DaXiang Biotech Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million in Pre-B Funding to Advance Commercialization of Proprietary Organoid-on-a-Chip Technology

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned thatRecently, Beijing Daxiang Biotech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Daxiang”) announced the completion of its Pre-B financing round, raising nearly RMB 100 million. The round was led by Proxima Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative medical technologies, and saw participation from co-investors including Qiandao Fund, Shaanxi Investment Growth Fund, and Wuhan Baihui Huizhi Venture Capital Fund Partnership (L.P.).

In 2022, the organ-on-a-chip industry experienced rapid development. The FDA approved the first new drug to enter clinical trials based entirely on preclinical data derived from organ-on-a-chip technology. Both houses of the U.S. Congress subsequently passed amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), eliminating the mandatory requirement for animal testing in new drug applications. Organ-on-a-chip systems can now serve as an alternative to animal experiments, and their research findings have become regulatory-accepted evidence for approving new drugs for clinical studies.

A series of milestone events has also propelled the organoid-on-a-chip sector into a phase of rapid development. As a leader in China’s organoid-on-a-chip industry, Daxiang will leverage this round of financing to further increase its investment in R&D and talent, upgrade its Organoids-on-Chips platform, optimize its drug discovery service system, and expand its commercial network for precision medicine, thereby continuing to lead the development of China’s organoid-on-a-chip industry.

In recent years, cell and gene therapy (CGT) has garnered significant attention and is poised to become a new growth driver for the innovative drug industry over the next decade, following small-molecule chemical drugs and antibody-based therapeutics. In this emerging field, researchers in China and abroad are essentially starting from the same baseline.

CGT features novel technological pathways, rendering preclinical biological models previously used for small-molecule drugs and antibody therapies no longer applicable. The significant discrepancies between these models and human physiology have increasingly hindered the accurate recapitulation of drug responses, while limitations such as the lack of personalized efficacy assessment capabilities have also come to light. As a next-generation platform for constructing high-throughput, highly biomimetic in vitro biological models, organ-on-a-chip technology precisely addresses these pain points. In late 2021, the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration issued guidelines that formally incorporated organ-on-a-chip into the framework of biological models for non-clinical studies of CGT products.

Daxiang has recognized the immense potential embedded in organ-on-a-chip technology and chosen to deepen its expertise in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector. By building a comprehensive R&D platform for CGT based on organ-on-a-chip technology, Daxiang provides more precise, efficient, and cost-effective drug development solutions across multiple areas, including target validation, toxicology and safety assessment, efficacy evaluation, and indication expansion. Currently, Daxiang has established strategic collaborations with several leading CGT enterprises to jointly advance the independent development of CGT drugs in China, enabling the country to achieve leapfrog progress in the CGT field. Ultimately, this endeavor aims to benefit a broad population of cancer patients and contribute to the advancement of human health.

Furthermore, Daxiang has established in-depth collaborations with Chinese regulatory authorities to conduct applied basic research on highly biomimetic organ-on-a-chip models. By jointly advancing regulatory science in the field of organ-on-a-chip technology, the company aims to empower the high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical industry.

While facilitating the R&D of innovative CGT drugs, organ-on-a-chip technology, as an innovative highly biomimetic biological model, can well preserve the molecular, structural, and functional characteristics of tumor tissues, accurately predict patient response to medication, and offers many other advantages such as a short operational cycle. Therefore, organ-on-a-chip technology is increasingly favored in clinical applications.

In June 2022, the Expert Consensus on the Clinical Application of Organoid Drug Sensitivity Testing to Guide Precision Oncology Therapy, co-authored by multiple clinical experts, was officially released, aiming to promote the standardized clinical application of tumor organoid drug sensitivity testing.

Currently, Daxiang leverages organ-on-a-chip technology to conduct sensitivity testing for most chemotherapy and targeted therapies using small clinical samples. Building on this foundation, the company has established a tumor immune microenvironment model featuring co-cultures of tumor organoids with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells, and vascular cells. This model is used to predict the clinical efficacy of immunotherapies and anti-angiogenic agents, significantly expanding the range of testable drugs. It helps patients better evaluate first-line treatment options and identify subsequent-line therapies, thereby greatly broadening the clinical applications of drug sensitivity testing.

Daxiang’s Independently Developed Personalized Anti-Cancer Drug Sensitivity Testing Product—Ankexin^®Also officially launched this year, it serves as an “in vitro tumor avatar” for cancer patients, helping to identify sensitive anticancer drugs and providing a scientific basis for clinicians to develop personalized precision medication regimens.

Regarding this round of financing,Mr. Zhou Yu, CEO of DaxiangStatement: Daxiang extends its gratitude to Proxima Capital, Qiandao Fund, Shaanxi Investment Growth, Wuhan Baihui Huizhi Venture Capital Fund Partnership (L.P.), and other new shareholders for their recognition and support. Daxiang remains committed to leading China’s organ-on-a-chip industry through technological innovation. The company will continue to increase investments in R&D and market expansion, accelerating the dual-engine business drive of drug development and clinical precision therapy, and steadily advancing its vision of building a healthier world with innovative organ-on-a-chip technology.

