ZeWei Bio Completes Tens-of-Millions RMB Angel Round Led by Yuming Ventures

VCBeat has learned that Yuming Venture Capital, together with Nanjing Fuze and Yingmeng Capital, recently participated in completing a tens-of-millions-yuan angel-round investment in Nanjing Zewei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zewei Biotech”). The proceeds from this financing round will be used to further build Zewei Biotech’s technology platform and strengthen its team.

ZeWei Biotech was established in April 2022. Its team comprises scientists with R&D experience from international pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Pfizer, as well as from leading overseas academic institutions, boasting over 15 years of expertise in target discovery, target validation, biological mechanism research, and preclinical studies.

Leveraging its independently developed TRiC platform for in situ tumor target capture, ZeWei Bio has overcome the limitations of in vitro systems through high-throughput in vivo drug target screening. This approach broadens the scope of drug target development, significantly enhances the success rate of target discovery, and effectively addresses the industry’s pain points of high costs and low efficiency in oncology drug development, thereby filling a critical gap in target screening and detection technologies both domestically and internationally.

Leveraging a profound understanding of target biology mechanisms and engaging in deep collaboration with innovative pharmaceutical companies and medicinal chemistry teams, the ZeWei Bio team conducts high-throughput target screening and validation, evaluates the biological functions of targets and candidate molecules, and carries out translational medicine research. The company jointly or independently develops drug-like molecules based on novel targets, secures patent protection, and shares the commercialization rights of new drug molecules.

Dr. He Wei, Founder of ZeWei Bio, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from The Ohio State University. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Novartis Institutes for Functional Genomics. Dr. He previously worked in the R&D departments of pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis US, where he served successively as Research Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Principal Investigator. With over 15 years of experience in biomedical research and new drug development, he possesses extensive expertise in target discovery and validation, as well as preclinical development of novel oncology therapeutics.

Yuming Venture Capital remains bullish on source innovation in the upstream biopharmaceutical supply chain, given the current industry landscape characterized by clustered drug targets, severe homogenization, crowded therapeutic areas, and a lack of first-in-class (FIC) novel targets. Dr. He Wei and his team boast top-tier industry credentials and experience, demonstrating strong conviction in their entrepreneurial direction, while their technology platform is both proprietary and leading-edge. As a co-founding shareholder, the listed company Pharmablock Technologies will leverage its molecular building block and medicinal chemistry platform to facilitate the efficient validation of drug-like molecules for Zewei Bio, thereby unlocking diverse possibilities for downstream business models. As a professional investment institution, we will continue to closely monitor Zewei Bio’s progress in team building, pipeline development, and financing, providing maximal post-investment support and industrial empowerment.

Yuming Venture Capital is a private equity investment firm focused on two core sectors: healthcare and life sciences, and advanced manufacturing (AMAC Manager Registration No.: P1074223). The team comprises professionals with composite backgrounds in investment banking, investing, and industry, possessing extensive experience in equity investment and deep expertise in capital markets. With a profound understanding of the growth patterns of startups and the ecosystem of capital markets, Yuming Venture Capital employs a dual-drive investment strategy combining venture capital investment with investment banking and industrial services, aiming to build a premier RMB-denominated fund brand.