FreshWind Bio Announces $10 Million Series A Financing Led by Daotone Investment to Advance TIL Therapy for Solid Tumors

Recently,Immune cell therapy company "DISCOVERY TO CURE" announced the completion of a Series A financing round worth tens of millions of U.S. dollars,Led by DaoTong Investment. The proceeds from this round of financing will be used to advance the company's product pipeline to the IND stage in early 2022 and to conduct Phase I clinical trials.

DISCOVERY TO CURE was founded in early 2020 by Dr. Yu Fuli, an entrepreneur and scientist, aiming to advance the clinical application of TIL therapy by seamlessly integrating multi-omics/bioinformatics/artificial intelligence with cell therapy to treat and cure patients with solid tumors and improve their quality of life.

Since its inception, DISCOVERY TO CURE has maintained a notably low profile, operating almost in “stealth mode” to quietly refine and develop its cutting-edge TIL (Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes) therapy platform. Currently, its “arsenal” includesNeoantigen-driven TIL, single-cell multi-omics TIL profiling, and end-to-end CMC.The company consistently adheres to a dual-drive strategy of independent R&D and external collaboration, having established close partnerships with numerous top-tier research institutions and teams in both China and the United States.

Since its inception, DISCOVERY TO CURE has been recognized by renowned experts in the field. Professor Brendan Lee, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Department of Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, serves as both an angel investor and scientific advisor to the company. Other distinguished scientific advisors to the company include Professor Helen Heslop, Director of the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Department at Baylor College of Medicine, and medical expert Professor Lu Shun.

Dr. Fuli Yu, Founder & CEO of DISCOVERY TO CUREHe/She is a rare "dual talent" in both scientific research and industrial management, with extensive R&D and management experience in the relevant academic and industrial sectors.

Dr. Fuli Yu, Founder & CEO of DISCOVERY TO CURE

After completing his Ph.D. and postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard University, Dr. Yu joined the Center for Human Genome Sequencing in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. He has made significant contributions to research in human genetic variation, its characteristics in population genetics, and the elucidation of the etiology of genetic diseases, and has participated in and led multiple major international human genome projects.

Prior to founding DISCOVERY TO CURE, Dr. Yu served as Chief Information Officer at Berry Genomics, where he oversaw overall R&D and product development, successfully incubated multiple subsidiaries, and served as the National Chief Project Leader for the Ministry of Science and Technology's 13th Five-Year Plan Major Project on "Early Diagnosis and Early Screening of Liver Cancer."

The remaining core team members of DISCOVERY TO CURE also boast distinguished backgrounds in both academia and industry, primarily hailing from internationally renowned universities and pharmaceutical companies, such as Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard University, Gilead-Kite, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) refer to lymphocytes that exit the bloodstream and infiltrate into tumors. They are infiltrating lymphocytes isolated from tumor tissues, discovered by Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, a pioneer in immunology, and his team. Compared with CAR-T cell therapy, TIL therapy not only demonstrates a superior safety profile but also effectively targets solid tumors. Currently, clinical trials of TIL therapy are being conducted worldwide for a wide range of solid tumors, including metastatic melanoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer, osteosarcoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, glioma, and pleural mesothelioma.

On August 12, a landmark study on TIL therapy sparked widespread attention and was published in the top-tier journal *Nature*. The research demonstrated that for patients with advanced lung cancer that is clinically highly refractory and unresponsive to PD-1 therapy, treatment with TIL cell therapy could surprisingly induce long-term remission in a subset of NSCLC patients who had not responded to PD-1 inhibitors. Even more encouraging, in this proof-of-concept clinical trial, tumors completely disappeared in two patients, with durable remission lasting for over 18 months.

As TIL therapy demonstrates excellent efficacy across a growing number of solid tumors, it will bring a new ray of hope to a vast patient population.

“In the 21st century, addressing and conquering cancer is a highly urgent imperative, both at the individual patient level and at the societal level. The core team at DISCOVERY TO CURE is dedicating its full focus and efforts to developing highly effective cell therapies for solid tumors,” Dr. Yu stated. “We aim to achieve the most rapid integration of the ‘bench’ (laboratory research) and the ‘bedside’ (clinical practice), swiftly transition from technology development and POC (Proof of Concept) to clinical research, and continuously iterate our technologies to enhance the clinical efficacy of our products.”DISCOVERY TO CUREIt plans to advance a portion of its product pipeline into clinical trials in early 2022, aiming to complete the construction of a GMP manufacturing facility covering several thousand square meters by year-end, while accelerating team expansion.

Doto Capital, the investor in this round, highly recognizes the rapid development pace, execution capabilities, and bold strategic plans demonstrated by Dr. Yu and his team.

Sun Qi, Founding Managing Partner, Daotong Capitalstated, "We endorse the development vision of the DISCOVERY TO CURE team. What impresses us even more is Dr. Yu's extensive industry experience and the actionable corporate development strategy. In the biopharmaceutical sector, Daotong has accumulated years of investment experience, supporting the rapid growth of many outstanding entrepreneurs. Daotong is committed to assisting the DISCOVERY TO CURE team in integrating ecosystem advantages to accelerate development. We are delighted to partner with this exceptional team to realize the vision of DISCOVERY TO CURE and deliver greater value to society."

It is reported that Mr. Sun Qi and his team swiftly made the investment decision after connecting with the DISCOVERY TO CURE team—this round of financing was completed just a few months after the conclusion of DISCOVERY TO CURE's previous funding round.

Daotong Investment specializes in early-to-mid-stage investment and industry M&A within the healthcare sector, with investment areas covering medical devices, healthcare services, biopharmaceuticals, and health IT. The core team members all hail from the healthcare industry, bringing extensive expertise in corporate operations management, investment, and M&A. They possess both entrepreneurial experience in incubating early-stage ventures and a proven track record of managing publicly listed companies valued in the tens of billions. In the field of medical technological innovation, Daotong has established a strategic and in-depth footprint. The firm maintains a highly stable investment team and has cultivated a comprehensive investment ecosystem. Leveraging profound industry expertise and extensive, high-quality professional networks, Daotong delivers robust post-investment support to generate high-value returns for its partners.