ImmunoTech China Secures Over RMB 200 Million in Series B Funding to Accelerate Development of Innovative Cell Therapies for Late-Stage Cancer Patients

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbaet) has learned that on October 10, 2021, in Beijing, China, Huaxia Yingtai(Beijing)Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huaxia Yingtai") announced the completion of a Series B financing round exceeding RMB 200 million.

This round of financing was led by Merit Capital, with participation from Vertex Ventures, HighLight Capital, Daoyuan Capital, Fenghai Capital, and Guangzhou Sanheyue. Existing shareholders Hankang Capital, VStar Capital, Xiantong Capital, and Chang Development made additional investments. VisionPlus Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

The proceeds from this financing round will be used to advance clinical trials for the company's dual-target STAR-T program in hematologic malignancies, develop the solid tumor STAR-T pipeline and conduct related clinical studies, and support commercial-scale manufacturing and other initiatives.

Huaxia Yingtai was founded in 2018 under the leadership of Professor Lin Xin, an internationally renowned molecular immunologist, and has achieved numerous technological breakthroughs in the field of innovative T-cell immunotherapy.In 2014, Professor Lin Xin, who served as an Endowed Chair Professor and Director of the Tumor Biology Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States, was recruited to return to China to serve as Chair of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at Tsinghua University, and was concurrently appointed as a Ministry of Education Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor and a National High-Level Talent Introduction Expert.

Led by Professor Lin Xin, the research team continuously conducts fundamental research in T-cell immunology, actively advances the clinical translation of research findings, and develops novel cell therapy modalities that have achieved favorable clinical outcomes, bringing the dawn of a cure to cancer patients. Furthermore, the team has embedded the scientific ideal of "technological innovation to conquer cancer" into the developmental vision of Huaxia Yingtai.

Dr. Zhao Xueqiang, Co-founder of Huaxia Yingtai, stated“Leveraging its unique STAR-T and enTCR-T technology platforms, Huaxia Yingtai has established a robust product pipeline targeting multiple indications, including hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and viral infections. Preliminary IIT clinical studies have demonstrated outstanding safety and efficacy data, earning high recognition from the prestigious international journal *Science Translational Medicine*, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, and the European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Congress.”

“Since its establishment over three years ago, the company has received strong support from friends across the medical community, academia, industry, government agencies, and specialized media. We are currently actively advancing the commercialization of our innovative products, aiming to swiftly bring them to market as cellular therapeutics that can benefit patients. In particular, we extend our sincere gratitude to all new and existing investors for their recognition and trust in Huaxia Yingtai. We will certainly live up to your expectations and work hand in hand with you to create a promising future.”

Huachuang Capital Partner Xiong Weiming stated: "The global oncology market holds enormous potential, with a significant unmet clinical need. Cell therapies such as CAR-T and TCR-T represent a key future direction for immunotherapy."

“We highly recognize Huaxia Yingtai’s two proprietary technology platforms, STAR-T and enTCR-T. The STAR structure maximally preserves the native conformation of the T cell receptor, demonstrating robust potential in solid tumor therapy and offering the advantage of innate dual-targeting, which will usher in a new era of T cell immunotherapy; enTCR-T overcomes critical challenges such as the acquisition of specific functional sequences in conventional TCR-T, enabling the engineering and industrialization of TCR-T cell therapy.”

“Huaxia Yingtai’s R&D is backed by renowned immunologist Professor Lin Xin and conducted in collaboration with the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University, consistently delivering innovative R&D outcomes; Dr. Zhao Xueqiang is both an expert in the field and possesses strong management capabilities; the core team is highly experienced, demonstrates strong execution, and holds extensive clinical resources. CGC Capital is honored to participate in this round of investment in Huaxia Yingtai. Together, leveraging the company’s technological platform and IP advantages, we will develop ‘next-generation’ global innovative cell therapy drugs to benefit patients and explore the globalization pathway for China’s innovative pharmaceuticals.”

Yuan Jianwei, Partner at Vertex Ventures, stated：“Cell therapy represents a significant milestone in the pharmaceutical industry's evolution from small molecules to biologics, and is one of the key investment sectors closely followed by Vertex Ventures. While cell therapy has achieved substantial progress, it still faces numerous bottlenecks that require breakthroughs through innovative scientific research.

“Under the leadership of Prof. Lin Xin from the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University, Huaxia Yingtai boasts world-class R&D capabilities in immunology. We highly value its closed-loop development capability, which synergizes with Huaxia Yingtai’s clinical research and enables rapid iteration, thereby endowing the company’s product pipeline with exceptional vitality and innovation. In advancing the commercialization of scientific research, Dr. Zhao Xueqiang is proficient in the three ‘languages’ of technology, operations, and capital, making him a rare multidisciplinary talent.”

“Vertex Ventures is highly honored to serve such scientists and enterprises. The commercialization of scientific research is a national strategy for China’s innovative development and for breaking the monopoly on chokepoint technologies. Vertex Ventures is committed to collaborating closely with more outstanding academic talents across China to jointly advance the great endeavor of China’s independent innovation.”

Hankang Capital Partner Jin Ming said: "Living cells, as a novel drug modality, have demonstrated remarkable therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of hematological malignancies, representing a highly promising direction in new drug R&D. In the future, much like small-molecule and antibody drugs, they will gradually become a pivotal force in innovative therapeutics."

