Xunsheng Medical Secures Tens of Millions in Pre-A Funding to Advance TIL Therapy and Therapeutic HPV Vaccine Development

VCBeat learned at the first time,Aeonvital, a biotechnology innovation company focused on developing tumor immunotherapy-related drugs, announced the completion of a multi-million yuan Pre-A round of financing.This round of financing was exclusively invested by a fund under Duowen Capital Fund Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Duowen Capital"). The funds raised will be used to advance the company’s clinical trials of TILs therapy products in humans, as well as research on animal trials and process development for therapeutic HPV vaccines.

Aeonvital·VBInsight Capital Signing Ceremony On-site Photo
(In the front row of the picture, Liu Hongchuan, Founder & Chairman of Aeonvital, is on the left, and He Laiwei of Duowen Capital is on the right; in the back row, Zhang Xiujun, Founder & CTO of Aeonvital, is on the left, and He Zhihua, Chairman of Duowen Capital, is on the right.)

It is understood that,Aeonvital has two core technology platforms, one of which is the TILs cell therapy development platform targeting solid tumors:Focus on solving the TIL process challenges. Through full-process cGMP management, optimization of multiple key process steps, and the use of self-developed cell culture factors and tissue processing solutions, Aeonvital's TIL preparation process is no longer limited by tumor tissue sourcing and does not require feeder cells. Meanwhile, the proportion of stem-like cells in the company’s TIL products is much higher than in the industry, ensuring the powerful killing effect of TILs. To address the lack of effective in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation methods for TILs, which leads to significant individual differences in efficacy after infusion, Aeonvital has pioneered a high-throughput organoid-based evaluation method in vitro, providing an effective evaluation tool for precise treatment of patients. Currently, the first product developed through Aeonvital's TIL cell therapy development platform has completed all preclinical studies and is about to undergo IND filing.The second is a therapeutic nucleic acid vaccine development platform targeting precancerous lesions and cervical cancer caused by HPV infection.In the healthy female population, the HPV infection rate is as high as 13.5%, reaching 21.69% in China. Cervical cancer ranks as the second most common malignant tumor in women. Prophylactic vaccines have no therapeutic effect on individuals already infected with HPV or exhibiting precancerous lesions, and there are currently no related treatment products. Aeonvital is conducting research and development in this area.Therapeutic HPVNucleic Acid Vaccines Fill the Industrial Gap in China and Overseas. The therapeutic nucleic acid vaccine development platform developed by Aeonvital effectively addresses the challenge of low immunogenicity in therapeutic nucleic acid vaccines through nucleic acid sequence design and optimization. Current experimental data shows that the first HPV therapeutic vaccine developed by Aeonvital on this platform demonstrates significantly higher immunogenicity compared to similar products in Phase III clinical trials in the United States. Additionally, due to Aeonvital's leading engineering bacterial fermentation technology, the nucleic acid vaccines produced are highly safe, high-yield, and of high purity.

Founder & Chairman of Aeonvital, Liu HongchuanAeonvital believes that the high-quality research achievements accumulated over the years by its biomedical research team, along with the development experience of mature technologies, form the foundation for the company’s steady growth. Close communication and collaboration with clinicians over the years are key to Aeonvital's ability to deeply explore clinical needs. The founding team’s extensive industry experience ensures that Aeonvital can gain deep market insights and formulate product development strategies that address clinical pain points while also having strong market potential.

The Duowen Capital team has been focusing on the biopharmaceutical field for many years, believing that Aeonvital is an innovative company in the biopharmaceutical field that is rarely seen. In the future, it will definitely become a unicorn in related fields. "The company's three founders are rare talents in China, from the academic frontier of scientific research to product development and registration, as well as later clinical trials, sales, and operations. Based on the profound understanding of unmet clinical needs in oncology and tumor immunology by the three founders, Aeonvital pioneered a new solution for cancer immunotherapy, leveraging the combined effects of innate immunity and adaptive cellular immunity in vivo to fully activate the body's immune system to jointly tackle tumors."

Duowen Capital focuses on the investment + empowerment model in emerging industries, with a well-established investment philosophy. It adheres to an investment approach based on in-depth industry research and is a private equity investment management company dedicated to long-term and value investing. Duowen Capital primarily targets enterprises in the startup, rapid growth, and expansion phases within sectors such as next-generation information technology, metaverse, biomedicine and healthcare, advanced manufacturing, 5G communications, and rural revitalization. Mr. He Zhihua, the head of Duowen Capital, has years of experience in financial investment, with extensive expertise in project investment decisions and a sharp strategic vision. Mr. He stated, "Investing is about investing in people. We prioritize investing in scientists. The founding team of Aeonvital, their pipeline products, technical barriers, and market potential all fully align with Duowen Capital's selection criteria."