HuanoTai Biologics Secures RMB 600 Million Series B Financing to Advance Zoster and Influenza Vaccine Pipelines and Expand Adjuvant Production Capacity

On March 22, Varnotech Biopharm officially announced the completion of its RMB 600 million Series B financing round. The round was co-led by the Beijing Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund and Mingtai Fund under Huayin Financial Holdings, with participation from Watere Capital, Shunxi Fund under Beijing State-Owned Capital Operation and Management Center, 3E Bioventures, and KINSIGHT CAPITAL. Bairong Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing round. The proceeds will be primarily used to advance clinical trials for the company’s pipeline products, including shingles and influenza vaccines, as well as to construct vaccine and adjuvant production facilities.

Varnotech Biologics is a platform company dedicated to the R&D and industrialization of human vaccines and innovative adjuvants, with independent intellectual property rights. Currently, Varnotech has established a group structure featuring “One Center, Two Bases”: Beijing serves as the headquarters and R&D center, Chengdu as the production base for novel adjuvants, and Taizhou as the vaccine production base.

Beijing Varnotech Biopharm Ltd. has experienced rapid growth, securing three rounds of financing within four years of its establishment. The company has advanced two product candidates into clinical trials, obtained a vaccine production license, and is the only company in China to have mastered the production of novel adjuvant raw materials. Varnotech has laid out a portfolio of multiple preventive vaccine candidates; its shingles and influenza vaccine pipelines are currently in clinical stages, while its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine has entered the pilot-scale production phase. Additionally, several recombinant vaccine pipelines are under development. The company is also developing more than ten adjuvant products, encompassing various formulation types such as liposomes, aluminum-based, and oil-in-water emulsions. Preclinical experimental results based on its novel adjuvant technology indicate that Varnotech’s vaccines can more effectively enhance both cellular and humoral immune responses to antigens. Currently, the company holds nearly 30 tons of raw materials for adjuvant production and is capable of producing approximately 30 types of novel adjuvants.

According to the “Chinese Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Herpes Zoster (2022 Edition),” the prevalence of varicella-zoster virus infection in adults exceeds 90%. The incidence rate among individuals aged 50 years and older is over 3 per 1,000. Pain persists for more than one year in 30%–50% of patients, with some cases lasting 10 years or longer. Current treatment primarily focuses on antiviral and symptomatic therapies; there is no specific cure. Vaccination remains the most effective and feasible preventive measure.

As the leader in the shingles vaccine market, GSK has generated over RMB 100 billion in sales revenue from its shingles vaccine since its global launch in 2018. Currently, China lacks recombinant zoster vaccines with high-quality adjuvants. The core adjuvant components QS-21 and MPL for vaccines in China are primarily reliant on imports. Beijing Varnotech Biopharm Ltd. is the only domestic enterprise to have mastered the independent manufacturing processes for these two adjuvant components. It has achieved large-scale production and applied them to its own developed shingles vaccine.

Varnotech has currently obtained a vaccine production license. Moving forward, Varnotech will continue to intensify its R&D efforts in adjuvants and recombinant vaccines, providing innovative, high-quality, and accessible vaccines to contribute to China’s health and wellness sector.

Regarding this round of financing,VarnotechFounder and Chairman, Mr. Wang HailongStatement: We extend our sincere gratitude to all investors and friends from various sectors for their continued care and support of Varnotech. Since its establishment, the company has consistently adhered to innovation-driven development in the research and production of high-quality vaccine products. While we have resolved certain “chokehold” technological bottlenecks, we remain committed to forging ahead with determination to accelerate the company’s rapid growth and contribute our modest efforts to China’s healthcare cause. We will always uphold our corporate culture of “Winning Trust through Sincerity, Determining Quality through Rigor, Achieving Success through Diligence, and Creating Value through Perseverance,” striving to develop into a vaccine enterprise powered by core Chinese technologies.

Beijing Pharmaceutical and Health Industry Investment FundIt was stated that Varnotech has achieved breakthroughs in key technologies for the development of novel vaccines, particularly by achieving independent production of critical vaccine adjuvants from raw materials. This fills a domestic gap and resolves bottleneck issues in the vaccine sector. We look forward to Varnotech’s continued advancement of technological innovations in recombinant vaccines, multivalent combination vaccines, and novel adjuvants, facilitating their industrialization in Beijing and contributing to the establishment of an internationally competitive vaccine industry cluster.

Mr. Yang Miao, Chairman of Huayin JintouIt is indicated that the global number of varicella-zoster virus infections is currently on the rise, making the herpes zoster vaccine one of the top ten vaccine products worldwide. Against this backdrop, the Chinese herpes zoster vaccine market is at an inflection point of explosive growth. We are optimistic about HuanoTai’s forward-looking layout in innovative adjuvant-based vaccines, with a product pipeline covering preventive vaccines for herpes zoster, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, and other diseases. We believe that HuanoTai is poised to grow into a leading enterprise in China’s innovative vaccine sector.