“Through in-depth research, Hankang Capital believes that if CAR-T and TCR-T cell therapy products can achieve breakthroughs in solid tumors, it will further expand the clinical application scenarios of cell therapy, accelerate its entry into the fast track of industrial application, and unlock the market potential for cell therapy. Leveraging years of academic expertise in immunology research by Huaxia Yingtai founders Professor Lin Xin and Dr. Zhao Xueqiang, they have innovatively developed the STAR-T structure, a design featuring foundational innovation. It has received preliminary clinical validation and demonstrates potential for the treatment of solid tumors.”

“As an early investor in Huaxia Yingtai, Hankang is delighted to witness the founding team’s transformation from outstanding scientists into highly efficient entrepreneurs. We look forward to collaborating with the founding team and new investors to advance safe and highly effective cell therapy products to benefit patients as soon as possible, and to see the company establish itself as a leading cell therapy enterprise rooted in China and competing globally.”

Fu Jia, Managing Director at Xingyuan Zhitong, said：“We are pleased to support Huaxia Yingtai in this round of financing. Huaxia Yingtai is a rare cell therapy company in China that has truly achieved breakthroughs in foundational CAR-T patents and possesses capabilities for original innovation.”

“Leveraging the world-class immunology R&D capabilities of Professor Lin Xin’s team, the operational management expertise for research commercialization from the team led by Dr. Zhao, and the exceptional industrial CMC capabilities and clinical development expertise for cell products, Huaxia Yingtai is striving to establish itself as an innovative model of ‘In China for Global.’ We believe that with the backing of capital, Huaxia Yingtai will undoubtedly achieve greater breakthroughs and emerge as a leading enterprise in China’s cell therapy sector.”

Huaxia Yingtai is an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on cellular immunotherapy. Driven by unmet medical needs, it is dedicated to the development and commercialization of novel therapies for various diseases. Founded in March 2018 under the leadership of renowned immunologist Professor Lin Xin, the company operates two proprietary technology platforms, STAR-T and enTCR-T, alongside a mature industrialization platform for process development and quality control. To date, it has partnered with multiple leading hospitals in China to initiate several "First-in-Human" clinical trials, yielding positive clinical safety and efficacy data. The company is also supported by a highly skilled international team with extensive expertise in drug R&D, clinical development, and business development.

Founded in 2006, CGC (China Growth Capital) focuses on early-stage investments in enterprise software, cutting-edge technology, life sciences, and consumption upgrades. Leveraging its extensive resources and expertise, it assists portfolio companies in strategic planning, business development, and team building. Currently, CGC manages RMB and USD funds with a combined total of 8 billion RMB. Its investment scope spans from the angel stage to Series C, with investment amounts ranging from several million to over 100 million RMB. Representative life science portfolio companies include Huake Precision, Singleron Biotechnologies, Fubi Biotech, Beichen Therapeutics, Apollomics, JC Bio, Innovalab, Genor Biopharma, and Sunshine Anjin, among others.

Vertex Ventures, established in 1988, is one of the earliest venture capital firms in Asia and a member of Singapore's Temasek Holdings. The Vertex Ventures China Fund commenced operations in China in 2008, with assets under management exceeding RMB 10 billion. Vertex China is dedicated to investing in high-growth innovative enterprises, strategically focusing on three core sectors: innovative technology, the new digital economy, and healthcare. Its healthcare portfolio includes Chipscreen Biosciences [688321.SH], Harbour BioMed [02142.HK], Phoenix Healthcare Group [01515.HK] (now China Resources Healthcare), Xingkangyuan Biotech, Edge Medical, Bioray Biotech, Ruijian Medical, RecBio Pharma, Regor Pharmaceuticals, CreaX Biologics, Jiuno Medical, and Baoyuan Pharma, among others.

Honghui Capital (HLC) is an asset management company dedicated to driving technological innovation, leveraging deep industry insights as its core competency, empowering key sectors such as biomedicine and consumer livelihoods, and creating long-term value. Honghui Capital (HLC) manages dual-currency funds in RMB and USD, with offices established in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. To date, Honghui Capital (HLC) has invested in over 90 high-quality enterprises, more than 20 of which are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), and Nasdaq. The investment portfolio includes: WuXi Biologics, Mindray Medical, WuXi AppTec, SMOORE International, Pharmaron, Tigermed, Yuwell Medical, Sansure Biotech, Kintor Pharma, BrightGene, Nayuki, Baiyang Pharma, JuiChuang, Kemei Diagnostics, Chaoju Eye Care, Keygen Pharma, among others.

Hankang Capital (formerly Shanghai CCB Capital) is a venture capital firm specializing in China's biopharmaceutical industry. Guided by its core corporate value of "Empowering pharmaceutical innovation and safeguarding human health," the firm focuses on major diseases and significant unmet clinical needs. Through in-depth research, it proactively invests in startups equipped with top-tier teams and technological platforms, providing professional insights, experience, and resources to accelerate their development into industry-leading enterprises. To date, Hankang Capital's investment portfolio includes: Zhongshan Akeso Biopharmaceuticals (09926.HK), Beijing InnoCare Pharma (09969.HK), Chengdu Keymed Biosciences (02162.HK), Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences (688321.SH), Shanghai Abbisko Therapeutics (02256.HK), and others.

Founded in 2020, StartPointAdvisors is a financial advisory firm specializing in the healthcare industry. Recognized as one of the most active emerging healthcare financial advisors in the Chinese market in recent years, the firm has successfully completed nearly 20 landmark transactions since its inception, with a total deal value approaching RMB 4 billion. The StartPointAdvisors team comprises professionals from leading industry institutions, all bringing extensive professional experience. The company currently maintains offices in Beijing and Suzhou.