AlphaMol, the GPCR Drug Developer That Outperformed AlphaFold2, Completes Series A Funding and Files IPO Prospectus

VCBeat learned that AlphaMol, a new drug R&D platform in the GPCR field, recently announced the completion of its Series A financing. This round of financing was led by SHC, with HuaQian Capital following the investment, and the existing shareholder Shenzhen Xinhenglida Capital Management Co., Ltd. continuing to inject capital.

AlphaMol was founded in 2020 and focuses on utilizing biocomputation, artificial intelligence, and original biotechnology for innovative drug research and development.The core members of the company are composed of academicians, doctors in the field of pharmaceutical R&D, and professors from top international universities. Founding partners Academician Horst Vogel and Dr. Shuguang Yuan were both selected for China's National Overseas High-Level Talent Program and the global top 2% list of leading scientists.

▲Left: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Professor Jacques Dubochet (right), cryo-EM scientist Professor Henning Stahlberg (left), and Dr. Shuguang Yuan. The two professors maintain a close scientific research cooperation with AlphaMol.

▲Right: Horst Vogel, Academician and Founding Partner of AlphaMol

GPCR is one of the most important drug development targets currently, with nearly 40% of marketed drugs worldwide developed targeting GPCR. The AlphaMol team has accumulated extensive experience in the GPCR field over the years and possesses several globally pioneering biotechnologies, including: the world's first biochip for testing G protein-coupled receptor proteins (GPCR), the world's first biochip for testing cellular electrophysiology, and the world's first biochip for tracking single-molecule cells.

AlphaMol Team Participated in the Global GPCR-DOCK Computer Prediction Modeling Competition, and in the prediction of the spatial structure of related targets, it outperformed Google's AlphaFold2, securing global rankings of second, third, and fifth place. Recently, the AlphaMol team’s new generation biochip technology developed for GPCR has once again broken through the main technical bottlenecks in the field, bringing a completely new transformation to GPCR drug development.

▲Dr. Shuguang Yuan (left), founder and CEO of AlphaMol, with founding partner Professor Horst Vogel (center) and Professor Renato Zenobi from ETH Zurich

AlphaMol's extensive experience and continuous technological innovation in the GPCR field have provided substantial momentum for the company’s development of "first-in-class" clinical new drugs. Currently, AlphaMol has built a precise GPCR new drug R&D platform capable of efficiently screening, designing, and optimizing drug molecules, as well as rapidly identifying clinical candidate molecules. Based on this platform, AlphaMol has made breakthrough progress in new drug research and development across multiple disease areas including cancer treatment, metabolism, and pain relief. The company is actively preparing for the clinical IND submission of several self-developed pipelines. Meanwhile, AlphaMol is advancing its establishment in Shanghai and has already set up a subsidiary there.

▲GPCR Structure Diagram and Related Indications in Humans

Dr. Shuguang Yuan, Founder and CEO of AlphaMolExpressed: "We are very grateful for the recognition and support from Shanghai Healthcare Capital (SHC) and other investors! AlphaMol has consistently adhered to independent innovation, focusing on our strengths in the GPCR computation and biology fields, and committed to differentiated R&D with genuine clinical value. In the future, AlphaMol will continue to take patients' clinical needs as our mission. With the support of both new and existing investors, we will continuously create new drug molecules faster and better to serve society."

Dr. Wen Hong, Partner of SHCRepresentative stated: "AlphaMol, driven by new technologies such as computational biology, artificial intelligence, proprietary biochips, and cryo-electron microscopy, is committed to the research and development of novel drugs in the GPCR protein field and holds a leading position globally in GPCR protein research. In the three years since its establishment, the company has developed multiple first-in-class drug pipelines, which are now ready to enter the IND application stage. The fund recognizes AlphaMol's continuous capability for original new drug R&D and will keep supporting its future development in the GPCR protein field as well as in the application of artificial intelligence computing and biology."

Zhao Yongfa, Partner of Shenzhen Xinhenglida Capital Management Co., Ltd.Stated: "AlphaMol is the first seed-round project that our Xinhenglida Capital has invested in. Our investment logic was very clear at the time: the international academic leadership of Chief Scientist Academician HORST VOGEL in GPCR and the cooperative relationships he established with top international pharmaceutical companies during his three entrepreneurial ventures; Dr. Shuguang Yuan's hands-on experience in bringing two 'first-in-class' clinical new drugs to market within three years at a major international pharmaceutical company; and the verifiable R&D achievements of other core team members. Over the past year, several products from AlphaMol have been recognized by well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, leading to cooperation agreements and generating revenue. On this basis, AlphaMol recently successfully completed its Series A round led by Shanghai Healthcare Capital (SHC), marking the recognition by the industry of AlphaMol’s original drug research capabilities and product pipeline prospects—this is truly commendable! Following the seed round, Xinhenglida Capital has continued to participate in the Series A round, accompanying the AlphaMol academician team on their path to success."

SHC, approved by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, is a municipal industrial fund with a total target management scale of RMB 500 billion, initiated and established by Shanghai Industrial Group. The fund will leverage Shanghai's comprehensive advantages in developing the biopharmaceutical industry and rely on industrial resources to build an innovative investment platform in the biopharmaceutical field that is "based in Shanghai and Hong Kong, linked with the Yangtze River Delta, and facing the globe." By combining financial capital with industrial resources and integrating domestic and overseas operations, the fund will focus on key areas that align with Shanghai's biopharmaceutical industry development strategy, including high-end biologics, innovative chemical drugs and formulations, advanced medical devices and diagnostics, and innovative business models in healthcare.

Shenzhen Xinhenglida Capital Management Co., Ltd. is a private equity investment fund management company registered with the Asset Management Association of China under the China Securities Regulatory Commission (Registration No.: P1003636). Its investment areas include, but are not limited to, biomedicine, biotechnology, innovative medical devices, and equipment. The company is composed of an investment team with a global perspective and knowledge system, which is highly familiar with global technological trends, technical development directions, as well as financial and capital markets. The team members have been deeply engaged in the venture capital market for many years, possessing extensive experience in the venture capital industry, strong enterprise valuation capabilities, and risk control awareness, achieving remarkable investment performance in the venture capital sector.

Shenzhen Huaqian Capital was established in Shenzhen in early 2016 by one of China's earliest management teams specializing in biopharmaceutical industry investments. The founding shareholders also include financial central enterprises, returned overseas academicians and Thousand Talents Plan experts from various subfields of biomedicine, as well as medical experts. Huaqian Capital focuses on the broader health sector, deeply cultivating the field while integrating industry resources, and making forward-looking investments within the biopharmaceutical ecosystem built by industrial players, service platforms, and original research institutions. The founding team has cumulatively managed funds with a scale of 7 billion RMB. They have successfully taken more than 13 pharmaceutical companies public and facilitated over 30 successful equity transfers or mergers and acquisitions. In recent years, they have concentrated on investment layouts in CXO enterprises across the industry chain, AI-driven pharmaceutical companies, and fields like synthetic biology. Together with the provincial Yueke Group, they have co-established a biopharmaceutical fund in Shenzhen to promote high-quality development of Shenzhen’s biopharmaceutical industry. Members of the management team have been honored with multiple prestigious awards for several consecutive years by Zero2IPO Group, ChinaVenture, and China Finance.