8 Over-100-Million-Yuan Fundraisings in One Week: Emerging Biotechs in Peptides, Gene Editing, and AI-Driven Drug Discovery Garner Strong Investor Interest

Sep 04, 2023 17:11 CST Updated 17:11

i2o Therapeutics

Biopharmaceutical R&D and Manufacturer

Superluminal Medicines

Biotechnology Developer

Epigenic

Gene Editing Technology Developer

Innovac Therapeutics

mRNA Vaccine and Therapy Developer

▎Edited by the WuXi AppTec content team

According to incomplete statistics from Innovation Insights, last week (August 28 to September 3)32 Financing Events Disclosed in the Global Health and Wellness Field. According to the amount,Eight financing events of 100 million yuan and above. According to the financing rounds, apart from the unknown rounds, there were 22 early-stage financings (before Series B) and 7 mid-to-late stage financings (Series B and later). Among them, a total of 9 companies in the biopharmaceutical field received financing, involving drug types includingPeptide Drugs for Cardiometabolic Diseases, Gene Editing Therapy, AI Drug Discovery,Innovative mRNA Vaccineetc.

#01

i2o Therapeutics Completes $46 Million Series A Financing to Advance Peptide Pipeline for Cardiometabolic Disease Treatments

Keywords：Cardiometabolic Disease Drugs

Latest Financing:$46 Million ARound

This Round's Investment Institutions: Not disclosed

On August 28, i2o Therapeutics announced the completion of a $46 million Series A financing round.i2o Therapeutics Aims to Leverage the Versatile Properties of Ionic Liquids (IL) to Produce Oral Biologics and Peptides, it has also developed and acquired a variety of proprietary peptides and implantable delivery technologies in the cardiometabolic field. Its research and development focus on advancing patented drugs and innovative delivery platforms, particularly peptide drugs and GLP-1-based combination peptide drugs, aiming to address type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other related diseases. Additionally, the company has long-acting peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY) and long-acting glucagon therapies. Complementing its oral ionic liquid approach, the company also owns the sustained drug delivery platform Medici, which targets type 2 diabetes and requires only twice-yearly maintenance dosing for chronic medication.

#02

Superluminal Medicines Secures $33 Million in Seed Funding to Advance AI-Driven Drug Discovery Engine and Small Molecule Therapeutic Pipeline

Keywords:Artificial Intelligence (AI) Drugs

Latest Financing: $33 Million Seed Round

This Round's Investment Institutions：Gaingels、Insight Partners、Nvidia、RA Capital Management

On August 28, Superluminal Medicines announced the completion of a $33 million seed financing round, led by RA Capital Management.Based on its unique artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform, Superluminal Medicines is committed to the discovery and design of small molecule drugs.The company focuses on the research of drugs targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). By combining expertise in biology and chemistry, machine learning, and proprietary big data infrastructure, it efficiently creates candidate compounds. Its prediction-design-test architecture can accurately simulate protein shapes and design highly selective compounds that target precise structural changes to achieve therapeutic effects. It is reported that the funds from this round of financing will be used to further advance the company’s drug pipeline development.

#03

Epigenic Completes $32 Million Series A Financing to Advance CRISPR-Based Gene Editing Technology Platform and Pipeline Development

Keywords：Gene Editing Therapy

Latest Financing: $32 Million Series A

This round of investmentStructure:OrbiMed, Morningside Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners

On August 30, Epigenic Therapeutics, Inc. announced the completion of a $32 million Series A financing round. Epigenic Therapeutics is committed to developing next-generation gene editing therapies through epigenetic genome regulation. By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, its proprietary technology platform, EPIREG, can optimize CRISPR-Cas components and modulate target gene expression or simultaneously regulate the expression of multiple genes without altering the DNA sequence.Among similar technologies, the company's technical platform does not require cutting DNA, thereby avoiding potential risks associated with it.Such as off-target effects, short half-life, and poor patient compliance. Combined with the company's proprietary patented lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery system, this technology platform has been validated in both in vivo and in vitro models for metabolic, cardiovascular, viral hepatitis, ophthalmic, and rare diseases, enabling effective delivery of drugs to target cells and tissues. The company has now developed multiple pipeline candidate products covering metabolic, cardiovascular, viral hepatitis, ophthalmic, and rare diseases. It is reported that the funds from this round of financing will be used for preclinical development and early clinical validation of the company’s leading projects, further advancing the company’s pipeline and technology platform R&D.

#04

Innovac Therapeutics Completes $18 Million Pre-A Financing Round to Advance Innovative mRNA Vaccine Development

Keywords:mRNA vaccine

Latest Financing: $18 Million Pre-A Round

This round of investment institutions: Licheng Capital, TG Sino-Dragon Fund,楹联Health Fund, Vision+ Capital

On September 1, Innovac Therapeutics announced the completion of an $18 million pre-A round of financing. Innovac Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to researching and developing innovative mRNA vaccines and therapies.Innovac Therapeutics currently has a self-developed mRNA vaccine design platform. Its technical platform utilizes proprietary computational algorithms targeting codon optimization and secondary structure, effectively enhancing mRNA translation efficiency and stability., which can be used for the treatment and prevention of various infectious diseases and cancer. At the same time, multiple related drug development pipelines are also advancing. It is reported that this round of financing will be used for the development of an mRNA technology platform with independent intellectual property rights and the construction of production capabilities, in order to advance pipeline projects to the clinical stage.

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