Kaicaiscience Secures Nearly RMB 300 Million in Series B Financing to Advance Innovative Drug Development Targeting Nuclear Receptors and GPCRs
Cascade
Innovative Drug Developer
SSCILF
Pilot Industry Investment Institutions
PDVC
Headquartered in Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and backed by the Yangtze River Delta economic circle, the company supports the development of small and medium-sized technology enterprises while achieving its own capital appreciation, thereby creating a win-win situation.
RHC
Private Equity Fund Management Institution
Fuho Capital
Early-stage Investment Institutions
On November 28, CASCADE announced the successful completion of its Series B financing round, raising nearly RMB 300 million. This marks another significant milestone for the company following its nearly RMB 200 million Series A+ financing earlier this year. The round was led bySSCILFLead Investor, Pudong Venture Investment Group, Zhangjiang Group、RHC,Womeida、Linchuang LanwanCo-investment, existing shareholdersFuho CapitalContinued Investment, further underscoring the capital market’s strong recognition of and firm confidence in CASCADE’s robust R&D capabilities and hardcore innovation value.
The proceeds from this financing round will be used to accelerate the global multicenter Phase III clinical trials of our lead pipeline and advance the development of multiple products in the R&D portfolio, thereby creating a superior “China Solution.”
China’s Original Innovation Power Precisely Targeting Unmet Clinical Needs
Established in 2017 CASCADE, with its focus on targeting nuclear receptors,GG protein-coupled receptor(GPCR)characterized by the R&D of original innovative drugs,Focus on Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and other metabolic diseases.
2025Core Products Under Development by the CompanyCS0159Obtained FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Orphan Drug Statusand has achieved multiple breakthroughs, with the oral tablet successfully completing its process in the United StatesMASHofIIPhase trials; in China,AgainstPBCIndicationsIIThe core Phase study has been successfully completed, demonstrating significant therapeutic potential, and is now being vigorously advanced.IIIPhase Trial. Meanwhile, the research team is actively exploringCS0159Combination Therapy Regimens, ConductedCS0159andGLP-1Research on the combination therapy of receptor agonists holds promise for managing body weight from multiple perspectives, enhancing weight loss efficacy while exerting synergistic effects in improving hepatic steatosis and inflammation, thereby providing new insights into the treatment of metabolic diseases.
Currently, the clinical trials of the company’s two other pipeline candidates are progressing steadily, also demonstrating exceptional potential as potential best-in-classTHRβSmall-Molecule AgonistCS060380Clinical trials have been successfully initiated.IIPhase Trial; Candidate DrugCS060304EnrolledSADandMADMultiple pipelines demonstrate the company’s robust capabilities in nuclear receptor drug development.
By combining drugs with different mechanisms of action, CASCADE is poised to deliver more precise and personalized treatment regimens for complex metabolic diseases.
Top Investors Build an Innovation Ecosystem Together; Existing and New Shareholders Accelerate the Implementation of Innovative Therapies
CASCADE Founder stated:“The continuous injection of capital is not only a driving force but also a responsibility. Here, we would like to express our special gratitude toSSCILF、Pudong Venture Capital Group, Zhangjiang Group、RHC、Womeida,Fuho Capital、LinChuang Lanwantrust and support, which represent a high recognition of the Company’s innovation capabilities and pipeline value, and also reflect strong confidence in the Company’s future growth potential. We look forward to further accelerating the progress of the CASCADE team with the joint support of both existing and new shareholders.CS0159clinical R&D and commercialization progress, better leverage the founding advantage of "structure-based drug design" technology, adhere to the concept of "key first principles," continue to deeply cultivate the field of metabolic diseases, and early forMASH、PBCbringing more innovative therapies to patients.”
As the core investment platform under Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, SSCILF has always practiced “"Invest Early, Invest Small, Invest in Hard Tech, Invest for the Long Term"” Guided by this philosophy, SSCILF has deeply engaged in the national strategic layout for emerging industries, establishing a mature investment ecosystem in fields such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence, and has facilitated the transition of multiple hard-tech projects from the laboratory to commercialization. This investment represents both a key measure for SSCILF to practice the concept of “patient capital” and deepen its footprint in the biopharmaceutical industry, and a typical example of state-owned capital precisely empowering original innovative drug R&D.
Pudong Venture Capital Group：Shanghai Pudong Venture Investment Co., Ltd. takes it as its mission to foster technological innovation and promote the development of emerging industries. It focuses on the “Invest in Large and Strong” initiative for cultivating local super-large enterprises; prioritizes “Invest in New and High-Quality” projects to strengthen and secure supply chains across six core hard-tech industries; and emphasizes “Invest Early and Small” to accelerate the commercialization of scientific research achievements and serve as a source of innovation, thereby building an investment system that covers the entire lifecycle of sci-tech enterprises. Zhangjiang Group:Shanghai Zhangjiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Corporation), established in July 1992, adheres to the strategic positioning of being the main force in science city development, a promoter of emerging industries, and a creator of sci-tech innovation ecosystems. It undertakes the important mission of building the core area of Shanghai’s Science and Technology Innovation Center and an internationally first-class science city, coordinating key functions such as the development and construction of Zhangjiang Science City, project introduction, industry cultivation, functional services, and the fostering of an innovative and entrepreneurial atmosphere. In the future, it will continue to focus on originating sci-tech innovations, strengthen industrial services, optimize the integration of industry and urban development, emphasize high-quality development, accelerate its transformation into an outstanding comprehensive service provider for innovation origination and industrial development ecosystems, and continuously build a higher-level sci-tech innovation ecosystem in the leading zone.
RHC:Established in January 2015, the company is among the first private equity fund management firms in China’s insurance industry to be initiated and established with insurance capital. Over the past decade, its assets under management have reached RMB 30 billion, with business segments covering fund-of-funds and direct investments, focusing on real-economy sectors such as healthcare and emerging technologies. The firm excels at supporting portfolio companies’ growth through post-investment services, including industrial chain resource matchmaking and talent acquisition. This joint investment will provide resource support for CASCADE’s global commercialization.
Womeida:Focusing on industrial capital in sectors such as serious healthcare and consumer healthcare, it covers investments across the entire corporate lifecycle and possesses deep expertise in local industry operational dynamics and resource integration logic. Leveraging its extensive experience in strategic deployments within consumer healthcare and innovative drugs, it will provide industrial perspective support for the pipeline implementation and scenario expansion of CASCADE. LinChuang Lanwan:Lingang GroupA specialized industrial investment platform under its umbrella, focusing on healthcare, synthetic biology, and new materials. Rooted in Shanghai’s pioneering industries, with a reach across China and a global outlook, the platform is committed to optimizing the healthcare ecosystem, integrating superior resources, and empowering high-quality enterprises for healthy growth. It aims to build a globally influential precision medicine industrial ecosystem and establish a world-class industrial cluster.
Fuho Capital：2008Year5Initiated and established in [Month], it is one of the three founding members of the Zhongguancun Venture Capital Association, with cumulative funds under management nearing30amounting to hundreds of millions of RMB, with investments in over fifty companies. It has long focused on the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements from research institutes and government investment promotion initiatives, incubating and investing in a portfolio of internationally leading technological innovations and outstanding tech enterprises. In recent years, it has strategically targeted investment opportunities in niche sectors such as innovative drugs and medical devices.