Sunshine Anjin Completes Over RMB 100 Million Pre-A Financing Round Led by Qiming Venture Partners

VCBeat has learned that recently, an emerging innovative drug R&D company focused on pain treatment—Sunshine Anjin (Nanjing) Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sunshine Anjin”)Officially announced the completion of a Pre-A financing round exceeding RMB 100 million. This round of financing was led byQiming Venture PartnersLead investor,Boxing CapitalandTHG GinkgoCo-investment.

The funds raised will be used to support the preclinical and early clinical development of a globally leading pain treatment pipeline, accelerating the R&D progress of small-molecule drugs targeting the sodium ion channel Nav1.8, thereby enhancing its competitiveness in the global biopharmaceutical sector.

Sunshine Anjin was co-founded by Professor Lei Xiaoguang of Peking University and Professor Yang Yong, a clinician at the Hospital for Skin Diseases of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The company has assembled an R&D team with extensive experience in innovative drug development and international competitiveness, aiming to develop novel analgesics by focusing on Nav1.8 and Nav1.7, two sodium ion channels highly associated with pain perception.

Currently, the global incidence of chronic pain remains persistently high. According to data from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), one in five people worldwide has experienced chronic pain. In China, the *Blue Book on China’s Strategy for Pain Prevention, Control, and Health Promotion: Report on the Development of Pain Medicine in China* indicates that over 300 million people are suffering from chronic pain, with the number growing rapidly by 10 to 20 million annually. Pain has thus become the third major health issue, following cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cancer. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the global pain management market is projected to reach $120.7 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.39%.

Opioid analgesics currently dominate the pain management market; however, their significant side effects and high potential for addiction pose substantial challenges to clinical use and have triggered serious social issues related to drug abuse. To address this pressing clinical need, innovative small-molecule drugs targeting non-opioid analgesic pathways—particularly those acting on sodium channels closely associated with pain—are gaining increasing attention and demand.

In early 2024, Vertex announced the latest Phase III clinical trial data for VX-548, an ion channel Nav1.8 inhibitor, in the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain. The study met its primary endpoints, namely the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and the Sum of Pain Intensity Difference over 48 hours (SPID48), demonstrating significant improvement compared with placebo. Once approved, this novel small-molecule drug targeting Nav1.8 will become the first non-opioid, non-addictive analgesic launched globally in more than two decades, marking a milestone of epochal significance.

Compared to VX-548, developed by Vertex,Sunshine Anjin’s Nav1.8 inhibitor in development has demonstrated significantly superior analgesic efficacy and safety, highlighting its potential to become a best-in-class drug. The IND application is expected to be filed in 2025, officially entering the clinical trial phase.

The successful completion of this financing round demonstrates the high recognition of Sunshine Anjin by professional investment institutions in the biopharmaceutical sector. Moving forward, Sunshine Anjin will continue to focus on promising ion channel targets in the field of pain management. By prioritizing in-house R&D while also engaging in collaborative development, the company aims to build a globally leading pipeline for pain treatment R&D. Furthermore, it will accelerate clinical development both domestically and internationally through flexible clinical trial strategies, enabling patients to gain earlier access to novel therapies for pain relief, while simultaneously expanding its influence in the global market.

Currently, Sunshine Anjin has been recognized as a National Technology-based SME and established a Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Talent Enclave in Jiangsu, and has secured approval for one national-level talent program.

Professor Lei Xiaoguang, Founder of Sunshine Anjinstated, “Our team has long been dedicated to fundamental research on ion channels. By establishing Sunshine Anjin as an ion channel-focused drug development platform, we aim to accelerate the development of novel analgesics, thereby benefiting hundreds of millions of pain patients worldwide. We extend our gratitude to the multiple market-oriented investment institutions that have chosen to partner with Sunshine Anjin amid the pharmaceutical industry’s downturn and intense competition in related fields. Our team will go all out, with heightened determination, to strive for new breakthroughs in the field of innovative pain medications.”

Dr. Chen Kan, Partner and Co-Head of Healthcare at Qiming Venture Partnersstated: “We are deeply impressed by Sunshine Anjin’s substantial accumulation of expertise and robust scientific research and innovation capabilities in the field of novel analgesic drug development. We believe that, building on the company’s solid foundation in medicinal chemistry and animal model research, its outstanding founding team will soon drive breakthrough progress in its related pipeline, ultimately bringing relief to the growing number of pain patients worldwide.”