Zhensy Bio Secures Tens of Millions in Seed Funding Led by Legend Capital to Advance Next-Gen Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies

VCBeat learned第一时间 that CR Therapeutics, a company focusing on next-generation universal cell therapies, has recently completed a seed funding round worth tens of millions of yuan. This round was exclusively invested by Legend Capital. The proceeds will mainly be used to advance the company’s new low-cost, off-the-shelf cell therapy pipeline, which has already achieved positive IIT results.As an observer in the medical industry, VCBeat exclusively interviewed Professor Yang Hanshuo, the founder of CR Therapeutics and the leader in the field of cell engineering technology under the "Minshan Action" plan, at the first opportunity.

In January 2021, Chengdu High-tech Zone officially launched the "Ming Mountain Action" plan for research institutions under the "Challenge-based" initiative, clearly stating that over the next five years, 30 billion yuan will be invested to focus on Chengdu High-tech Zone's three leading industries: electronic information, biomedicine, and new economy. The plan aims to build 50 new research institutions, address "bottleneck" issues in niche areas of the industrial chain, establish public technology platforms, and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. In June of the same year, the first batch of projects under the "Ming Mountain Action" plan were announced. The "Chengdu Ming Mountain Cell Engineering Technology Research Institute" (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute"), led by Professor Yang Hanshuo from the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, was approved for construction.

Relying on the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy at Sichuan University, the institute is dedicated to the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in cutting-edge fields such as cell and gene therapy. Chengdu CR Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as "CR Therapeutics") is the first biotech company incubated by the institute, focusing on the research and development of next-generation universal cell therapies, including novel universal therapeutic cell vaccines and in vivo CAR-T, among others.

"CR Therapeutics, as the first biotech company incubated by the institute, we hope to use it as a model to explore a new model for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements from the institute. With this entirely new model, we aim to support original innovation, facilitate the transformation of results, and promote industrial implementation, fostering a group of representative and internationally competitive innovative enterprises," Professor Yang Hanshuo told VCBeat.

Legend Capital's Executive Director Qi Fei stated, "The transformation of scientific research achievements in China's biopharmaceuticals is an extremely challenging task. On one hand, it requires genuine scientific accumulation, and on the other hand, it needs the perspective and promotion of the industry. Over the past decade, China's innovative pharmaceuticals have completed their first cycle, finishing the construction of infrastructure. We believe that in the next ten years, they will move towards a stage of true original innovation. CR Therapeutics' core products stem from scientific accumulation and original innovation, focusing on achieving low-cost, universal, safe, and effective next-generation cell therapy products. These possess global innovation and leadership, with preliminary clinical data showing excellence, and hold promising prospects for the future. We also look forward to working with a team composed of scientists and entrepreneurs to explore the path of transforming China’s original innovative achievements."

Professor Yang Hanshuo has been engaged in the research of tumorigenesis mechanisms and biotherapy for over two decades, making a series of original scientific discoveries. He has undertaken several national-level research projects and also possesses experience in the management of technology transfer and the biomedical industry. He has firsthand experience in the transformation and implementation of innovative scientific and technological achievements.

How to make new scientific discoveries transform and land as soon as possible?

"The common pattern in the past was that scientists, after years of research, published their papers in international academic journals, drawing attention from industry and investors. Only then could they secure funding, establish companies, or transfer technologies to pharmaceutical enterprises, entering the stage of achievement transformation. However, a careful analysis of the entire process reveals that for scientists, the most crucial discoveries or breakthroughs might have been achieved just one year into the research. Yet, it typically takes another two to three years for the research data to reach a publishable state. After that, writing the paper, submitting it, and going through the publication process can take an additional one to two years, or even longer," Professor Yang Hanshuo told VCBeat.

He continued, "Moreover, we believe that R&D work aimed at industrialization is distinct from basic research. Research on the transformation of results can even run parallel to basic research. Therefore, to accelerate the emergence of original and transferable outcomes, we can intervene earlier, and even guide the R&D efforts of researchers."

With innovative concepts for transforming achievements and a solid reserve of projects, Professor Yang Hanshuo's team stood out in the "Ming Mountain Action" plan selection, securing financial support from Chengdu's High-Tech Zone. The Research Institute has gathered dozens of experts from various fields such as technology, industry, finance, and management both domestically and internationally, capable of providing guidance and assistance on industry technical challenges, clinical and industrial pathways, and more.

The institute owns 1,500 square meters of research and office space, equipped with instruments and equipment worth over ten million yuan. It has built multiple technical platforms, including a cell gene modification and editing platform, an immune cell large-scale culture technology platform (capable of preparing clinical-grade cells), a molecular and cellular biology research platform, etc., which can help scientists quickly carry out technological innovation.

At the same time, the institute assists the project team in contacting a large number of professional investment institutions within the industry at an early stage, and accelerates the advancement of the pipeline by linking upstream and downstream partners through investors.

Professor Yang Hanshuo said, "Even if scientists only have one idea before coming here, after evaluation by our academic committee, if we believe it is innovative, has market potential, and can be implemented, we will provide R&D funding, laboratory space, equipment, and resource support to assist the founding team in transforming their good ideas. This way, these cutting-edge scientific discoveries can reach clinical applications as soon as possible."

