Changcheng Pharma Secures Tens of Millions in Pre-A Funding Round; Dr. Song Qinhui Joins as CMO

VCBeat learned at the earliest opportunity that,ChangchunChangchun Changcheng Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as“Changcheng Pharmaceutical”)Announced Completion of Tens of Millions of YuanPre-Around of financing, led byChangxing FundLead investment by the lead investor, with co-investment from industry-related parties.

Meanwhile, the company announced that Dr. Song Qinhui, a senior clinical research scientist, has officially joined Changcheng Pharmaceutical as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Song will assume full responsibility for the company’s clinical development affairs, including advancing the development of new drugs independently developed by the company and prodrugs based on its proprietary technology platform.

Since its inception, Changcheng Pharmaceutical has been dedicated to the development of its prodrug technology platform and the research, innovation, and development of FIRST-IN-CLASS and BEST-IN-CLASS therapeutics. The company has established a robust product pipeline and developed the GIBP technology platform, which features independent intellectual property rights.

This platform enhances the druggability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and effectively improves their unfavorable properties, such as solubility, stability, bioavailability, and targeting capability. By leveraging expertise in drug structure design, it enables companies to rapidly expand their product pipelines, shorten development cycles, increase the success rate of drug development, and reduce the risks associated with new drug discovery, thereby providing robust R&D support for pharmaceutical innovation.

Leveraging GIBP prodrug technology, combined with expertise in human metabolic mechanisms and drug structure design, Changcheng Pharmaceutical has successfully developed POC101, a novel broad-spectrum antitumor agent. This drug is indicated for the treatment of various cancers, including liver cancer, lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell), colon cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Compared to the parent drug, the POC101 prodrug demonstrates superior stability in both blood and the gastrointestinal tract, thereby protecting the parent compound from premature metabolism.

Furthermore, POC101 demonstrates significant potential in cancer treatment due to its broader indications, superior safety and tolerability, enhanced efficacy, reduced side effects, oral bioavailability, and compatibility with combination therapies involving PD-1 inhibitors, PD-L1 inhibitors, conventional chemotherapeutic agents, and immuno-oncology drugs.

Additionally, Changcheng Pharmaceutical revealed that the company is actively deploying an innovative chemoproteomics platform to selectively disarm pathogenic proteins by covalently targeting linkable amino acids such as histidine, tyrosine, or lysine.

Behind the commitment to “FIRST-IN-CLASS” and “BEST-IN-CLASS” lies strong team support.

Xu Mingyan, Founder of Changcheng Pharmaceutical, holds a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Nottingham, UK, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Management. He possesses extensive experience in research team management, new drug development, and corporate operations. Previously, he oversaw operations and project management at a prominent domestic biopharmaceutical company, where he led a R&D team of dozens and managed an annual R&D budget of nearly RMB 100 million. He played a key role in the out-licensing of the company’s blockbuster commercial products, spearheaded the establishment of its new drug R&D platform, managed both internal and external R&D activities, defined scientific objectives, and coordinated multidisciplinary teams to ensure the successful execution of R&D plans.

Xu Mingyan

Dr. Song Qinhui, who has recently joined Changchun Changcheng Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., holds a Doctor of Medicine in Clinical Medicine from Harbin Medical University and has accumulated over 30 years of extensive experience in clinical practice and new drug development. In 1997, Dr. Song went to the United States for advanced studies, where he engaged in medical, pharmaceutical, and molecular biology research for more than a decade at prestigious institutions such as Boston University, Tufts University, and Harvard Medical School. During this period, he led projects funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published more than 20 academic papers. Subsequently, he worked in new drug development at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in the United States for nearly ten years.

In late 2017, Dr. Song returned to China and served as Chief Medical Officer at multiple domestic pharmaceutical companies. He spearheaded the clinical trials of the first plasma-derived product manufactured using plant-based systems—recombinant human serum albumin—and successfully completed Phase I clinical trials in the United States. Additionally, he has led regulatory submissions and clinical trials for numerous cell therapy products, demonstrating extensive expertise in clinical development.

Song Qinhui

In addition, Changchun Changcheng Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. has a group of mid-level scientific research and management backbones with profound expertise in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics, preclinical and clinical R&D.

With the infusion of new capital and the addition of Dr. Song Qinhui, Changchun Changcheng Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. will actively deepen its research and development of broad-spectrum, first-in-class innovative anti-tumor drugs in oncology, while simultaneously expanding its innovative drug research in immunology.

Regarding securing this round of financing,Xu Mingyan, CEO of Changcheng PharmaceuticalStatement: As CEO, I would like to express my gratitude to both new and existing shareholders for their support of the company. In the current environment of slowed pharmaceutical investment, the successful and rapid completion of this financing round also reflects market recognition of Changcheng’s platform and pipeline. Our flagship product, POC101, is a drug with high clinical value. Its favorable safety profile and convenient administration route are expected to deliver greater survival benefits and improved quality of life for patients.

Song Qinhui, CMO of Changcheng PharmaceuticalStatement: There is a significant unmet need in clinical practice, and I am highly optimistic about Changcheng Pharmaceutical’s prodrug POC101 and its prodrug platform. I will fully leverage my expertise and experience in clinical development to work with the team in advancing the company’s product pipeline. I will lead the team to expedite regulatory submissions and clinical trials, aiming to bring products to market as early as possible to benefit more patients with solid tumors. I look forward to collaborating with the company’s outstanding management team to develop innovative drugs that meet clinical needs, better serve cancer patients, and establish the company as a world-class innovator in new drug research and development!

Changxing FundChangxing Fund stated: “As an investor, Changxing Fund highly recognizes Changcheng Pharmaceutical’s innovation capabilities and development potential demonstrated within the industry. Through this investment, Changxing Fund provides not only financial support but also multifaceted assistance in market expansion, talent acquisition, and policy guidance. By leveraging the synergy of capital and resources, we aim to accelerate the R&D of Changcheng Pharmaceutical’s innovative drug pipeline, advance clinical trial progress, expedite product commercialization, and achieve win-win cooperation for both parties.”

Changxing Fund, embodying the vision of “Revitalizing Changchun in the New Era,” is an industrial guidance fund established in February 2022 under the leadership of the Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau, as decided by the Changchun Municipal Party Committee and Municipal People’s Government. With a planned total commitment of RMB 30 billion for its fund-of-funds structure, Changxing Fund was the largest fund-of-funds in the three northeastern provinces at the time. Through a combination of “sub-fund investments and direct investments,” Changxing Fund supports projects at various stages in Changchun’s key industrial sectors, including the automotive industry, modern agriculture, optoelectronics and information technology, biopharmaceuticals, technological innovation, and cultural creativity, thereby promoting industrial revitalization and high-quality development in Changchun. Since its inception, Changxing Fund has successfully attracted national-level fund-of-funds such as the CAS Star Fund, the National Fund for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, the National Civil-Military Integration Fund, the SME Development Fund, and InnoTech Capital to participate in the establishment of sub-funds. To date, Changxing Fund has signed agreements with 29 sub-funds, with a total scale of RMB 19.5 billion, becoming a “catalyst” for adjusting Changchun’s industrial structure and a “vital force” in serving the real economy.