NeoCura Biopharma Secures RMB 500 Million Series A+ Financing to Accelerate AI-Driven RNA Therapeutics Development

On December 21, 2021, NeoCura Bio-Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("NeoCura") announced the completionRMB 500 million in Series A+ financing. This round of financing was led byPICC Capital and renowned investor Yihong Zhou jointly led the investment, with Shunxi Fund under Guoguan Center, Jiayin Fund, CDH Investments, and existing shareholders following up.Continuously Expanding into the RNA Innovative Drug Field.

This round of financing will be used to advance the research and development progress of NeoCura's mRNA technology-based tumor neoantigen vaccines, tumor microenvironment immunomodulators, viral vaccines, and other pipelines. Meanwhile, the company will continue to optimize its artificial intelligence platform, improve RNA drug R&D and production base construction, and accelerate the clinical and commercialization process of innovative tumor drugs.

NeoCura Co-Founder & Chairman Yakin ZhouSaid: "RNA, as a globally leading-edge technology, has an extremely broad range of applications and is one of my key areas of focus. NeoCura's strong research team, globally advanced AI algorithms, and multiple proprietary intellectual properties are highly competitive among similar companies in China. I have high hopes for their ongoing R&D pipeline and look forward to NeoCura quickly advancing mRNA, this highly sought-after new technology, into clinical use, ushering in a new era of tumor immunotherapy."

Shu Wanting, Head of Investment Department at PICC EquityPICC Equity expressed: "We are highly confident in the future of NeoCura. We expect NeoCura, under the leadership of Dr. Wang Yi, to seize the opportunity and continue its efforts to successfully apply mRNA technology in the field of cancer treatment. We hope the application of this emerging technology can overcome the existing bottlenecks of immunotherapy in solid tumor treatments, achieve more breakthroughs and innovations in the treatment of major diseases, and make outstanding contributions to the health of the Chinese people together with PICC."

Ren Peng, Head of Shunxi Fund under the National Management Center"It stated: 'With the advanced principles behind mRNA technology, it will create tremendous social and commercial value in both the prevention and disease treatment fields. Although mRNA technology has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it will not fade with the end of the pandemic. Shunxi Fund believes that NeoCura has the potential to further develop mRNA technology in areas such as cancer treatment and protein replacement therapies, contributing to disease prevention and clinical treatments.'"

Wang Tie, General Manager of Jiayin FundStated: "The choice of NeoCura is the result of prudent research on China's RNA industry. First, we are optimistic about the broad prospects of RNA in the future. NeoCura’s direction of using neoantigens to develop specific tumor vaccines aligns with the development requirements of future medicine and can form a highly extensible tumor drug technology platform. At the same time, we have great confidence in the team of scientists led by Dr. Wang Yi. We believe that NeoCura will undoubtedly become a leading enterprise in China’s RNA innovative drug field and make significant contributions to China’s advancement to world-class standards in the field of tumor immunotherapy."

Dr. Dan Liu, Partner of CDH Innovation and Growth FundNeoCura has an excellent team and technical reserve in the design of tumor neoantigens and drugs based on the RNA platform, with encouraging R&D progress. We look forward to the clinical performance of its R&D pipeline in this field.

Dr. Wang Yi, Co-founder & CEO of NeoCuraStated: "We are very grateful for the recognition and support from all investors. The injection of funds from this round has strengthened NeoCura's research and development backing, providing a strong guarantee to accelerate the progress of our ongoing pipeline. As a high-tech enterprise focused on the RNA innovative drug field, NeoCura will continue to deeply cultivate RNA drug research and development, hoping to fill unmet clinical needs through the application of emerging technologies. We look forward to the early market launch of our products under research, benefiting cancer patients worldwide."

NeoCura, founded in 2017, is characterized by AI-powered RNA drug development and is committed to becoming an internationally leading RNA innovative drug research and development enterprise. It has built a multi-omics big data collection platform and a multi-layered biological omics database, utilizing AI and bioinformatics technologies for in-depth drug target discovery and fully automated drug design for innovative RNA drug research.

The company has gathered a top-tier scientific research team with a global perspective, including dozens of Ph.D./postdoctoral researchers from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Cornell, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The team comprises experts in various fields such as AI bioinformatics, tumor immunology, novel vaccine development, drug delivery, and nucleic acid carriers. The ongoing pipeline covers multiple directions, including neoantigen vaccines for tumors, tumor microenvironment immunomodulators, and viral vaccines. A leading RNA drug production center in China has been established to support pipeline research and clinical needs.

NeoCura has independently developed an AI bioinformatics target mining platform, RNA drug platform, fully automated drug design platform, multi-omics big data collection and analysis platform, and a drug screening and validation platform, aiming to advance RNA drug research by combining artificial intelligence algorithms with real-world data validation. Its independently developed and proprietary platform is NeoCura.^TMAI ALPINE Neoantigen Prediction System Ranks First in the World for Prediction Accuracy.

With leading AI technology, a robust R&D pipeline, and outstanding innovation capabilities, NeoCura has successively been awarded "China's Most Potential Enterprise in 2021" and "Top 10 Innovative Enterprises in AI/Computational Pharmaceutical in China in 2021."

Mr. Zhou Yuhui is the founder, former chairman, and CEO of Kunlun Wanwei, a company listed on the A-share market; a renowned investor in China's scientific and technological innovation sector, ranked 19th in the latest "Top 50 China's Top Venture Capital Investors 2021"; he is also the incubator and co-founder of NeoCura.

PICC Health and Wellness Fund is a private equity investment fund managed by PICC Equity, a subsidiary of PICC Capital, focusing on healthcare. The first phase of the fund amounts to 3 billion yuan. PICC Equity adheres to the investment philosophy of "Research-driven, Insight into the Future, Leading Change," recognizing innovation through in-depth research, discovering value with a forward-looking perspective, and leading change with influential investments. It focuses on clinical needs and promising new technologies, striving to meet the people's aspirations for a better life.

Beijing Shunxi Equity Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shunxi Management Company) is a subsidiary of Beijing State-owned Capital Operation and Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Beijing Guoguan) and also serves as Beijing Guoguan's venture capital investment platform. Adhering to the functional positioning of a venture capital platform, Shunxi Management Company focuses on early-stage and small-scale investments, concentrating on investing in high-quality projects within the fields of technological innovation and healthcare at an early stage. It has established a market-oriented operation and management mechanism, striving to become a leading venture capital platform in China.

Shenzhen Jiayin Fund Management Co., Ltd. is the equity investment platform under the Hezheng Group. As a rising force in China's private equity investment field, it aims to become a specialized, refined, and powerful institution, building a top-tier innovative investment bank in China. Its key investment areas include biomedicine, new materials, semiconductors, high-end equipment manufacturing, and other fields with attributes of high technology, high added value, and high growth potential.

CDH Investments, founded in 2002, is one of the most influential alternative asset management institutions in China, with a current managed fund size of 170 billion yuan. CDH Investments operates across six major business segments: private equity investment, venture and growth capital (VGC), securities investment, real estate investment, mezzanine investment, and wealth management. CDH has invested in more than 200 companies, with over 70 listed domestically and internationally, nurturing a group of industry-leading brands. The core philosophy of CDH Investments is to partner with hard workers and create long-term value. CDH Investments aims to be a long-term partner for global investors seeking the best investment opportunities, a partner for portfolio companies in creating long-term value, and an accelerator for China's industrial transformation and the improvement of people’s quality of life.