-59.6 billion to between $59.7-60.2 billion.
K drug is a representative product of the immunotherapy era. From initially being "suppressed" by similar products in market performance, to making a comeback after securing major indications, the trajectory of K drug represents, to a certain extent, the potential of the PD-1 track.
Does PD-1 really have no room for development due to "internal competition"? Perhaps K drug is the most convincing example……Click here for more details）
Can Junshi Biosciences catch up with Beigene by selling PD-1 for nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the US? | Focus Analysis
"More than a year ago, toripalimab should have been approved by the FDA." On October 30, Junshi Biosciences CEO Li Ning made this comment to media outlets including 36Kr regarding the overseas progress of their PD-1.
Two days ago, Junshi Biosciences and its overseas partner Coherus BioSciences announced that the FDA had approved their PD-1 product, toripalimab, for two indications in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, for use in first- and second-line clinical treatments. This makes it the first self-developed PD-1 drug from China to successfully enter the U.S. market, as well as the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
The overseas journey of China's PD-1, which has been a topic of discussion for many years, has finally received global "gold standard" recognition for the first time.
It is reported that this approval was hard-won. As early as 2017, Junshi Biosciences had been approved to conduct clinical trials in the U.S. and began rolling submission of its BLA to the FDA in early 2021. In October of the same year, it was accepted and granted priority review status. If everything went according to plan, an evaluation meeting would be held 8 months later...Click here for more details）
Editor: Dun Yuting