Nine Chinese CGT Companies Secure New Funding to Accelerate Cell and Gene Therapy Development-VCBeat

In September, several Chinese companies focusing on cell and gene therapy (CGT) announced financing progress. 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 to 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 immunocompatible allogeneic cell therapies and xenotransplantation therapies, 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 implied permission for clinical trials from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). 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 deeply advance the clinical and industrialization process of the company's drug pipeline, accelerating the early market launch of its 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 as a national high-tech enterprise specializing in genetic eye disease gene diagnosis and gene therapy drug development. The company, with nearly a hundred team members, 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 the differentiation of iPSC into 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-owned 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 iPSC and its differentiation into innate immune cells such as CAR-iMac and CAR-iNK cells for research, development, and clinical transformation. The company utilizes technologies like gene editing and synthetic biology to obtain engineered immune cells derived from iPSC, 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 their efficient directed differentiation capabilities in vitro, the company ultimately aims to develop cellular therapeutic drugs that are universal, effective, and safe. Macrophages are a type of immune cell that can easily penetrate the tumor microenvironment (TME). Leveraging this characteristic, the company is fully devoted to developing CAR-iMAC products targeting various recurrent and refractory solid tumors.

4、Mengmu Bio Completes Tens of Millions of Angel Round 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 mainly be used to advance its stem cell treatment pipeline and team building.

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

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

On September 13, Guangzhou Hanteng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hanteng 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 Guangdong Technology Financial Group, Taipu Life Science Investment, and Qianyin Investment. The funds obtained from this financing will be used to promote the company's new technology research and development, commercial production capacity construction, and international business strategic layout.

Guangzhou Hengten Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Hengten Bio") has been focusing on the CDMSO field of large molecule biopharmaceuticals 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.Huiteng Bio 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 commercialization.

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

On September 12, Jinfan Biopharmaceutical Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. ("Jinfan Pharma") announced the completion of an over RMB100 million Series A financing round, 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 Pharmaceutical 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 Pharmaceutical 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、Granite Bio Completes 400 Million Yuan B-Round Financing, Focused on Creating Groundbreaking 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 investors 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 solid tumor patients worldwide.

Grit Bio was founded in 2019 as an innovative pharmaceutical company focusing on tumor immunotherapy and TIL-based drug development pipelines. GT101 Injection, independently developed by Grit Bio, is the first TIL drug in China to be approved for registrational clinical trials and is about to enter the pivotal Phase II clinical trial. The company's core R&D platforms include the StemTexp® stem-like TIL expansion technology platform, StaViral® stable viral production system, ImmuT Finder® immunomodulatory target discovery platform, and KOReTIL® high-efficiency gene knockout system. Based on these platforms, Grit Bio has developed a series of next-generation gene-edited TIL drugs. With internationally leading technical expertise and industry resources, Grit Bio aims to create groundbreaking cell 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 Medical 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 company 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. With years of technical accumulation in gene editing tools and drug delivery carriers, along with innovative drug industry experience, the company has developed comprehensive new drug industrialization capabilities spanning from R&D, regulatory submissions to commercialization. Currently, leveraging the advantages of its postdoctoral research workstation, Shutong Medical has assembled an efficient R&D and production team led by several postdoctoral researchers, established a robust quality management system, and operates standardized GMP R&D laboratories and production facilities. Additionally, it has built systematic and highly efficient technical service and drug development platforms. To date, the company has applied for more than 70 patents in areas such as gene editing, off-target detection, novel CRISPR systems, and drug delivery, with over 50 authorized. At present, Shutong Medical has established a rich pipeline of new drug R&D, among which its innovative gene therapy for HPV has completed clinical studies (IIT) involving multiple patients, showing promising results in both drug efficacy and safety. The company is now rapidly advancing IND applications in both China and the United States.

9、Innovivo Biotech Completes $18 Million Pre-A Financing Round

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 Lion Equity, 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 independently owned intellectual property mRNA technology platform and build production capacity to advance pipeline projects to the clinical stage.

Innovovo Biotech is an innovative mRNA drug research and development enterprise with a management team that has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The company possesses solid 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 Accounts "Cell and Gene Therapy Field," "Cell Gene Therapy," and the aforementioned companies.

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