Jinbaihui Bio Completes $15M Series B+ Financing to Advance Multi-Cancer Early Detection Solutions

VCBeat has learned that Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. (Jinbaihui Bio) recently completed a $15 million Series B+ strategic financing round, led by BOC Guangdong Capital Fund. The proceeds will be primarily used to support the company’s multi-line business expansion and the research and development of its pipeline products.

As a company dedicated to early screening and diagnosis of high-incidence cancers in China, Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. launched Ruichangtai, which was approved for market entry in 2018.^®The miR-92a Detection Kit (Fluorescent RT-PCR Method) has served hundreds of thousands of individuals. Following the completion of this financing round, the company plans to further intensify market promotion for this product. It is reported that Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. has completed China’s first prospective clinical trial involving 10,000 participants from the general real-world population for colorectal cancer screening.

The focus of disease treatment is shifting toward early screening and early diagnosis.

With the issuance of the Outline of the “Healthy China 2030” Plan and the introduction of specialized cancer-sector guidelines such as the Current Status of Colorectal Cancer Screening Products at Home and Abroad and Clinical Evaluation Requirements, China’s early cancer screening industry is becoming increasingly mature.

Focusing solely on colorectal cancer, data from the Annual Report on Cancer Statistics in China indicates that its incidence continues to rise, making it the second most common malignant tumor in China, surpassed only by lung cancer. Due to the nonspecific and subtle nature of early symptoms, the majority of patients in China are diagnosed at intermediate or advanced stages, resulting in poor prognosis and an increasing mortality rate. Furthermore, the onset of colorectal cancer is showing a trend toward affecting younger populations.

Given the well-defined progression of colorectal cancer, with its precancerous development spanning from three to several years, there is a “window of opportunity” for early screening and clinical intervention. Normal intestinal epithelial cells must first progress through a polyp stage, such as inflammatory polyps, then advance to an advanced adenoma stage, such as tubulovillous adenomas, serrated adenomas, or lesions with high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, before infiltrating and developing into tumors capable of distant metastasis. Therefore, a product capable of detecting colorectal cancer at the stage of high-grade precancerous lesions is of paramount importance.

Previously, the FDA also approved Cologuard (a multi-target DNA mutation and methylation + FIT test). However, it has issues such as complex testing procedures, high failure rates, expensive costs, low detection rates for adenomas, and unsuitability for Asian populations (due to the low KRAS mutation rate in Asians).

RNA-based biotechnology, at the forefront of translational medicine in biotechnology, is not only applied to the treatment of tumors, immune diseases, and genetic disorders but also demonstrates its efficacy in the field of early tumor screening. After a comprehensive analysis of various detection targets, including gene methylation, mRNA, and microRNA, as well as different sample types such as blood and stool, miRNA-92a—the first published microRNA-based molecular tumor target—has emerged as a promising candidate due to its stability in vitro, good reproducibility, high detection sensitivity, and high specificity for colorectal cancer. Ultimately, the team at Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Professor Yu Jun’s team from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, developed Ruizhangtai.^®miR-92a Detection Kit Product.

This colorectal cancer diagnostic product has obtained certification from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the European Union’s CE marking, and holds six domestic and international invention patents. The technology underlying this product was awarded the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award. Currently, Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. is sequentially conducting clinical studies, product registrations, and market promotion activities across various continents. It is reported that in the prospective clinical trial involving 10,000 participants from the general population—the first real-world colorectal cancer screening study of its kind completed in China—: Rui Changtai^®The miR-92a Detection Kit (Fluorescent RT-PCR Method) demonstrates a positive predictive value of up to 80.45% for screening colorectal cancer and advanced adenomas with polyps (collectively referred to as intestinal tumors). Its screening sensitivity reaches 94.74% for colorectal cancer and 68.33% for advanced adenomas, highlighting its exceptional potential as a high-performance early screening product for colorectal cancer.

Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. has submitted an application to the Center for Medical Device Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration for changes to the target population and intended use of this product. Ruizhangtai^®miR-92a Detection Kit (Fluorescent RT-PCR Method) is poised to become the industry’s first colorectal cancer early screening product suitable for the general population, capable of grading and precisely detecting precancerous lesions, as evaluated through pre-market retrospective controlled clinical trials and post-market prospective screening clinical trials.

Behind product R&D and technological layout lies the indispensable contribution of the core team.

Dr. Yu Haoyang, Founder and General Manager of Genebiohealth, is a professionally trained scientist. After earning his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Leibniz University Hannover in Germany, he held positions at Max Planck Innovation’s GeneBridge Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Bayer AG. He brings extensive R&D experience and project management expertise gained from years of working with Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies.

Furthermore, as a member of the German Society for Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Dr. Yu Haoyang has made outstanding contributions to the research on cell membrane proteins and ion channels in the digestive system, publishing multiple SCI-indexed articles.

To give back to his homeland, Dr. Yu Haoyang, who remained deeply concerned about patients in China, chose to return to the country in 2011. In 2013, Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. was established. Through collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Genebiohealth pioneered the development of Ruichangtai, an RNA-based biotechnological product for colorectal cancer diagnosis.^®。

In fact, in addition to its early screening products for colorectal cancer, Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. is also developing early screening products for other cancers, including gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer. Currently, the company has established a relatively comprehensive product development pipeline.Its IVD reagent pipeline includes Class III medical devices for the early screening and diagnosis of gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and breast cancer, which are scheduled to be launched sequentially starting from 2023; its IVD equipment product pipeline is currently centered around PCReady^®Fully automated sample processing system, including CAPReady^®Product systems such as the Sample Aliquot Processing System and the NucleoTidy® Fully Automated Nucleic Acid Extractor are designed to realize a series of clinical molecular diagnostics automation laboratory products with tiered configurations. The equipment pipeline under development also includes integrated, high-throughput droplet digital PCR instruments.

Dr. Haoyang Yu, Founder/CEO of Genebiohealth“The founding mission and vision of Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. have always been to ‘develop affordable early cancer screening products for the Chinese public.’ Over the past nine years since its establishment, we have not only dedicated ourselves to meticulous development of serious medical products but also pursued innovation and expansion in consumer healthcare and related services. The success of this financing round is built upon Genebiohealth’s core technologies with independent intellectual property rights and the recognition of our team by multiple capital institutions, which will also support our long-term development strategy.”

Liu Xiang, General Manager of the Healthcare Investment Department at BOC Yuecai FundIt stated: “Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. has established a multi-technology platform in the field of early cancer screening, covering various biomarkers such as miRNA, DNA methylation, and ctDNA, achieving milestone innovations and transformations in related areas. We look forward to collaborating with Shenzhen Genebiohealth to jointly advance the commercialization process of China’s early cancer screening industry. This investment was led by our Yuecai Biomedical Fund. The Yuecai Biomedical Fund will continue to focus on outstanding entrepreneurial teams in the broader health sector, facilitating the industrialization and commercialization of innovative products in the biomedical and health industries.”

Shenzhen Genebiohealth Co., Ltd. is a national high-tech enterprise established in 2013, with Zhongshan Baihui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. as its production base and Shenzhen Huikang Medical Laboratory as its third-party testing facility. Since its inception, Genebiohealth has been committed to its mission of “providing affordable early screening products for the Chinese public,” dedicating itself to scientific research, technology transfer, product delivery, and testing services for early screening and diagnosis of highly prevalent cancers in the population. The company’s core technical team is led by overseas high-level talents under the “Peacock Plan.” It has obtained approval for one Class III innovative medical device, several Class I and II medical devices, and holds dozens of invention patents both domestically and internationally.

BOC-Yuecai Equity Investment Fund Management (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established by Guangdong Yuecai Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. and BOC Group Investment Company Limited. The company primarily focuses on five key investment sectors: healthcare, new energy, advanced manufacturing, consumer goods, and infrastructure, with cumulative assets under management exceeding RMB 40 billion.