Huiliao Bio Completes Over RMB 100 Million Pre-A Financing to Advance Its Proprietary mRNA Technology Platform

VCBeat has learned that Suzhou Huiyi Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. (“Huiyi Biomedical”) recently completed a Pre-A financing round exceeding RMB 100 million.This round of financing was led by Juming Venture Capital, with participation from Shunwei Capital, China-Singapore Capital, and Yajie Fund. Existing shareholder Sequoia China continued to increase its investment. Yujian Capital served as the financial advisor in this transaction.

This marks the company’s second round of new financing since completing its nearly RMB 100 million angel round in September 2021. The angel round was led by Sequoia China, with participation from Jinpu Health Investment and Huiding Investment. The proceeds from this financing will be primarily allocated to advancing the clinical development of the company’s mRNA product pipeline, expanding its R&D team, establishing a new siRNA platform, and expanding its Phase II R&D center. With this round of financing, Huiyi Biomedical aims to advance 1–2 products into clinical trials this year.

Regarding this round of financing, Dr. Zhong Tianyi, Founder and CEO, stated“We extend our gratitude to the new investors in this round—Juming Venture Capital, Shunwei Capital, China-Singapore Capital, and Yajie Fund—for recognizing the company’s value, as well as to existing shareholder Sequoia China for its continued support. All these investors are specialized institutions in the biomedical sector with profound understanding and insights into the mRNA landscape. With the support of both new and existing shareholders, Huiyi Biomedical will continue to uphold its innovative and pragmatic corporate culture, rapidly advancing across multiple fronts including technology platforms, novel delivery systems, and pipeline products, with the ambition of growing into an internationally leading biopharmaceutical company originating from China and expanding globally.”

From left to right: Dr. Zhong Tianyi, Dr. Jiang Jianhao, and Prof. Zhao Lixiang

Huiyi Biotech was officially established in May 2021 within the 2.5 Industrial Park in Suzhou Industrial Park. It is a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research, development, and industrialization of nucleic acid therapeutics. Leveraging its proprietary mRNA platform technology, the company is expanding the development of vaccines and therapeutics for both humans and animals.

The company’s founding team comprises core R&D members who were among the earliest in China to engage in nucleic acid therapeutics, particularly in nucleic acid delivery systems, bringing profound expertise to the iteration and development of such platforms. Through forward-looking strategic planning during the early stages of R&D, the company has established a patent portfolio and competitive barriers that enable it to compete on par with global pharmaceutical companies.

It is understood that the company has established a comprehensive “trinity” platform for nucleic acid drug R&D and manufacturing, comprising an innovative nucleic acid delivery vector CLS (Cell-Like System) development platform, a superfluidics production platform, and a high-throughput, intelligent mRNA design and synthesis platform.

Notably,Huiyi Biologics’ Proprietary CLS Delivery Technology Platform。This platform significantly outperforms traditional LNP vectors in terms of delivery efficiency, organ targeting, safety, and dosage.(supported by data showing order-of-magnitude improvements in both small and large animal models), and can be rapidly iterated and upgraded according to the actual needs of target pipelines, laying a solid technical foundation for advancing the product pipeline.

Furthermore, through strategic cooperation with leading domestic R&D companies specializing in nanomedicine manufacturing processes,Developed a globally leading ultra-high-throughput production platform for nucleic acid therapeutics. Leveraging the company’s advantages in delivery systems and mRNA design, it has currently built a pipeline that includes applications such as infectious disease vaccines, cancer vaccines, immunotherapies, treatments for metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and protein replacement therapies.

Not only that, the company alsoEstablished a High-Throughput, Intelligent mRNA Design and Synthesis Platform，Construction of a library comprising ten thousand UTR and IRES variants, with comprehensive consideration of factors including structure and immunogenicity,Enables highly efficient sequence optimization for both linear and circular mRNA, significantly enhancing in vivo protein translation efficiency.

In fact, the bottleneck in the development of nucleic acid therapeutics has always been delivery technology. Despite more than a decade of development, traditional lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems still fail to address safety-related toxic side effects and lack targeting functionality. Breakthrough technological advances will often serve as hallmarks of a new era.

In the post-COVID-19 mRNA vaccine era, next-generation delivery systems featuring enhanced organ targeting, superior transfection efficiency, and higher endosomal escape rates have become an aspirational goal for nearly all forward-looking nucleic acid therapeutics companies, complementing established technologies such as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).

“Building a hard-core technology company that achieves breakthroughs in the foundational technologies of nucleic acid therapeutics, and addressing the most ‘painful’ bottlenecks in the development of China’s nucleic acid drug industry, has been Huiliao Bio’s goal since its inception,” said Zhong Tianyi.

