Nine Chinese Cell and Gene Therapy Companies Secure New Funding and Advance Toward IPO

| Reposted from the WeChat Official Account "Cell and Gene Therapy Field"

In September, several Chinese companies focusing on the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector announced progress in their financing. This article will share basic information on nine of these companies based on publicly available data.

1、Qihan Biotech Announces Completion of Over 100 Million Yuan Pre-B Round Financing

On September 22, Hangzhou Qihan Biotech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Qihan Biotech") announced the completion of a Pre-B round of financing exceeding 100 million yuan. This round of financing was participated in by Zhejiang Provincial Industrial Fund Co., Ltd. and existing investors. The total funds from this round of financing and the company’s reserve funds are sufficient and will support Qihan's rapid product iteration and global development of gene-edited stem cell products over the next four years.

Hangzhou Qihan Biotech Co., Ltd. was founded in Hangzhou, China in 2017. It is a biotechnology company that applies high-throughput gene editing technology to the fields of cell therapy and organ transplantation. Qihan Biotech aims to leverage its high-throughput gene editing technology and deep understanding of immune transplantation to develop immunologically compatible allogeneic cell therapies and xenotransplantation solutions, bringing hope to millions of patients and their families worldwide. Currently, the company's allogeneic cell therapy products have entered investigator-initiated clinical trials, with one product receiving tacit approval for clinical trials from the National Medical Products Administration. This marks China’s first gene-edited iPSC-derived cell therapy product approved for clinical trials.

2、CHIGENOVO Completes New Round of Financing, Deeply Advances Clinical and Industrialization Process of Ophthalmic Gene Therapy Drugs

On September 29, CHIGENOVO Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as CHIGENOVO) announced the completion of a new round of financing. The funds raised will be used to further advance the clinical and industrialization process of the company’s drug pipeline, accelerating the launch of CHIGENOVO's self-developed ophthalmic gene therapy drugs. This round of financing was led by Kunlun Capital, with participation from Jinpu Investment and others.

CHIGENOVO Co., Ltd. was founded in 2016. It is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in genetic eye disease gene diagnosis and gene therapy drug development. The company currently has nearly 100 team members and has established a complete drug development system, including target screening, basic research, animal experimental validation, stem cell validation, AAV virus research and production, clinical trial operations, and drug registration submissions.

3、CellOrigin Completes New Round of Financing

On September 21, CellOrigin (Hangzhou) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as CellOrigin), a biotechnology company focusing on iPSC-derived innate immune cells for solid tumor immunotherapy, announced the completion of a new round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. This round of financing was led by Zijingang Capital, with Yuhang State Investment Group participating. The funds will be used to advance the company's next-generation cell therapy drug pipeline into the clinical development stage.

CellOrigin is committed to the engineering modification of iPSCs and their differentiation into innate immune cells such as CAR-iMac and CAR-iNK cells, focusing on research, development, and clinical translation. The company utilizes technologies like gene editing and synthetic biology to obtain engineered immune cells derived from iPSCs, with several core patents already authorized both in China and internationally. By establishing an editable and expandable single-clone-derived iPSC cell bank and enhancing its efficient directed differentiation ability in vitro, CellOrigin ultimately aims to develop cellular therapeutic drugs that are universal, effective, and safe. Macrophages are a type of immune cell that can easily infiltrate the tumor microenvironment (TME). Leveraging this characteristic, the company is actively developing CAR-iMAC products targeting various recurrent and refractory solid tumors.

4、Mengmu Biotech Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Angel Financing

On September 18, Mengmou (Chengdu) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. ("Mengmou Bio"), which focuses on the application of innovative stem cell and gene therapies for ophthalmic diseases, announced the completion of an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. This round was exclusively invested by Beijing Zhongfa Lingchuang·Life Park Venture Capital Fund ("Beijing Life Park Venture"). The funds will primarily be used to advance its stem cell treatment pipeline and team building.

Mengmiao Biotech, established in March 2023, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of new drugs for degenerative ophthalmic diseases. It is committed to adopting innovative stem cell and gene therapies to treat ophthalmic conditions, with the potential to address the current lack of effective treatments for degenerative eye diseases such as dry age-related macular degeneration. Currently, Mengmiao Biotech has developed multiple platform technologies, including in vitro induction reprogramming and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), as well as AAV vector optimization. Its unique eye organoid models and small-to-large animal disease models enable early evaluation of drug efficacy and safety for candidate drugs, accelerating the development of its ophthalmology pipeline.

5、Huiteng Bio Completes Over 300 Million Yuan in Series C Financing

On September 13, Guangzhou Hengten Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hengten Bio") announced that it had recently completed a C-round financing of over 300 million RMB. This round of financing was led by SDIC Venture Capital, with participation from Yueke Financial Group, Taipu Life Science Investment, and Qianyin Investment. The funds obtained from this round of financing will be used to promote the company's new technology research and development, commercial production capacity construction, and international business strategic layout.

