Kejun Pharma Secures Two Rounds of Over RMB 100 Million in 2024, Accelerating Global Clinical Development of Next-Gen Antiplatelet Drug CG-0255

On October 31, CureGene Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “CureGene”) announced the completion of its Series B+ round of financing. This round was led by Guoxin Innovation Equity, with other major investors including Aeonmed Group and Infinity Capital. Existing investor Honghai Capital also continued to increase its investment.

This marks CureGene’s second financing announcement this year. On January 31, CureGene announced the successful completion of its Series B financing round, exceeding RMB 100 million, led by Taikun Fund under Tailong Investment. Other major investors included Lichen Investment, Taiyu Investment, and Hankang Capital. Previously, CureGene had garnered long-term support from several well-known industry institutions, including Tailong Investment, Hankang Capital, Yonghua Investment, and Honghai Chuangjian.

It is reported that CureGene will use the proceeds from this financing round to accelerate the clinical development of its core product, CG-0255, in the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular fields.Since its establishment in Zhangjiang, Shanghai in 2018, CureGene has built a globally leading technology platform for targeted prodrugs and nucleic acid therapeutics. Focusing on the research and development of small-molecule and nucleic acid drugs, the company’s pipeline includes multiple innovative drug candidates with independent global intellectual property rights and significant market potential.

Dr. He Gongxin, founder of CureGene, has over 30 years of experience in the R&D and industrialization of innovative drugs. He participated in and led the development of multiple international best-in-class new drugs (such as the anti-hepatitis B virus drug tenofovir alafenamide, a next-generation prodrug of tenofovir). As a key inventor and project leader for R&D, he contributed to several global blockbuster products currently on the market. His three decades of dedicated practice have enabled him to accumulate extensive R&D expertise across multiple therapeutic areas.

Dr. He Gongxin earned his Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry from Kyushu University in Japan in his early career and completed his postdoctoral research at the University of California in the United States. Upon graduation, Dr. He joined Gilead Sciences, Inc., which was then in its developmental stage. As Gilead grew, Dr. He held core positions across multiple functional departments, including early-stage research and development, late-stage development, and integrated R&D management. In 2008, Dr. He was appointed by the corporate headquarters to return to China as the Chief Representative and founding General Manager of Gilead China, where he was responsible for establishing the company’s R&D and business management operations in the country.

From 2008 to 2018, during Dr. He Gongxin’s decade-long tenure as the head of Gilead Sciences in China, the Chinese biopharmaceutical industry underwent a transformative period marked by vigorous growth and diversification. Motivated by the aspiration to “deeply engage in the development of China’s biopharmaceutical sector and promote the advancement of the domestic pharmaceutical and healthcare industry,” Dr. He left Gilead after 26 years of service. Upholding his original commitment to “truly translate scientific theories into tangible outcomes and deliver better innovative original drugs to patients,” he founded CureGene.

Under the leadership of Dr. He Gongxin, CureGene rapidly assembled a team characterized by shared values, strong cohesion, and professional expertise, with more than half of its members being former colleagues from Gilead Sciences. Together, they witnessed Gilead’s evolution from a biotech company into a global big pharma leader in the antiviral field. Adhering to a low-profile, pragmatic, professional, and efficient operational style, they have resolutely committed themselves to innovative drug R&D rooted in China and oriented toward the global market.

CureGene's first core product is CG-0255, a next-generation antiplatelet drug independently developed by the company.CG-0255 is an innovative P2Y12 receptor antagonist currently undergoing clinical development for indications including acute coronary syndrome, recent myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, recent stroke, and peripheral artery disease.

Currently, CG-0255 has completed Phase I clinical trials for both injectable and oral formulations in the United States, with related findings invited for presentation at the 2023 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions and the 2024 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress.Clinical data demonstrate that CG-0255 achieves rapid onset of action, exhibits a favorable safety profile with minimal inter-individual variability (no clopidogrel resistance), and is largely unaffected by drug–drug interactions in clinical practice, highlighting its best-in-class potential.

It is reported that CG-0255 is also the world’s first P2Y12 inhibitor being developed in both oral and injectable formulations, filling the global gap in injectable options for emergency care during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. It also has the potential to address the unmet clinical need for injectable therapies in ischemic stroke worldwide, thereby fully meeting clinical demands across various treatment scenarios.With the support of its Series B and B+ financing rounds, CureGene is actively advancing the registration-related clinical development of CG-0255 in the United States, while also submitting its clinical trial application in China, with subsequent clinical development activities to follow rapidly.

Meanwhile, the publication of data on CG-0255 has attracted attention from multiple pharmaceutical companies both in China and abroad. Several potential commercialization partners have already extended offers regarding the global multi-regional rights to CG-0255.

Since its inception, CureGene has completed four rounds of financing. Tigermed, Pharmaron, Hankang Capital, Ausun Pharmaceutical, Yonghua Investment, and Honghai Capital were all investors in its Pre-A and Series A rounds. In 2024, CureGene’s investor roster expanded to include more local biopharmaceutical industry funds and state-owned private equity firms—such as Taikun Fund, Guoxin Innovation Equity, and Infinity Capital—further underscoring the strength of its pipeline. Major investors have highly recognized CureGene’s team and fully affirmed its R&D capabilities as well as the market potential of its core pipeline.

