Youkadi Biopharma Secures Tens of Millions in Series B+ Financing to Advance ssCART-19 Registration Clinical Trial and Development of Innovative Pipeline Products

On March 30, 2021, Shanghai UNICAR-THERAPY BIOMED-PHAMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD, a company focused on the independent innovative R&D of CAR-T 2.0 products, announced the completion of its tens of millions of yuan Series B+ financing round.

This round of financing was led by Deguan Capital, with Kaizheng Investment participating as a co-investor. The funds raised will be applied to advancing the clinical trials of the company’s first CAR-T 2.0 product, ssCART-19 injection; expediting IND filings and the rapid initiation of clinical trials for multiple new products; and developing and validating novel candidate products for applications in solid tumors. In the future, Unicar-Therapy will remain committed to the research and development of next-generation CAR-T technologies, focusing on creating safer and more effective cancer therapies.

The company’s core management stated: “We sincerely appreciate all investors for their recognition of and confidence in the company’s achievements and strategic direction. The participation of new investors in this round will help accelerate the clinical trials and commercialization of Ucar-T’s products under development. Ucar-T is committed to addressing current clinical challenges associated with CAR-T therapies, such as safety concerns, relapse, and limited efficacy against solid tumors, by continuously developing innovative technologies to create best-in-world and first-in-world CAR-T and immunotherapy products. Meanwhile, Ucar-T has established a fully integrated, independent production and quality control system, enhancing its ability to improve product quality and reduce production costs, thereby strengthening the market competitiveness of its immunotherapy offerings. We believe that only by persisting in independent innovation and truly solving clinical problems—by developing safer, more effective, and affordable CAR-T products—can we bring renewed hope to more patients with advanced-stage cancer and ultimately emerge as the winner in the competitive landscape of CAR-T immunotherapy.”

About UNICAR-THERAPY

SHANGHAI UNICAR-THERAPY BIOMED-PHAMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD, established in February 2015, is one of the earliest biotech high-tech companies in China to engage in the research and development, translation, and industrialization of next-generation immune cell/gene therapy technologies and products.

Currently, Shanghai Unicar-Therapy has independently developed multiple CAR-T products for hematologic malignancies. After more than five years of clinical validation involving a large number of cases, it successfully obtained tacit approval in September 2020 to formally initiate clinical trials for its first-generation next-gen CAR-T 2.0 product, ssCART-19 injection. This marks the first CAR-T therapy internationally to break through the contraindication of "leukemic meningitis" (central nervous system involvement in leukemia), holding significant importance for treating central nervous system infiltration in leukemia. The clinical trial is currently being conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. In addition to its R&D pipeline for hematologic malignancies, Unicar-Therapy is actively laying out technological R&D in immunotherapy for solid tumors, including the introduction of globally advanced antibody screening and antibody engineering technology platforms, as well as the R&D and industrialization of other immunotherapeutic technologies for solid tumors.