Mengmou Biotech Secures Tens of Millions of RMB in Series Angel Funding from Beijing Zhongfa Lingchuang Life Park Venture Capital Fund

Recently, Theia Therapeutics (formerly known as "孟眸生物"), a company focused on applying innovative stem cell and gene therapies to treat ophthalmic diseases, announced the completion of...Tens of MillionsRMB Angel Round Financing. This round of financing was led byLSV CAPITAL(hereinafter referred to as "LSV CAPITAL")Exclusive Investment. This round of funding will mainly be used to advance its stem cell therapy pipeline and team building.

Theia Therapeutics was founded in March 2023 as a biopharmaceutical company focused on the 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 ophthalmic diseases such as dry age-related macular degeneration. Theia Therapeutics has established multiple 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.

Theia Therapeutics was founded by Deng Bowen, a Ph.D. from Peking University. The company has established a research and development, process development, and quality management team of dozens of people to fully promote pipeline research and development. Core team members hold doctoral degrees from both within and outside China and have previously worked in several well-known pharmaceutical companies in China.

Theia Therapeutics Cell Laboratory

Theia Therapeutics' wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing Theia Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing Theia Therapeutics"), has currently settled in Beijing Zhongguancun Life Science Park. Relying on the complete industrial chain supporting services of the park’s platform, Beijing Theia Therapeutics has commenced the development of related methods and process optimization for stem cell and gene therapies. The pipeline for stem cell treatment of retinal macular degeneration has been submitted for record-filing with the National Health Commission, with plans to initiate investigator-initiated clinical trials (IIT) in the near future.

During the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, Theia Therapeutics andBeijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of OphthalmologyAs forTechnology Transfer Cooperation for New Retinal TreatmentsSign the agreement, and there will be moreClinical Translation of Stem Cells and Development of New Ophthalmic Drugsin areas such as...

Theia Therapeutics Signs Cooperation Agreement with Beijing Tongren Eye Research Institute

Theia Therapeutics will fully utilize its industrial advantages, combined with the solid foundational research accumulated over the years by Tongren Hospital and the Ophthalmology Research Institute in areas such as stem cells, to transform cutting-edge research achievements into effective treatments for ophthalmic diseases. This is expected to address the significant unmet clinical needs in China's ophthalmology market. Through the signing of this agreement, Theia Therapeutics will further deepen industry-academia-research cooperation, promoting the development and application of stem cell-related technologies in the treatment of eye diseases.

Dr. Bowen Deng, Founder of Theia TherapeuticsExpressed: Deep gratitude to the company team's efforts and the trust and support from LSV CAPITAL. This round of financing fully recognizes Theia Therapeutics' technology platform and the company team. China has a large base of ophthalmic patients, but due to the high degree of specialization and segmentation in ophthalmology, the diagnosis and treatment rate in China has remained low, leaving significant unmet clinical needs in the ophthalmology market. Theia Therapeutics will continue to increase investment in advanced technologies such as iPSC and collaborate with the Ophthalmology Research Institute of Tongren Hospital to fully promote the clinical translation of these technologies.

Professor Jin Zibing from Tongren Hospital and Eye Research InstituteCurrently, there is significant room for the development of novel treatment technologies for retinal diseases to meet urgent medical needs, which is also a key focus of blindness prevention in China's "14th Five-Year Plan" for national eye health. Globally, stem cell therapy has emerged as a pioneering technology that is transforming major clinical treatments. Whether it involves induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells or embryonic stem cells, the first-in-human clinical trials have been conducted on degenerative retinal diseases, indicating broad prospects. Tongren Hospital and the Ophthalmology Research Institute highly value the integration of industry, academia, and research as well as the transformation of scientific achievements. This time, by transferring related technologies to Theia Therapeutics through a transformation agency, we hope to leverage Theia Therapeutics' capabilities in the translation of cell therapy products. Together, we aim to accelerate the clinical translation of stem cell treatments for major blinding eye diseases, allowing our research results to benefit a wide range of patients as soon as possible.

Long Xiaoteng, Founding Partner of LSV CAPITALWith the aggravation of population aging and the continuous increase in myopia among teenagers due to the pandemic, the number of patients with eye diseases in China continues to grow, leading to a significant rise in demand within the ophthalmic medical industry. LSV CAPITAL has always been attentive to cutting-edge advancements in the ophthalmology field, where advanced technologies like iPSC have already undergone extensive clinical validation for their tremendous application potential in ophthalmology. The fund is honored to collaborate with Theia Therapeutics to translate the pioneering innovative achievements of Professor Jin Zibing from Tongren Hospital and the Ophthalmology Research Institute. The company’s team has deeply cultivated this field for many years, completing China's first GMP-grade iPSC-RPE preclinical trial and establishing a comprehensive process evaluation system. Their technical platform holds a first-mover advantage. It is hoped that in the near future, the company’s stem cell therapy will be able to cure more patients with eye diseases, bringing light to those suffering from visual impairments.

Beijing Zhongfa Lingchuang·Life Science Park Venture Capital Fund, under the leadership of Zhongguancun Development Group's Lingchuang Investment and Zhongguancun Capital, is a specialized fund focused on technology innovation investment and financing services. It primarily incubates at Beijing's Science and Technology Innovation Center and Zhongguancun Life Science Park (LSV CAPITAL), extending its reach throughout China.

LSV CAPITAL, with the vision of "discovering scientists and entrepreneurs who change the world and jointly creating real social value," invests in fields covering biopharmaceuticals, high-end medical devices, biosynthetic technology, and more. It has participated in investments in medtech projects including Inflammation Medicine, Huayi Lejian, Vitaron, Huaxia Yingtai, Molecular Heart, BiNoJi, Weigong Technology, and Zhiprotein.