Mr. Ren Peng, Head of Shunxi Venture Capital Fund Management under China State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC)It was stated that vaccines are the cornerstone of public health defense, and the recombinant zoster vaccine has demonstrated positive preventive efficacy and value in clinical performance. With years of experience in the research and development of antibody drugs and vaccines, the company possesses a profound understanding of recombinant protein vaccines. Meanwhile, it has also overcome key challenges in sourcing raw materials for critical adjuvants used in zoster vaccines. We believe that Beijing varnotech Biopharm Ltd. holds innovative and unique technological advantages in the development of zoster and RSV vaccines, which can provide more therapeutic options for potential patients worldwide.

Dr. Qianye Liu, 3E BioventuresStatement: We are delighted to witness and participate in the rapid development of Varnotech. Leveraging its proprietary novel adjuvant R&D and production technology platform, Varnotech has deepened its expertise in recombinant protein vaccines, prioritizing next-generation blockbuster candidates—specifically the shingles vaccine and the RSV vaccine—as the first batch in its pipeline, which holds immense potential. The steady progress in clinical development and the successful acquisition of the vaccine production license further attest to the high execution efficiency of the Varnotech team. We believe that their innovative R&D efforts will deliver competitive recombinant vaccine products to the Chinese market.

Mr. Cheng Xin, Watere CapitalBeijing Varnotech Biopharm Ltd. stated: Guided by Chairman Wang Hailong and its core team, the company has leveraged years of extensive R&D experience in the vaccine field to develop a portfolio of innovative adjuvants and vaccines with independent intellectual property rights. It has built a product pipeline with differentiated competitive advantages by focusing on the manufacturing processes of core upstream components for adjuvants. Its proprietary large-scale production processes for QS-21 and MPL enable the supply of upstream raw materials with significant cost advantages, enhancing its competitiveness in the market.

Ms. Yu Lu, KINSIGHT CAPITALIt was stated that in the field of recombinant zoster vaccines, Varnotech has remained committed to overcoming critical technological bottlenecks to achieve differentiated innovation. Its independently developed vaccine products offer higher efficacy and demonstrate significant competitive advantages in the market. The company’s development over the past few years reflects the team’s steadfast belief and strong execution capabilities. We are confident that the team will lead Varnotech to achieve milestone after milestone, establishing it as a leading innovator in vaccines and adjuvants both in China and globally.

The Beijing Pharmaceutical and Health Industry Investment Fund is a government investment fund established by Beijing Municipality in late 2023, focusing on key industrial sectors such as innovative drugs and innovative medical devices, as well as emerging fields including cell and gene therapy and digital health.

Taizhou Medical High-Tech Zone Huayin Financial Investment Co., Ltd. is a state-owned financial investment enterprise in Taizhou Medical High-Tech Zone (Gaogang District), with a registered capital of RMB 5 billion. The company is primarily engaged in financial services such as equity investment, debt financing, capital operation and asset management, credit guarantees, supply chain finance, and intellectual property operations. It oversees various financial business segments, including funds, technology lending, guarantees, financial leasing, commercial factoring, and pawnbroking.

Beijing Shunxi Venture Capital Fund Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shunxi Management”) is a subsidiary of Beijing State-owned Capital Operation and Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Beijing Guoguan”) and serves as its venture capital investment platform. Adhering to its strategic positioning as a venture capital platform, Shunxi Management focuses on early-stage and small-scale investments, targeting high-quality early-stage projects in the fields of technological innovation and healthcare. By establishing market-oriented operational and management mechanisms, the company is committed to becoming a first-class venture capital investment platform in China.

3E Bioventures is a dual-currency fund manager operating in both RMB and USD, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Silicon Valley. It has cumulatively invested in and incubated over 100 domestic and international medical innovation enterprises, building an ecosystem that connects diverse resources. Adhering to its vision of “fostering great healthcare companies and establishing an internationally recognized professional investment brand,” 3E Bioventures empowers outstanding entrepreneurial teams and delivers superior performance returns to its investors.

3E Bioventures focuses on investing in hard-tech innovations within the global leading life sciences sector. Approximately half of its investment portfolio is allocated to Biotech, specifically innovative pharmaceuticals, including novel drug modalities and drug discovery platforms. The other half is dedicated to TechBio, which encompasses disruptive innovations arising from cross-disciplinary technological convergence. This includes next-generation diagnostic devices and life science research tools that integrate biology with IT technologies, sensors, data science, artificial intelligence, and more.

Watere Capital, established in 2005 and headquartered in Beijing, is a professional financial institution specializing in the management, operation, and investment activities of private equity funds. To date, Watere Capital has launched and registered over 50 private fund products, supported nearly 100 investment projects, including six listed companies and 24 companies currently undergoing initial public offering (IPO) processes. More than 30 additional portfolio companies are expected to complete their IPOs within the next three years. Its investment portfolio includes Varnotech, Singularity Energy, Hongshan Microelectronics, CloudMinds, Ronbay Technology, Hezong Pharmaceutical E-Commerce, Lihang Technology, Sino-Catalyst Environmental Protection Technology, Unisound, UNISOC, Lao Feng Xiang, and China National Salt Industry Corporation, among others.

Established in 2014, KINSIGHT CAPITAL is a professional private equity fund manager that has set up and manages multiple equity investment funds and industrial funds. Over the years, KINSIGHT CAPITAL has consistently sought out high-quality enterprises aligned with its development strategy for investment and M&A, focusing primarily on biopharmaceuticals, new materials, and hard technology. Among its portfolio companies, several have gone public, including Quansin Biotech and Jinfu Technology.