Mr. Li Zhe, Partner at Proxima CapitalProxima Capital stated that it continues to closely monitor the application of global innovative technologies in healthcare. In recent years, organ-on-a-chip technology has achieved breakthrough progress, profoundly influencing and transforming the process of new drug development and industrialization. The team at Daxiang possesses multidisciplinary expertise and has accumulated extensive experience in the field of organ-on-a-chip technology. It has established a highly biomimetic multi-cell co-culture system that empowers the entire lifecycle of new drug development, including drug screening, preclinical evaluation, and clinical research. The company’s platform and services have gained recognition from numerous renowned clients both domestically and internationally and are currently being delivered at mass production scale. Meanwhile, the company is advancing the market launch of its drug sensitivity testing products to support personalized precision medicine. Proxima Capital remains firmly optimistic about Daxiang’s leading strategic layout and breakthrough progress in new drug development and clinical drug sensitivity testing, and is committed to supporting the rapid growth of Daxiang’s business.

Dr. Jia Guo, Managing Director of Shaanxi Investment GrowthStatement: Shaanxi Investment Growth Fund has been strategically positioning itself in the frontier biotechnology sector, with organoids and organ-on-a-chip technologies being key areas of focus. The year 2022 marked a historic turning point for the organoid and organ-on-a-chip industry. As an industry leader, Daxiang has developed standardized, highly biomimetic, and high-throughput organoid-on-a-chip models that recapitulate key biological characteristics of human organs and tissues in vitro. This approach effectively addresses challenges associated with species differences and screening throughput inherent in animal models, significantly improving drug development success rates while reducing costs. Furthermore, Daxiang has secured cross-border collaborations with major international pharmaceutical companies. We are confident that the company will emerge as a global leader in the field of organoids and organ-on-a-chip technologies.

Mr. Gong Yun, Vice President of Qiandao GroupQiandao Fund stated that it has been closely monitoring the development of organ-on-a-chip technology. Characterized by multidisciplinary integration and exceptionally high technical barriers, organ-on-a-chip technology holds broad application prospects in fields such as new drug development and precision medicine. As one of the leading enterprises in China’s organ-on-a-chip sector, Daxiang excels in both its R&D team background and industrial translation capabilities. Currently, Daxiang is the only company in China to have partnered with a national-level biobank, thereby resolving the issue of cell sourcing. Looking ahead, the company strives to build the world’s largest and most comprehensive organoid biobank and database, aiming to become an internationally influential enterprise in the field of organoids and organ-on-a-chip technology.

Zhu Ruiping, General Manager of Baihui Huizhi FundIt was stated that organoid technology is developing rapidly, with broad commercial potential in clinical applications and drug development. Daxiang has accumulated substantial technical expertise and established a long-term strategic presence in this field, giving it a significant competitive advantage over its peers. Wuhan Baihui Huizhi Venture Capital Fund Partnership (L.P.) and the Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology will continue to strengthen their collaboration and interaction with Daxiang, fully supporting its growth and expansion.

Proxima Capital is dedicated to serving early-stage enterprises with outstanding medical technology innovations and significant growth potential. Currently, nearly one-third of its portfolio companies were established with the fund’s assistance to founders, and more than two-thirds possess globally first-in-class products. The fund has been building an ecosystem for medical technology innovation entrepreneurship, making it easier, faster, and more successful to start ventures. Proxima Capital supports entrepreneurs with a grand vision, focusing on the long term, cultivating value, and working side by side to develop companies into great enterprises with strong competitiveness and sustained innovation capabilities, thereby creating substantial clinical value for society over the long run. Proxima Capital has invested in more than 50 innovative medical technology companies and manages both RMB and USD funds.

Shaanxi Growth Enterprise Guidance Fund Management Co., Ltd. (Shaanxi Investment Growth) is a professional fund management institution officially approved and established by the People’s Government of Shaanxi Province. The company is controlled by Shaanxi Shaanxi Investment Capital Management Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaanxi Investment Group Co., Ltd. Adopting a two-tier architecture and investment operation model of “fund of funds + sub-fund cluster,” the company has, over seven years of development, initially formed a business landscape characterized by the coordinated development of the fund of funds and sub-funds, the sequential development of early-stage, growth-stage, and mature-stage funds, and the synergistic development of government guidance funds and sub-funds. Currently, the company manages 14 funds with a total scale of nearly RMB 6 billion.

Qiandao Fund, established in 2011, adheres to the philosophy of “empowering finance with technology, serving industries through financial services, and contributing to the nation through industrial development.” It specializes in asset management and investment activities, including equity investment and industrial investment. To date, Qiandao Fund has initiated and registered more than 50 private equity funds, with assets under management exceeding RMB 3 billion. In the biopharmaceutical sector, Qiandao Fund strategically focuses on high-quality segments such as innovative drugs (including biopharmaceuticals), in vitro diagnostics, innovative medical devices, healthcare services, and health tech. By collaborating with biopharmaceutical industry institutions, it jointly explores diversified layouts and innovative development models for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Wuhan Baiying Bio-Industry Investment Management Co., Ltd. was established in August 2016 as a wholly-owned fund operation and management platform under the Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology. Leveraging the superior resources of the Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, Baiying Bio utilizes private equity funds as its vehicle, with business activities spanning venture capital, private equity, and specialized funds across various stages. The company focuses on investments in the biological health sector and has completed investments in more than 20 bio-related projects. It currently manages two bio-industry funds: Wuhan Baihui Huizhi Venture Capital Fund Partnership (L.P.) and Wushengyuan Baiying Huicai Fund.

Beijing Daxiang Biotech Co., Ltd., established in 2018, is a leading high-tech enterprise in China specializing in the research, development, and manufacturing of human organ-on-a-chip systems. The company is dedicated to promoting and spearheading the widespread application of organ-on-a-chip technology in new drug development, disease modeling, and personalized precision medicine. Daxiang aims to provide more precise, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for drug discovery, as well as an innovative, biomimetic standardized platform for clinical precision medication, thereby advancing the cause of human health.