Shuimu Biosciences Completes Tens of Millions RMB Angel Round to Accelerate Drug Discovery with Novel Structural Biology Approaches

VCBeat has learned that Shuimu Biosciences Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shuimu Biosciences”) recently announced the completion of its angel round financing, amounting to tens of millions of RMB, in the first quarter of 2020. The investment was jointly made by Gaorong Capital, Puhua Capital, and Bohe Angel Fund, with Wanshi Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised in this round will be primarily used to build and optimize relevant technology platforms, as well as to strengthen the talent team.

Shuimu Biosciences, established in late 2017 and headquartered in Beijing, China, is dedicated to leveraging breakthrough technologies to significantly accelerate new drug development and enhance the druggability of challenging targets.

Since its founding, Shuimu Biosciences has established Asia’s first commercial structural biology platform centered on state-of-the-art 300kV cryo-electron microscopy. Leveraging Tsinghua University’s resources and its proprietary revolutionary methodologies in structural elucidation, along with structure-based and computational drug discovery technologies, the company has built a world-class, next-generation drug discovery platform. It provides comprehensive technical services to global pharmaceutical R&D enterprises and institutions, including novel target validation, compound library screening, hit identification, and therapeutic antibody development.

Shuimu Biosciences’ novel drug discovery technology effectively addresses the shortcomings of traditional drug development—such as unknown target structures, high randomness, prolonged development cycles, and elevated costs—elevating structure-based drug discovery (SBDD) to new heights.

Mr. Guo Chunlong, Co-founder and CEO of Shuimu Biosciences, stated: “Throughout the long history of humanity’s struggle against disease, progress has largely been made in darkness. The emergence of structural biology has brought a turning point, particularly with recent breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). These advances have finally enabled us to elucidate disease mechanisms at the molecular and atomic levels, facilitating targeted drug development and transforming what had been a “black box” problem for millennia into a “white box” one. By integrating cryo-EM with new drug discovery technologies, research and development efficiency can be significantly accelerated, making previously undruggable targets viable for therapeutic intervention.”

Professor Wang Hongwei, Co-founder and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee at Shuimu Biosciences, and Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University, stated: “After years of development, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become one of the most powerful techniques in structural biology. It offers unique advantages in resolving high-resolution structures of biologically significant membrane proteins and macromolecular complexes in near-native states, thereby opening up new frontiers for structure-based drug discovery.”

Dr. Yu Jiangtao, Advisor at Gaorong Capital, stated: “Driven by both national policies and the capital market, China’s healthcare industry is undergoing a pronounced transformation from imitation to innovation. Innovation stems from basic scientific research, and China has achieved world-leading status in structural biology, particularly in structure determination based on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Shuimu Biosciences is a platform company that translates scientific research advantages into commercial applications. On one hand, it provides scientific research services through protein structure determination; on the other, it offers further services for structure-based new drug development. Leveraging its strong scientific research background at Tsinghua University, Shuimu Biosciences enjoys unique advantages in related fields and holds immense potential for growth.”

Mr. Wang Jun, Partner at Puhua Capital, stated: “With the advancement of policies such as the consistency evaluation and volume-based procurement, the profit margins for generic drugs will continue to shrink, compelling companies to transition toward innovative drug development. As a new-type technology service company serving the R&D sector of innovative drugs, Shuimu Biosciences meets the substantial market demand in this field, and we look forward to its significant growth.”

Ms. Liu Yuwen, Founding Partner of the Bohe Angel Fund, stated: “The protracted process of new drug development is akin to panning for gold in sand. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to accelerate their responses. Breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, represented by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), have demonstrated significant driving force during this critical test. The pivotal role of structural biology in the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics has been widely recognized and prioritized by major pharmaceutical companies, with domestic enterprises in China rapidly catching up. This period marks a reshuffling of the drug R&D landscape. Shuimu Biosciences has seized this opportunity, providing services to leading pharmaceutical companies and research institutions both in China and abroad since its inception. Through this round of financing, Shuimu Biosciences will further enhance its service capabilities, playing a vital role in the field of drug discovery and development services.”

Li Yang, Partner at Wanshi Capital, stated: “Wanshi Capital has been committed to providing comprehensive financial solutions for tech entrepreneurs, and we are honored to have assisted the company in exceeding its fundraising targets for this round. Cryo-EM technology has emerged only in recent years, yet it is developing rapidly and shows great potential to replace X-ray crystallography. Over the past decade, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to structural biologists four times, underscoring the increasingly pivotal role of structural biology in drug screening. As one of the most experienced professional teams in China, Shuimu Biosciences leverages the advantageous resources of Tsinghua University and is poised to play a significant role in the field of drug development and services. Shuimu Biosciences has the potential to become the Tesla of the drug development services sector!”

Cryo-electron microscopy is an ultra-low-temperature cryo-sample preparation and transfer technology for electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM), which enables direct observation of liquids, semi-liquids, and electron-beam-sensitive samples through high-resolution images generated by electron beams. By analyzing cryo-EM images, researchers can elucidate the structures of biological macromolecules and their conformational changes during various physiological processes, thereby gaining insights into the fundamental principles of life phenomena. Based on this understanding, researchers can precisely modulate specific molecules directly associated with particular diseases or physiological processes, or induce functional changes in these molecules using small-molecule or protein-based therapeutics, ultimately achieving the goal of treating or preventing diseases.