Huiyi Biomedical believes that protein-based biomimetic membrane delivery represents a next-generation delivery technology pathway characterized by active design and mediation by specific ligands/membrane receptors. Along this trajectory, Huiyi Biomedical has achieved technological breakthroughs and validation. Through collaborative research with third-party institutions, the company has demonstrated in multiple preclinical pipelines an increase in neutralizing antibody titers exceeding two orders of magnitude compared to inactivated vaccines.

Focusing on innovative cell membrane-mimetic delivery systems, Huiyi has secured over twenty domestic and PCT patents, establishing an mRNA drug R&D platform with international competitiveness and fully independent intellectual property rights.

At the pipeline product level, leveraging the technological advantages of its CLS delivery system, Huiyi Biotech has implemented a differentiated pipeline layout through short-, medium-, and long-term strategies, building a portfolio that includes mRNA preventive vaccines for infectious diseases (for both human and veterinary use), mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccines, and protein replacement therapies.

Furthermore, with the addition of two senior executives to its R&D team, Huiyi Biomedical has established a specialized team whose research expertise spans nucleic acid chemistry, enzymology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, AI-assisted drug design, immunology, pharmaceutics, and pharmacology and toxicology.

Investors in this funding round expressed strong confidence in the future development of both the industry and Suzhou Huiyi Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd.

Juming Venture Capital stated: Delivery technology represents a core technical bottleneck determining whether nucleic acid therapeutics can expand into broader therapeutic areas. Huiyi Biomedical’s independently developed CLS system features tissue targeting, low immunogenicity, high transfection efficiency, and compatibility with various RNA-based drugs. The founding team of Huiyi Biomedical boasts highly complementary professional backgrounds and strong leadership, rapidly assembling a dynamic and versatile team. Leveraging the CLS system, the company has established an end-to-end mRNA drug development platform and achieved remarkable progress in advancing multiple product candidates. VCBeat Capital is delighted to support Huiyi Biomedical’s growth. We look forward to the company’s continued exploration and breakthroughs in the boundaries of RNA drug delivery, developing a portfolio of products addressing unmet needs across diverse fields, and enabling RNA therapeutics to benefit society more broadly.

Shunwei Capital stated: As a platform-based drug development technology, RNA technology boasts broad application prospects. Although mRNA vaccines have shone brightly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of the entire RNA therapeutics field is just beginning. Safe and efficient targeted delivery remains the key bottleneck constraining the advancement of RNA drugs. The cell-like membrane (CLS) delivery technology, independently developed by Huiyi Biomedical, demonstrates significant advantages over the currently widely used lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology in terms of organ targeting, delivery efficiency, stability, and safety. Furthermore, CLS is a platform technology with full independent intellectual property rights owned by Huiyi Biomedical; its clear patent landscape lays a solid foundation for the company to expand into more indication areas and overseas markets in the future. The core team at Huiyi Biomedical possesses extensive experience in RNA drug R&D and has established a comprehensive technical system covering the entire RNA drug development process, including delivery system development, sequence design and synthesis, and large-scale production. Shunwei Capital is optimistic about the tremendous growth potential of the RNA therapeutics sector and believes that, under the leadership of its professional and highly efficient core team, Huiyi Biomedical will grow into a leader in the nucleic acid drug field through continuous technological innovation, leveraging its independently innovative and technologically advanced full-process development platform for nucleic acid drugs to benefit society with RNA technology.

Zhongxin Capital statedNucleic acid therapeutics have flourished in recent years due to their unique advantages. The widespread use of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 has further enhanced public acceptance and awareness, while the range of indications is gradually expanding from vaccines and rare diseases to chronic diseases and oncology. A critical challenge in this field is the development of safe and effective delivery systems. Although lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology is relatively mature and has been validated in COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, its broad application is constrained by patent ownership issues. Suzhou Huiyi Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. has developed a proprietary delivery platform—Cell-Like Membrane Technology (CLS)—which demonstrates excellent delivery efficiency and safety. This achievement represents a breakthrough in foundational technology and holds broad application prospects in the nucleic acid therapeutics sector. Backed by a comprehensive team with extensive industry experience, the company is well-positioned for growth. We are pleased to participate in this financing round and look forward to the company’s significant progress and its creation of greater social value.

