METiS Pharmaceuticals Secures $150 Million in Back-to-Back Funding Rounds and Files for IPO

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) learned第一时间 that on April 6, METiS TechBio, which focuses on the development of AI drugs and delivery systems,METiS TechBio(METiS TechBio, hereinafter referred to as "METiS") officially announced the completion of two consecutive rounds of financing, with a total financing amount of 1.5 billion US dollars. The two rounds of financing were led by PICC Capital and China Life Equity, with follow-on investments from Sequoia China, 5Y Capital, CMB International, Lightspeed China Partners, Monolith, Frees Fund, and other new and existing shareholders. Huaxing Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.METiS, incubated by XtalPi in its early stages, is committed to advancing the development of AI-driven drug discovery and delivery system platforms. Through independent research and active external collaborations, METiS is working with partners to advance more high-value drug pipelines in the small molecule and nucleic acid drug fields into clinical stages.

Under the leadership of Academician Hongmin Chen from the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Caida Lai, Dr. Wenshou Wang, and several top MIT scientists, METiS has pioneered a new track for artificial intelligence in drug delivery. By leveraging its self-developed "high-throughput experimental platform" for drug delivery combined with data-driven "AI algorithms" and mechanism-driven "quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics simulations," METiS predicts the physicochemical and biological properties of small molecules and nucleic acid drugs in specific microenvironments. Using AI-driven iterative dry and wet lab experiments, METiS achieves more efficient lead optimization, nucleic acid sequence design and optimization, and develops superior formulation recipes or nucleic acid delivery systems. Currently, METiS has applied for multiple patents with significant application value and established several R&D pipelines for small molecules and nucleic acids, with the most advanced pipeline expected to enter pivotal clinical trials in 2023.

It is worth mentioning that METiS has built an integrated nucleic acid drug development capability with proprietary intellectual property rights for mRNA sequence design and LNP delivery system design. The expression efficiency of its LNP nucleic acid delivery system exceeds the industry standard by more than ten times, while achieving multi-organ/tissue targeted delivery to the liver, lungs, spleen, muscles, etc., enabling localized regeneration, systemic/targeted protein secretion, antibodies, enzyme replacement, tumor targeting, immune enhancement, and other therapies. METiS has also secured several collaboration opportunities with leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide for co-development pipelines.

METiS TechBio CEO Dr. Cai-Da Lai"We are very grateful to our new and old shareholders who have given us unlimited support in corporate operations, technology, and business cooperation, enabling us to quickly build the 'AI Drug and Delivery System Development Platform' and establish several small molecule and drug pipelines. At the same time, we are honored to have established friendly cooperative relationships with large pharmaceutical companies both domestically and internationally, as well as with academia, to jointly apply more excellent technologies to the development of small molecule and nucleic acid drugs, and to advance more good drugs into clinical trials for the benefit of patients."

Wan-Ting Shu, Head of Investment Department and Managing Director of PICC Capital Equity Investment Co., Ltd.Representative: "METiS TechBio, leveraging nearly 30 years of rich experience accumulated by Academician Hongmin Chen in the field of drug formulation development, and under the leadership of Dr. Lai and Dr. Wang, has successfully entered the relatively close-to-market stages of drug formulation and nucleic acid drug delivery, forming a clear differentiation from other companies in the AI-driven pharmaceutical sector. The company has achieved remarkable progress in its business developments. METiS TechBio is simultaneously advancing multiple First-In-Class and Best-In-Class drug pipelines and has already established commercial collaborations with several leading pharmaceutical companies both domestically and internationally. We firmly believe in the promising future of METiS TechBio and hope that it can develop more innovative drugs as soon as possible to benefit human health, embodying the spirit of 'Technology for Good.'"

China Life EquityRepresentative stated: "As a leading AI drug delivery and formulation R&D company in the industry, METiS TechBio has built a unique AI prediction platform capable of rapidly scaling up the launch of drug pipelines to initiate pivotal clinical trials in a short period. At the same time, relying on its cutting-edge nanodelivery technology, METiS TechBio is actively expanding into new frontiers such as mRNA-based therapeutics, with vast growth potential. We are thrilled to support METiS TechBio in exploring uncharted territories of AI and new biotechnologies, leveraging artificial intelligence to provide revolutionary treatments for patients and fulfilling the grand mission of building a healthy society worldwide."

Jing Xutian, Managing Director of 5Y Capital"It represents: The integration of IT and biotechnology has brought a 'tenfold efficiency boost' in R&D for many application scenarios in this industry, with drug delivery systems being one of them. Over the past two years, METiS TechBio has demonstrated strong evolutionary capabilities in both its team and business operations, and has surprised us by developing a world-leading AI + drug delivery platform. The current delivery test results have reached the best level in the industry, showing high value potential. We firmly believe that METiS TechBio will continue to iterate industry-leading delivery systems and advance the development of new forms of drugs such as mRNA, with the potential to become an innovative leader in this vast blue ocean market."

CuiPing Gu, Managing Director of Sequoia ChinaStated: "METiS TechBio's IT+BT integrated end-to-end solution, combined with the top team's years of industry experience, has built a solid foundation for the company’s development. We believe that METiS TechBio, through AI and the world's best delivery system, will facilitate the research and development of new forms of drugs and become a leader in the next generation of global drug development. We will also continue to accompany and support the growth of METiS TechBio, contributing to the enhancement of human health and well-being."

Cao Xi, Founding Partner of MonolithRepresented by mRNA, the new form of drugs boasts numerous targets, convenient development, and a future market potential exceeding one trillion US dollars. We highly value METiS TechBio's current platform technology in AI drug delivery/formulation. With the support of this new round of financing, we believe that METiS TechBio will further accelerate technological iteration and create long-term value in the field of new drug modalities.

Wan Xin, Co-Head of Huaxing Capital's Industrial Internet Group"We are very pleased to accompany and support the company in successfully completing multiple rounds of financing consecutively. Traditional new drug research and development has a long cycle, high investment costs, and significant failure risks. The use of AI and other new technologies to assist in drug development can significantly improve industry efficiency. We highly recognize METiS's leading position in the industry and its tremendous growth potential, and we are honored to become a long-term partner of the company, accompanying it on its journey forward."