Drug Farm Secures $56 Million Financing to Advance DF-006, a First-in-Class Oral Therapy for Hepatitis B, into Clinical Trials

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that on February 9, 2021, Drug Farm completed a total financing round of $56 million. The company will use this investment to conduct clinical trials for DF-006, a first-in-class oral drug independently developed by the company for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and other liver diseases. The financing will also further advance the research and development of the company’s pipeline of products for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company’s investors include BioVector Capital Fund (BVCF), WuXi AppTec Corporate Venture Fund, Zhongnan Ventures, DT Capital Partners, and Zhejiang Minsheng Investment Group.

Dr. Xu Tian, Founder and Chairman of Drug Farm, stated, “Since the company’s establishment, we have successfully leveraged piggyBac transposon technology and forward genetics approaches to identify multiple first-in-class drug targets, effectively linking them to diseases. By integrating our proprietary artificial intelligence deep learning neural networks, we have rapidly developed first-in-class drugs based on these targets. Hepatitis B is one of our key focus areas.”

Following Barbara McClintock’s discovery of transposons in 1951, which overturned the prevailing understanding of genetic recombination, the concept of “playful” gene jumping was difficult to reconcile with the established view of genes as being orderly arranged on chromosomes. In 2005, Professor Xu Tian’s team pioneered the piggyBac mammalian transposon system, enabling rapid, large-scale identification of disease-related genes and the establishment of various disease models, thereby providing new avenues for gene therapy in human diseases. Scientific research is a long and lonely endeavor, and translating discoveries into tangible health benefits for the general public is an exceedingly perilous journey. This reflects the arduous path inherent to the development of any original novel drug. Over the past five years, Drug Farm has been deeply committed to this mission, persevering with unwavering determination, and has finally achieved breakthrough progress.

“Globally, there remains a significant unmet medical need in the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Although numerous products are currently available to reduce viral load, the quest for drugs capable of achieving a functional cure remains a formidable challenge, and DF-006 is making steady progress along this path. Investors’ commitment and confidence reflect recognition of the company’s proprietary technology,” said Dr. Lichenstein, CEO and Director of Drug Farm. “With this funding, we look forward to advancing the clinical development of our lead candidate, DF-006, for hepatitis B in 2021.”

“DF-006 is designed to clear hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis B virus cccDNA molecules, which would represent a true breakthrough in hepatitis B therapy,” said Dr. Su Lishan, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Drug Farm. Dr. Su also serves as Chair of the Department of Virology, Pathology, and Cancer at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Treating chronic hepatitis B infection through a novel mechanism that modulates the body’s innate immunity represents an exciting new approach.”

As a biotechnology company rooted in both China and the United States, Drug Farm leverages genetics and artificial intelligence to develop innovative therapies for hepatitis B, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Its proprietary IDInVivo platform combines genetics and AI to directly identify novel drug targets in immunocompetent live animals, pioneering new treatment modalities through breakthrough technologies. Utilizing the IDInVivo platform, Drug Farm has discovered multiple novel targets in innate immunity and is rapidly advancing several first-in-class drug candidates into clinical development.