Guangzhou Hansoft Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Hansoft Bio") has been focusing on the CDMO field of large-molecule biologics since its establishment in 2016, including antibody optimization, cell line construction and development, upstream and downstream process development, analytical method development, and formulation process development.Hiland Biotech has established a complete cell and gene therapy development and production service platform, providing one-stop gene and cell therapy CDMO services for biopharmaceutical companies, ranging from plasmids to viruses to cells, and from early development to regulatory submission and market launch.

6、Jinfan Pharma Completes Series A Financing, Accelerating Gene Therapy CDMO Layout

On September 12, Jinfan Biomedical Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. ("Jinfan Medicine" for short) announced the completion of an over RMB100 million Series A financing round, which was jointly completed by SDIC Venture Capital and HX Capital. The proceeds will mainly be used to accelerate the construction of the company’s cGMP facilities and improve the development, talent, and business promotion system building.

Jinfan Pharmaceuticals is a company focused on technological innovation in the field of gene therapy and drug research in brain science, committed to developing large-scale viral vector preparation and delivery technologies. It is reported that Jinfan Pharmaceuticals has established a research and development platform for various viral vector tools, covering adeno-associated virus (AAV), lentivirus, adenovirus, oncolytic virus, and neurotracing virus.

7、Gracell Bio Completes $400 Million Series B Financing, Focused on Pioneering Cell Therapies to Reshape the Solid Tumor Treatment Landscape!

On September 8, Grit Biotechnology announced the completion of a 400 million yuan Series B financing round. This round was led by a fund under CICC Capital, with participation from Qianhai Ark, Liantuo Investment, Yuanhe Capital, Hefangtian Partnership, and existing shareholders Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Decheng Capital, and Matrix Partners China. The proceeds will support the development of the company's Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) therapy pipeline, including the pivotal clinical trials for GT101 and the advancement of multiple next-generation gene-edited TIL pipelines, aiming to create groundbreaking cellular medicines for patients with solid tumors worldwide.

Grail Bio was founded in 2019 as an innovative pharmaceutical company focused on tumor immunotherapy and development pipelines represented by TIL drugs. GT101 Injection, independently developed by Grail Bio, is the first TIL drug approved for clinical registration in China and is about to enter a pivotal Phase II clinical trial. The company’s core R&D platforms include StemTexp® TIL expansion technology platform, StaViral® stable virus production process, ImmuT Finder® immunomodulatory target discovery platform, and KOReTIL® high-efficiency gene knockout system. Leveraging these platforms, Grail Bio has developed a series of next-generation gene-edited TIL therapeutics. With world-leading technical reserves and industrial resources, Grail Bio aims to create groundbreaking cellular therapies for solid tumors, bringing new hope to cancer patients.

8、ShuTong Medical Completes Series A Financing, Accelerating R&D and Translation of Gene Editing Therapies

On September 5, Zhuhai Shutong Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shutong Medical") announced the completion of its Series A financing. This round of financing was led by Shanxi Investment Growth, with participation from Guangdong Science and Technology Group, Kaid Fund, and Huano Healthcare Fund. The funds from this round will help Shutong Medical accelerate the commercialization of gene-editing diagnostic products and the IND applications for innovative drugs in both China and the U.S., continuously enhancing the company’s technological innovation capabilities.

Shutong Medical has been deeply engaged in gene editing technology for over 10 years and is a biopharmaceutical enterprise with gene editing as its core technology. As early as 2009, the founding team of Shutong Medical began in-depth research in the field of gene editing, possessing years of technical accumulation in gene editing tools and drug delivery carriers. At the same time, they have innovative drug industry experience, forming a complete new drug industrial transformation capability from R&D, application to commercialization. Currently, leveraging the advantages of its postdoctoral research workstation, Shutong Medical has built an efficient R&D and production team led by several postdoctoral researchers, established a comprehensive quality management system, owns standardized GMP R&D laboratories and production workshops, and set up a systematic and efficient technical service platform as well as a drug R&D platform. To date, the company has applied for more than 70 patents related to gene editing, off-target detection, novel CRISPR, and drug delivery, with over 50 authorized. At present, Shutong Medical has established a rich pipeline for new drug R&D. Among them, the gene therapy HPV innovative drug has completed clinical studies (IIT) on multiple patients, achieving favorable results in both drug efficacy and safety. It is currently rapidly advancing in the IND application process in China and the United States.

On September 1, CHIGENOVO Biotech (hereinafter referred to as "CHIGENOVO Bio") announced the completion of a US$18 million Pre-A round of financing. The investors include Richel Capital, Vision Plus Capital,楹联Health Fund, TG Sino-Dragon Fund, and other well-known institutions in the industry. The proceeds from this round of financing will be used to develop an mRNA technology platform with independent intellectual property rights and build production capacity to advance pipeline projects to the clinical stage.

Innovax Bio is an innovative mRNA drug research and development company with a management team that has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The company possesses strong capabilities in R&D, production, clinical trials, and operations, and is committed to addressing unmet clinical needs by researching, developing, and producing technologically innovative and high-quality mRNA vaccines and therapies.

Source: Official reports from the WeChat Official Account "Cell and Gene Therapy Field" and the aforementioned companies.