ReLive Biotechnologies Completes Cross-Border Acquisition of Co.Don AG and Secures $36M Series A Financing Led by Shanghai Healthcare Capital

The tissue engineering and regenerative medicine industries in China and overseas have shown broad clinical application prospects and enormous potential in recent years. In this emerging "blue ocean" market, pioneers have already initiated a wave of mergers and acquisitions.

Recently, ReLive Biotechnologies Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "ReLive"), a rising star in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine targeting the global market, officially announced the completion of the full-asset acquisition of Co.Don AG (stock code: CNW.DF), a publicly listed biotechnology company in Germany. With this acquisition, ReLive has brought under its wing one of only two globally available cell therapy products for cartilage repair that have received regulatory approval from both European and American authorities—Spherox/Chondrosphere.

Meanwhile, ReLive has recently officially completed an A-round financing of over 36 million US dollars.This round of financing was led by Shanghai Healthcare Fund (SHC), with continued increased investment from angel round shareholders Yingdi Capital and Jiuyou Capital, and participation from Woson Capital. The relevant funds raised will be mainly used to support ReLive's operations in China, the US, and Europe, including team building, registration, production, sales, and R&D, assisting the company’s global development strategy. Guolu Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing.

It is reported that in the future, the Shanghai Biomedical Fund will rely on the rich industrial resources of its LP, Shanghai Industrial Group, Shanghai Pharmaceutical, and the fund's ecosystem. It will deeply empower ReLive to cooperate with scientific research institutes, clinical institutions, industrial parks, and upstream and downstream industry chains, assisting ReLive in its technological innovation and commercialization process.

Dr. Xing Zhao, founder, chairman, and global CEO of ReLive, stated that in the future, the company will develop cost-effective tissue engineering products by combining innovative stem cell technologies with novel 3D-printed biological scaffold materials through independent research and development. These products will target applications such as articular hyaline cartilage, osteochondral, and meniscus repair in orthopedic sports medicine, as well as auricle reconstruction in plastic surgery, aiming to build a global regenerative medicine platform company.

ReLive, which has recently completed cross-border acquisitions and Series A financing, was founded in 2021 as a rising company in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine targeting the global market. The company introduces cutting-edge products already approved for marketing in Europe and America, along with world-class production and quality control systems, while independently developing advanced products in fields such as orthopedic sports medicine and plastic reconstructive surgery, aiming to fill clinical application gaps globally.

It is reported that,Spherox is the only cell therapy product officially approved in Europe (including the EU, UK, Switzerland, and other countries) for articular cartilage repair and regeneration. It is also one of only two cartilage repair and regeneration cell products globally to have received formal market approval from European and American regulatory authorities, alongside MACI, the flagship product of U.S.-based Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ: VCEL).To date, Spherox has successfully treated more than 17,000 patients with severe articular cartilage defects in Europe, and its safety and efficacy have been fully validated.

While acquiring top-tier products at one stroke, ReLive also completed the full acquisition of Spherox-related global intellectual property, two internationally leading GMP-grade production workshops, and related quality control systems, achieving global intellectual property rights and European commercialization layout in one fell swoop.

GMP-Level Production and Quality Control Laboratory

"Co.Don AG has the world's top commercialized GMP production quality control system, and it has also built a fully automated production workshop with globally leading standards in Leipzig, Germany. These advancements help to improve and support the subsequent R&D and production of ReLive’s off-the-shelf cartilage repair cell therapy products, among other projects. The related production quality control systems will also be introduced into the Chinese and American markets to support the company's subsequent global layout," said Dr. Zhao Xing.

Liang Weibin, Partner of Shanghai Biomedical FundStated: "The Shanghai Biomedical Fund continues to focus on innovative technologies and products in the field of regenerative cell therapy. The number of patients with osteoarthritis worldwide has exceeded 400 million, with an incidence rate of 50% in the population over 60 years old. Regenerative therapies are one of the important methods for effectively addressing cartilage defect diseases. Through this asset acquisition, ReLive will own Spherox, one of only two globally approved autologous chondrocyte products currently on the market, as well as its self-developed allogeneic chondrocyte pipeline, positioning it as a globally leading company with a global layout. We look forward to and will continue to support ReLive in growing into a world-leading cell therapy platform company. The Shanghai Biomedical Fund is continuously expanding its investments in outstanding overseas enterprises and is establishing a US dollar fund targeting top international biotechnologies. In the future, it will fully leverage the strategic cooperation advantages between the fund, Hong Kong Science Park, and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals to connect domestic and foreign assets and build a global investment ecosystem."