Currently, the institute has established an open and shared experimental technology and industrial incubation platform, gathering resources in technology, talent, funding, and other aspects. Through innovative cooperation models and equity-sharing mechanisms, it incentivizes scientists to carry out R&D work focused on unmet clinical needs, initially forming the capability to continuously deliver innovative biotechnologies, products, and incubate innovative enterprises.

Speaking of the cooperation with Legend Capital, Professor Yang Hanshuo gave high praise: "I had heard about Legend Capital's reputation in the medical investment field before, but I didn’t know that they had already started to lay out investments in cutting-edge translational directions and established a dedicated frontier biotechnology fund. During the more than one year of co-incubation with CR Therapeutics, I closely observed the professionalism of the Legend Capital team in business enablement and management support."

In the process of investing in cutting-edge biotechnology and medical innovations, scientists must not only focus on in-depth research but also face the complex journey of transforming their findings into products, undergoing non-clinical evaluations, and eventually advancing to clinical applications. This presents a significant challenge for all entrepreneurs.

During the incubation and collaboration process, Dr. Wang Haotian from Legend Capital invested significant effort in assisting the company to organize scientific advancements, optimize pipeline strategies, introduce industry resources and partners, and establish the team and management structure.

CR TherapeuticsInDuring the product transformation process, CR Therapeutics fully leveraged the years of accumulated expertise from the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy at Sichuan University and the support of the Legend Capital ecosystem. This enabled the rapid transformation from Idea to IP, with preliminary evaluations through non-clinical studies and IIT yielding exciting results. Throughout this process, the joint efforts of Legend Capital's ecosystem companies and the CR Therapeutics team facilitated the GMP-compliant product transformation and non-clinical evaluation, achieving the practical transformation from IP to product.

The addition of Ms. Yuan Chao, who has extensive industrial clinical development experience, as CEO to CR Therapeutics, has further solidified the company and its team. Ms. Yuan, who has a medical background, previously worked for over a decade in innovative drug medical and clinical development at well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Astellas, and Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group. She was responsible for more than 60 clinical development strategies for both large and small molecule innovative drugs, covering medical, regulatory, clinical operations, and international business development (BD). With comprehensive experience in building, managing, and operating R&D teams, she served as Vice President of Kelun Biotech and Head of the Beijing R&D Center before joining CR Therapeutics.

Ms. Yuan Chao was attracted by the company's innovative technology and products and inspired by Professor Yang Hanshuo's sincere invitation. With the joining of Ms. Yuan Chao, the company has further strengthened its capabilities in clinical development and has also started to build a professional team with experience in both scientific exploration and clinical development.

To truly create globally innovative products through the transformation of scientific research results, scientists, entrepreneurs, industries, and capital must work together in this process. Though the road is long and fraught with challenges, progress will be made through action. CR Therapeutics may become a new model for exploring the transformation of cutting-edge biotechnology achievements in China.

CR Therapeutics is committed to the research and development of next-generation immunotherapy innovative products, with two major platform technologies: a novel universal therapeutic cell vaccine and in vivo CAR-T. The products under development possess three key characteristics—efficacy, safety, and accessibility—and exhibit strong innovation and international competitiveness.

Based on a novel universal therapeutic cell vaccine technology,The first project pipeline developed by CR Therapeutics has entered IIT clinical research, targeting advanced cancer patients who have undergone multiple lines of treatment and are resistant to ICIs. Excellent clinical outcomes have been achieved, with a disease control rate (DCR) as high as 75% and an objective response rate (ORR) reaching 37.5% (CR+PR), including patients with CR showing sustained responses for over a year.

This project effectively addresses the clinical pain points of innovative products, which often involve complex preparation processes, long production cycles, and high costs. Currently, the project has largely completed its production process and quality research, entering the IND development phase.

In Vivo CAR-T: The Next-Generation Cell Therapy Product with Breakthrough Potential

In addition to relying on its own R&D, CR Therapeutics has initiated substantive collaborations with several leading CRO and CDMO companies in China to rapidly advance various project pipelines. Professor Yang Hanshuo stated, "CR Therapeutics is about to launch a new round of financing to accelerate the industrialization process of universal cell therapy. It is expected that by early 2025, the first novel universal therapeutic cell vaccine will enter clinical stages in both China and the United States."

Legend Capital, established in April 2001, is a leading fund management company specializing in early-stage venture capital and growth-stage private equity investment in China. Over its more than two decades of development, Legend Capital has adhered to international standards, creating best practices in fund operations and management. Through an active value-added service system, Legend Capital drives innovation and growth in enterprises, consistently delivering strong investment returns across various sectors while promoting industrial progress and societal development in China. With the vision of "becoming an investment company with international influence," Legend Capital upholds the core values of "prosperity with integrity" and actively fulfills its social responsibilities.

Legend Capital pays close attention to investments in the healthcare sector, systematically laying out investments across the broader health industry. In this field, it has already invested in leading companies such as Pharmaron (300759.SZ) (03759.HK), Wuxi AppTec (603259.SH) (02359.HK), Wuxi Biologics (02269.HK), Innovent Biologics (01801.HK), New Horizon Health (06606.HK), and Mingde Biotech (002932.SZ), which have gone public on the A-share and Hong Kong stock exchanges.