EdiGene Secures RMB 400 Million in Series B+ Financing to Advance Clinical Translation of Gene Editing Therapies and Expand Global Business Footprint

VCBeat Learns: Beijing, China and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, April 21, 2021 – Boya JiYin announced the successful completion of its RMB 400 million Series B+ financing round. The round was led by Loyal Valley Capital, with participation from BioTrack Capital and Sherpa Healthcare Partners. Existing investors, including IDG Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Sanzheng Health Investment, Huagai Capital, Sequoia Capital China, YH Capital, and Kunlun Capital, also participated in the round to fully support the company’s development. Boya JiYin is a biopharmaceutical company leveraging genome editing technology to accelerate drug research and develop innovative therapies for various diseases. It previously completed a RMB 450 million Series B financing round in October 2020. The proceeds from this round will be used to further advance the clinical translation of the company’s gene-editing-based product pipeline and drive its industrialization.

Lin Lijun, Founder of Loyal Valley Capital (LVC), stated, “As one of the most prominent foundational technologies in contemporary life sciences, gene editing has demonstrated immense application potential in the treatment of various clinical diseases in recent years, holding significant promise to fundamentally disrupt existing therapeutic modalities. As a leader in the clinical translation of gene editing in China, Boya JiYin not only boasts a world-class scientific research team working in close synergy with a comprehensive industrialization team composed of seasoned industry veterans, but also upholds stringent quality standards and a rigorous research approach. The company secured approval for the first Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a gene editing therapy in China, and its subsequent product pipeline showcases promising future applications. This aligns closely with LVC’s core value proposition of ‘investing in great enterprises to make the world a better place through investment.’ LVC is honored to lead this round of financing. We look forward to collaborating with the company’s management team and both new and existing investors to deliver safe, efficient, and economically accessible innovative therapies to patients in China and worldwide, thereby benefiting humanity. Furthermore, we are committed to providing robust support in areas such as financing, industrialization, upstream and downstream resource integration, and international cooperation, helping Boya JiYin become an internationally leading enterprise in the research, development, and translation of next-generation innovative therapies.”

“We welcome the participation and recognition of new investors, and thank our existing investors for their continued support,” said Dr. Wei Dong, CEO of Boya Jiyin. “The company’s pipeline and industrialization are accelerating. Following the establishment of our Beijing R&D Center and Guangzhou Clinical Application Center, Boya Jiyin has successively opened its Beijing Clinical Development Office and Shanghai Business Development Office, while its R&D center in Cambridge, Boston, USA, has also officially launched. The successful completion of this financing will support our continued efforts to advance the high-quality translation of gene-editing technologies. It will further deepen and broaden the company’s industrial development across multiple dimensions, including building a comprehensive industry value chain, expanding our global footprint, and pursuing business development and collaborations, ultimately enabling innovative therapies to benefit as many patients as possible, more rapidly.”

“We are grateful for the strong support from all investors, which has enabled us to take new strides in research and development, industrialization, and internationalization, propelling the company into a new stage of growth,” said Dr. Wei Wensheng, Founder of Boya Ji Yin. “The company will continue to dedicate itself to translating gene-editing technologies into innovative therapies, bringing new options and hope to patients in China and around the world.”

In January this year, Boya Ji Yin’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ET-01, a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing therapy targeting transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, was approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This made ET-01 the first gene-editing therapy product and hematopoietic stem cell product in China to receive NMPA approval for clinical trials. Currently, clinical trial preparations for ET-01 are proceeding steadily. Meanwhile, the company’s pipeline of universal CAR-T therapies, in vivo gene-editing therapies based on LEAPER™ technology, and targeted therapies developed through high-throughput genomic editing screening are advancing through research and development and preclinical stages.

EdiGene, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to accelerating drug research and developing innovative therapies for various genetic diseases and cancers through cutting-edge international genome editing technologies. EdiGene has established an ex vivo cell gene editing therapy platform targeting hematopoietic stem cells and T cells with independent intellectual property rights, an in vivo gene therapy platform based on RNA single-base editing technology, and a high-throughput genome editing screening platform committed to targeted drug development. Founded in 2015, EdiGene is headquartered in Beijing, with offices located in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Cambridge, USA. For more information, please visit the company’s website: www.edigene.com

Loyal Valley Capital, established in 2015, has consistently adhered to the investment philosophy of “long-termism, focus, and altruism.” It is committed to building China’s premier investment research and post-investment management teams. By conducting in-depth industry research and providing proactive post-investment value-added services, Loyal Valley Capital partners with outstanding entrepreneurs to co-create great enterprises that represent the future growth direction of China’s economy and generate social value. Since its inception, Loyal Valley Capital has invested in a portfolio of high-quality companies emblematic of China’s future economic development, including Bilibili, ByteDance, POP MART, Perfect Diary, NetEase Cloud Music, Junshi Biosciences, InnoCare Pharma, Akeso Biopharma, Henlius Biotech, Supcon Technology, Bayi Space, and Avary Holding.

BioTrack Capital, established in 2017, is a specialized investment firm dedicated to investing in and incubating outstanding healthcare startups in China. We invest in innovative biotechnology, cutting-edge medical technologies, and novel healthcare business models in China, striving to create greater value for our investors. To this end, BioTrack Capital has built a robust ecosystem, with our investors and partners including many leading publicly listed companies and industry thought leaders across various healthcare subsectors.

Sherpa Capital was founded in 2018. Its founders previously worked together at a renowned Chinese venture capital firm, where they established and led the healthcare investment team in 2011, overseeing healthcare investments and managing healthcare funds. United in purpose and spirit, the Sherpa Capital team has weathered challenges and forged ahead to become an influential venture capital institution in China’s healthcare sector, investing in multiple industry-leading companies across key areas such as life sciences, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, and healthcare services. A decade of dedication—from 2011 to 2020—spanning four fund vintages and over 100 healthcare projects, has allowed us the privilege of partnering with numerous outstanding entrepreneurs, growing together along the way.