Currently, Shanghai is accelerating the construction of an internationally influential highland for biopharmaceutical industry innovation. The cell therapy industry is a key area where resources are concentrated. The "Shanghai Action Plan to Promote Cell Therapy Scientific and Technological Innovation and Industrial Development," released in 2022, explicitly set the main goal of reaching 10 billion yuan in the scale of Shanghai's cell therapy industry by 2024. ReLive’s acquisition of all assets of Co.Don AG, obtaining the only officially approved cell therapy product in Europe in the relevant field, is contributing to the development of Shanghai's cell therapy industry. The Shanghai Biomedical Industry Fund actively responds to the Action Plan, fully leveraging the diverse ecological matrix of “government-industry-academia-research-medicine-capital” to accelerate the R&D of cutting-edge cell therapy technologies internationally and bring benefits to more patients in China.

This cross-border acquisition has laid a solid foundation for the global layout of ReLive's regenerative medicine products.

In the future, in terms of market expansion, ReLive will focus on mobilizing resources from China, the U.S., and Europe. It will base its independent research and development work in the Boston area of the United States, the most advanced region for global biotechnology. Production of existing products and global sales will be carried out in Germany. ReLive will actively promote the listing and sales of related products in the Chinese and American markets. Additionally, ReLive will also engage in technology transfer or commercial licensing of its existing products in ASEAN countries, South America, the Middle East, Mexico, Japan, and other countries and regions, continuously expanding its global commercial market.

Among them,In the Chinese market, Spherox-related production workshops have been successively completed, with plans to quickly initiate bridging clinical trials and launch China's first approved cartilage repair cell product. In regions such as Singapore, based on the recognition of European regulatory authorities, ReLive will also rapidly advance the clinical trial exemption and direct registration process. An application for market approval has already been formally submitted to Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA). In the equally promising U.S. market, ReLive is concurrently promoting the launch plan for Spherox in the United States.

GMP-Level Production and Quality Control Laboratory

In terms of team composition, Dr. Xing Zhao, the founder of ReLive, has深耕多年 in the field of regenerative medicine. He served as an orthopedic lecturer for many years at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the top hospitals in the United States. Subsequently, he held the positions of head of research and development and chairman of the scientific advisory committee at Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ: VCEL), a leading company in American regenerative medicine. In 2017, as a core member, he witnessed the entire process of Vericel's flagship product MACI being approved for marketing in the United States. The other executives are industry elites from China, the United States, and Europe, with extensive experience in operations, management, and research and development.

Beyond the management team, ReLive has also introduced a Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board composed of top scholars, clinical experts, and industry leaders in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including professors of orthopedics and directors of sports medicine from Harvard and Mayo Clinic (now known as Mayo International Medical Center).

In terms of product pipeline, ReLive is independently developing a new generation of universal cartilage repair products to address issues such as secondary surgeries caused by autologous cell sources and limitations in large-scale production. At the same time, the company will continue to collaborate with international institutions like Harvard University and MIT, as well as industry leaders, utilizing cutting-edge cell and gene therapy technologies alongside the deep development and organic integration of novel biomaterial scaffolds. The focus is on developing regenerative medicine products for orthopedic sports medicine fields, including articular hyaline cartilage, osteochondral, and meniscus repair, as well as for plastic and reconstructive surgery fields, such as auricular reconstruction.

The $36 million Series A financing round raised by ReLive will provide direct support for the company's global expansion.Dr. Xing Zhao, Founder, Chairman, and Global CEO of ReLiveStated: "Against the backdrop of a capital winter in 2022 and unprecedented challenges in the global political and business environment, ReLive successfully completed its Series A financing round and cross-border acquisitions, establishing a resilient global strategic framework. This lays a solid foundation for the company to gradually grow into an international leader in the field of regenerative medicine. We thank both new and existing investors for their trust and support, especially the lead investor in this round, the Shanghai Biomedical Industry Fund, for their strong support, which brings more comprehensive resources and deep empowerment to ReLive. We believe that our joint efforts will continue to lead ReLive towards greater success."