Professor Wang Hongwei, Co-founder of Shuimu Biosciences, told VCBeat that cryo-electron microscopy technology first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1980, Jacques Dubochet’s group invented a method to rapidly freeze aqueous solutions of biomolecules to liquid nitrogen temperatures, thereby resolving the sample preparation challenge in cryo-electron microscopy. Subsequently, around 1985, Joachim Frank’s group preliminarily established a methodology for structural analysis of electron micrographs of dispersed biological macromolecular complexes using statistics-based data processing, thus laying the foundational principles for single-particle three-dimensional reconstruction in cryo-electron microscopy. Furthermore, in 1990, Richard Henderson’s group resolved the atomic-resolution structure of bacteriorhodopsin, marking the first atomic-resolution structure determined by cryo-electron microscopy.

To date, cryo-electron microscopy has become a relatively mature analytical method in structural biology. In 2017, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering contributions to the development of methodologies for determining high-resolution structures of biological macromolecules in solution using cryo-electron microscopy.

According to an article published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery by European and American scientists, X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and cryo-electron microscopy collectively constitute the three major analytical techniques in modern structural biology.

Integrating cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure determination with computational chemistry in drug development has effectively addressed the limitations of traditional approaches—such as unknown target structures, high randomness, prolonged development cycles, and elevated costs—thereby elevating structure-based drug discovery (SBDD) to new heights. In recent years, an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies have been adopting cryo-EM-based strategies for drug development.

For example, Genentech is establishing an in-house cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) team; Pfizer has invested £5 million to utilize new cryo-EM instruments; and Novartis has built its own cryo-EM center through collaboration with the Friedrich Miescher Institute. Meanwhile, some smaller pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies have formed consortia to share cryo-EM resources. For instance, the Cambridge Cryo-Electron Microscopy Consortium in the UK, jointly funded by five pharmaceutical companies with over £3 million, was officially launched in 2016.

Although researchers both in China and abroad have yet to identify revolutionary new drug structures based on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technology, drug development using this novel approach has already made considerable progress. For example, Christian Wiesmann, Head of Protein Science at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), stated that his team utilized cryo-EM to determine the structure of a protein bound to a small molecule, thereby guiding medicinal chemistry development.

Professor Wang Hongwei stated that there are currently two technical bottlenecks in the application of cryo-electron microscopy to new drug development.

First, sample preparation. To prepare samples, it is first necessary to identify protein molecules with further research potential based on clear target information, and then use specialized large-scale equipment to freeze the protein molecular solution below liquid nitrogen temperature, ensuring that their macromolecular spatial structures are not disrupted.

Second, virtual drug screening. Professor Wang Hongwei pointed out that at the current stage, the overall technology for virtual drug molecule screening using computational chemistry is not yet mature enough to independently support early-stage new drug development. “However, with the accumulation of experience and case studies, as well as algorithmic iterations, computational chemistry methods incorporating artificial intelligence will play a more significant role in new drug development.”

After nearly three years of development, Shuimu Biosciences has established internationally leading capabilities in cryo-EM-based structural analysis, with significant advantages in cryo-sample preparation, cryo-EM data collection, and structural computation. Currently, Shuimu Biosciences is equipped with a comprehensive suite of top-tier 300 kV cryo-electron microscopes and related hardware, supported by a robust team of structural biology experts led by Professor Wang Hongwei, Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University.

As a leading hub for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) research in China and globally, Tsinghua University established the world’s largest cryo-EM facility platform around 2015, seizing the early-mover advantage in the rapid development of this technology. In fact, Tsinghua University has been engaged in the research and development of cryo-EM technology for over a decade, providing robust support for the advancement of structural biology in China. Significant scientific achievements made using Tsinghua’s cryo-EM platform rank among the top worldwide, elevating the international influence of Tsinghua’s structural biology to an all-time high.

Professor Wang Hongwei told VCBeat that Shuimu Biosciences is building robust commercial capabilities for structure determination based on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The company already possesses the strength to provide comprehensive solutions and implementation capabilities for drug development leveraging cryo-EM and computational chemistry. It will offer end-to-end services to global pharmaceutical companies in the field of preclinical drug development, accelerating R&D for Me-too/Me-better drug discovery, the design of first-in-class drugs with novel structures, as well as viral vaccine and therapeutic development. “In the future, we strive to engage in drug development and identify drug targets with significant medical importance.”

As a co-founder and Chair of the Scientific Committee at Shuimu Biosciences, Professor Wang Hongwei has been engaged in cryo-electron microscopy research since his doctoral studies, dedicating many years to the development of cryo-EM-related methodologies. He has received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and the Tan Jiazhen Life Science Innovation Award. Mr. Guo Chunlong, Co-founder and CEO of the company, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from Tsinghua University and studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as attended the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Guo previously co-founded Baihe.com/Heyyou.com and 2048 Capital.

Furthermore, Shuimu Biosciences has established a scientific advisory team covering key areas of drug R&D, including computational chemistry, protein crystallography, and immunology. For instance, through stable collaborations with computational biology experts at the Beijing Life Science Park, Shuimu Biosciences has built robust drug screening capabilities.

VCBeat will continue to monitor the subsequent developments of Shuimu Biosciences.