Crycision Biosciences Files IPO Prospectus Highlighting Its Differentiated GPCR-Targeting Nanobody Platform

As a promising segment within the antibody drug landscape, nanobodies are the smallest known antigen-binding antibodies. They offer advantages such as straightforward humanization, high affinity, high stability, low immunogenicity, strong tissue penetration, and excellent solubility. Consequently, their development is gradually shifting from academic research to industrial applications, garnering significant attention and favor from numerous innovative enterprises.

In 1989, Belgian scientists first discovered nanobodies. In 2018, Caplacizumab, the world’s first nanobody-based therapeutic, was approved for marketing in the European Union. Innovative Chinese nanobody companies such as Alphamab Oncology, Legend Biotech, Purigen Biosystems, and Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology are seeking breakthroughs in this field, demonstrating distinct strategic layouts in molecular formats, target selection, indication choices, and business models.

Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jingzhun Biotech")Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is an innovative technology platform-based biotech company, focusing on the research and development of nanobodies targeting novel targets. Headquartered in Nanjing, it has collaborative R&D units in Dublin, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Jingzhun Biotechnology’s technology platform is built upon five core technological pillars: high-activity antigen preparation, antibody screening and activity testing, structural elucidation, antibody engineering, and the development of targeted delivery systems. Its primary distinction lies in the development and optimization of nanobodies targeting differentiated targets such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

GPCR (G Protein-Coupled Receptor), also known as G protein-coupled receptor, is composed of seven α-helical transmembrane domains. As the largest family of membrane proteins in the mammalian genome, GPCRs are widely distributed throughout the human body and perform complex functions. Consequently, they are implicated in the onset and progression of various diseases, including cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, HIV/AIDS, and migraine.

GPCRs constitute the "golden" family of targets in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sector, with over 800 members identified, more than 400 of which are predicted to be druggable. "Drugs targeting GPCRs account for nearly 30% of all approved medications on the market, generating approximately $200 billion in annual sales." Tan Jingquan, Co-founder and CEO of Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd., believes that GPCR-targeted therapeutics hold broad prospects for development.

However, the majority of currently approved drugs targeting GPCRs are small-molecule drugs, accounting for approximately 90% of all GPCR-targeting therapeutics approved by the FDA.

Due to the high structural similarity among different GPCRs (with even higher similarity within subfamilies), small-molecule drugs face selectivity issues, which can lead to severe central nervous system and cardiovascular side effects.Compared with small-molecule drugs, antibody-based therapeutics exhibit superior selectivity and are better suited for targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are natural receptors located on the cell membrane surface.

However, only two antibody drugs targeting GPCRs have been approved to date. One is Mogamulizumab, developed by Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. in Japan, which was the first monoclonal antibody drug targeting a GPCR to receive marketing approval; the other is Erenumab, a monoclonal antibody co-developed by Amgen and Novartis.

Tan Jingquan believes that the primary reason for the scarcity of marketed GPCR antibody drugs lies in historical and technical barriers. He explained that, on one hand, small-molecule drug development targeting GPCRs has a long history, so it is normal for their numbers to far exceed those of antibodies. On the other hand, developing GPCR-targeting antibodies is significantly more challenging than developing small molecules, with numerous critical technical bottlenecks posing substantial hurdles.

Now, Tan Jingquan has decided to take on the challenge of developing GPCR antibody drugs, opting for the unique format of nanobodies. While many consider nanobodies to be substitutes for monoclonal antibodies, Tan Jingquan views them as a distinct class of special antibodies. In essence, they are molecules with characteristics fundamentally different from those of traditional monoclonal antibodies.Compared with conventional antibodies,Nanobodies offer advantages such as low molecular weight, simple structure, ease of engineering, high antigen specificity, strong tissue penetration, and high stability, holding broad application prospects in disease diagnosis and therapy.

These properties of nanobodies confer multiple advantages in the development of GPCR-targeted therapeutics.FirstNanobodies exhibit diversity in antigenic epitopes and may target cryptic epitopes that are typically associated with the regulation of GPCR activity, thereby enabling complex modulation of these targets through nanobody intervention.Secondly, nanobodies are small single-chain molecules with a highly stable overall structure, making them amenable to subsequent engineering modifications; therefore, it is easier to implement a modular research and development approach in this area.

Therefore, based on years of research into nanobodies and GPCRs, Tan Jingquan co-founded Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd.By leveraging nanobodies to overcome the challenges in developing GPCR antibody drugs, Jingzhun Biotechnology has established a new nanobody research and development platform.

Dr. Jingquan Tan holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Trinity College Dublin and completed his postdoctoral training there. Under the supervision of Professor Martin Caffrey, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and inventor of the lipidic cubic phase (LCP) technology, he conducted research on the structure and function of membrane proteins. With nearly 20 years of experience in studying the structure and function of proteins—including drug targets such as GPCRs and ion channels—Dr. Tan was introduced to nanobodies during this period. Since then, he has dedicated himself to nanobody research, accumulating over 15 years of specialized expertise in this field.

Upon returning to China, Tan Jingquan was responsible for the Structural Biology Department at Shanghai WuXi AppTec and later served as Senior Director of the Membrane Protein and Antibody Business Unit at BioDuro. During these tenures, he collaborated with renowned overseas pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on multiple early-stage drug development projects.

“Although my background is in GPCRs and nanobodies, relying solely on the expertise and insights from this field is insufficient to build an innovative technology platform; I also need talent from other research domains.”

Co-founder Dr. Yu Yang holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and completed postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University in the United States. He is currently a Principal Investigator and Doctoral Supervisor at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. With over 20 years of research experience in RNA biology and epigenetics, he has amassed extensive expertise in drug target identification and excels in platform technology innovation.

Meanwhile, to ensure that its R&D pipeline can advance from the molecular screening stage to IND, Jingzhun Biotechnology recently appointed a Vice President of Pharmacology and a Vice President of Business Development. The former brings nearly 20 years of theoretical and translational research experience in biology, pharmacy, and various disease models, with a particular focus on 15 years of expertise in the GPCR target family. The latter has brought extensive domestic and international collaborative resources to the company.

To apply nanobodies to a broader range of fields, Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has established three major technology platforms, each tailored to different application scenarios.

NB modulatorThe technology platform primarily targets the GPCR family, leveraging nanobodies to achieve complex regulatory functions. Based on this platform, Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has built a pipeline in cancer, metabolic diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Moreover, it serves as the core and foundation for other technology platforms.

NB-degraderThe technology platform conducts pioneering exploratory research on undruggable targets by leveraging nanobody-mediated target degradation. Utilizing this platform, Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is able to develop macromolecular degraders analogous to small-molecule PROTACs by linking high-specificity nanobodies targeting undruggable sites to the ubiquitination system via structurally flexible linkers.

NB-missileThe technology platform focuses on the development of universal drug delivery tools. The development of drug delivery systems has long been a critical component of the drug discovery and development process, with innovations in many such tools (e.g., lipid nanoparticles, LNPs) driving significant breakthroughs in modern therapeutics. However, no delivery platform is perfect. Nanjing Jingzhun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. aims to achieve breakthroughs in targeted delivery by conjugating nanobodies with specific delivery vehicles or the drug molecules themselves.

Tan Jingquan stated, “In the aforementioned areas, we have already established collaborative partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. Looking ahead, we hope to attract more partners who can help investors recognize the value of our entire technology platform and its future development potential.”