Dr. He Gongxin, Founder of CureGeneStatement: We sincerely appreciate the strong recognition from investors in CureGene’s R&D pipeline. The invested capital will accelerate the clinical development of our core products in China and the United States, facilitating the global expansion of our pipeline. CureGene is committed to the independent research and development of innovative drugs to address substantial unmet clinical needs. We look forward to working closely with investors and partners to advance product development and commercialization, thereby benefiting patients and creating value for society.

Guoxin Innovation EquityStatement: We are optimistic about the company’s seasoned management team, given their extensive experience and resource accumulation in the field of innovative drug R&D. The clinical data obtained for its core products are highly promising, with the potential to address limitations associated with existing therapies, indicating significant market potential. Meanwhile, the company has also established an innovative pipeline with substantial clinical value. We hope that this round of financing will help accelerate the company’s development, advance the clinical and commercialization progress of its products, and bring more treatment options to patients.

Beijing Aeonmed InvestmentAeeon stated that “Sincerely Safeguarding Life” is its brand mission, which aligns closely with CureGene. Aeeon Group believes that by deeply cultivating core foundational technologies, the CureGene team can achieve significant breakthroughs and innovations through novel design of metabolic pathways for drugs such as antiplatelet agents and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) inhibitors, thereby creating differentiated competitive advantages and ensuring product distinction. From the perspectives of industrial implementation and integrated innovation in medicine and engineering, Aeeon Group highly recognizes the comprehensive capabilities of the CureGene team and sees its potential to become a leader in this sector. Aeeon Group looks forward to business synergies with CureGene’s products in fields such as respiratory rehabilitation and geriatric rehabilitation, and is committed to supporting its rapid and steady growth, injecting new vitality into China’s healthcare industry, contributing new elements to national confidence, and creating more opportunities for human life and health.

Infinity CapitalCureGene has assembled a founding team led by Dr. He Gongxin, a former senior expert at Gilead Sciences. Leveraging extensive experience in drug R&D and mature corporate management capabilities, the company has achieved breakthroughs in the fields of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and antiviral therapies. CureGene boasts a rich pipeline of innovative drugs with strong global competitiveness. Notably, its next-generation antiplatelet agent, CG-0255, overcomes clopidogrel resistance through an innovative metabolic pathway design, enabling efficacy at low doses. The injectable formulation provides rapid onset of action, while the oral formulation allows for sequential therapy, offering broad market prospects. We look forward to CureGene accelerating its clinical development, advancing its product internationalization strategy, bringing greater benefits to patients, and continuing to achieve remarkable success in the field of innovative medicines.

As the private equity fund management platform under Qingdao Guoxin Financial Holdings, Guoxin Innovation Equity adheres to the development path of “being rooted in the local area, radiating across the province, laying out a nationwide presence, and expanding globally.” Leveraging regional advantages and shareholder resource endowments, it strengthens multi-tiered industry cultivation and focuses on empowering key development sectors of Qingdao City and Qingdao Guoxin Group, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare, hard technology, and modern marine industries. By innovatively exploring the distinctive industry-finance integration model of “industry + industrial park + chain-leading enterprises + funds,” it builds an ecosystem of “technology + capital + industry” and establishes an investment system covering the entire corporate lifecycle and full industrial chain. Through deep capital empowerment, it achieves industry cultivation, introduction, and value enhancement, innovatively serving the quality improvement and efficiency gains of the real economy, and promoting the upgrading and development of industrial clusters.

Aeonmed is a globally leading medical device manufacturer, with business spanning the fields of healthcare, wellness, and biotechnology. Its product portfolio covers anesthesia, respiration, sleep therapy, oxygen therapy, emergency care, and self-testing/rapid testing. In terms of its global ecosystem layout, Aeonmed has established 28 provincial branches and 185 city-level offices within China, while also operating eight international subsidiaries across North and South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, covering 30 international business regions. Currently, more than 60 of its products have obtained regulatory certifications from major authorities, including China’s NMPA, the U.S. FDA, the EU CE marking, Brazil’s BGMP, and Japan’s PMDA. Adhering to its brand mission of “Sincerely Safeguarding Life,” Aeonmed remains committed to providing trustworthy medical products and solutions to customers worldwide.

Infinity Capital Management Co., Ltd. (“Infinity Capital”) is the equity investment platform under Huafa Group, a leading state-owned enterprise in Zhuhai and one of China’s Top 500 Enterprises. It also serves as the core operational entity of Infinity Group, a renowned investment management firm originating from Israel. The company primarily manages onshore RMB funds and cross-border investments, with a presence in more than ten cities across China and abroad. It has established five major business segments: Healthcare, East China, South China, Southwest China, and Hong Kong & Overseas Regions, with strategic focus on new energy, integrated circuits, healthcare and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, new materials, and TMT.