Yajie Foundation statedDelivery technology has long been the engine driving the growth of mRNA companies, yet its research, development, and accumulation constitute a long and arduous journey. Significant challenges remain in mRNA drug delivery technologies, and companies worldwide are striving to overcome the exceptionally high technical barriers and comprehensive patent monopolies in this field. Suzhou Huiyi Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. (Huiyi Biomedical) stands out as an innovative mRNA enterprise with internationally competitive delivery technologies and clear patent ownership. In terms of its product pipeline, Huiyi Biomedical has entered the market through veterinary vaccines, differentiating itself from other domestic mRNA companies while simultaneously laying out pipelines for mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccines and protein replacement therapies. As a new investor in this financing round, Yajie Fund is deeply impressed by the core team’s technical R&D capabilities and their execution strength in translating innovations into practical applications. The fund looks forward to the company’s continued breakthroughs in improving the delivery efficiency and expanding the application scenarios of mRNA drugs, bringing more innovative therapies to clinical trials sooner and benefiting a broad patient population.

Sequoia China stated: In the 2.0 era of nucleic acid therapeutics, the core competency of a high-quality nucleic acid drug enterprise lies in possessing proprietary non-LNP delivery technologies and novel informational molecular entity technologies, and applying them to a wide range of scenarios including infectious disease vaccines, tumor vaccines, and protein replacement therapies. Sequoia China’s consecutive investments in Huiyi Biomedical during the seed and Pre-A rounds were driven by the company’s deep commitment to innovative delivery technologies and the application of its proprietary non-LNP delivery platform across multiple indications. Sequoia China looks forward to the company’s continued expansion of its pipeline to benefit patients as soon as possible.

Juming Ventures focuses on early-stage venture capital in the life sciences sector. Since its establishment in 2018, it has invested in more than 40 startups spanning innovative drugs, biotechnology, and medical devices (including diagnostics). Juming Ventures remains grounded in China while addressing global clinical pain points, dedicated to partnering with outstanding enterprises by providing comprehensive services and supporting their growth.

CSSD Capital is a professional fund manager under CSSD Group. Through its Yuanchuang and Yuanzhan series of funds, it is based in Suzhou Industrial Park, extends its reach to various China-Singapore cooperation zones, and radiates from the China-Singapore International Business Cooperation Center (offshore). Focusing on regional leading and advantageous industries, it actively engages in venture capital activities, with a distinctive emphasis on empowering the industrialization and internationalization of “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” enterprises. Established in August 1994 through a collaboration between the Chinese and Singaporean governments, CSSD Group, as the main entity for park development and a vehicle for China-Singapore cooperation, has made significant contributions to the development and construction of Suzhou Industrial Park.

Zhongxin Group takes “building China’s dreams and developing innovative industrial parks” as its mission, adhering to an industry-centric and people-oriented approach. It has established park development and operation as its core business segment, with industrial investment and green public utilities serving as two supporting pillars. Through synergistic interaction among these segments and the aggregation of resources, the Group achieves high-level integration of industry and urban development characterized by robust industrial growth, comprehensive supporting facilities, green and low-carbon practices, and open innovation, thereby contributing to national technological innovation and industrial upgrading.

Established in 2012, the A-Jie Fund is a venture capital fund jointly initiated by startup mentors and successful entrepreneur alumni from the Cradle Program of the A-Jie Chamber of Commerce, dedicated to supporting aspiring entrepreneurs. The fund focuses on investing in startups with core competitive advantages and leading technologies, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence, low-carbon technology, advanced manufacturing, and biopharmaceuticals. Committed to providing financial support and financing assistance, the fund also offers extensive resource matching and empowerment services under the auspices of the A-Jie Chamber of Commerce, aiming to achieve mutual success with entrepreneurs.

Sequoia China has always been committed to helping entrepreneurs build enduring, great companies by bringing rich global resources and valuable historical experience to its portfolio companies. As “entrepreneurs behind entrepreneurs,” Sequoia China focuses on investment opportunities in three sectors: technology, healthcare, and consumer. Over the past 18 years, Sequoia China has invested in more than 1,000 companies with distinct technological features, innovative business models, and high growth potential.

Yujian Capital is an innovative investment banking institution focused on the life and health sector. Its founding team hails from China’s leading biomedical industrial park management organizations, bringing over a decade of experience in biomedical industry management and venture capital, along with extensive external resources. The firm provides platform-based services—including strategic management, resource integration, and financing and investment—to innovative biomedical enterprises. Since its establishment, Yujian Capital has been dedicated to incubating and fostering the growth of innovative companies across multiple sub-sectors, including biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, and core components. Guided by the service philosophy of professionalism, focus, and enthusiasm, Yujian Capital aims to encounter innovation and foresee the future.