CytosinLab Therapeutics Secures Nearly RMB 200 Million in Series A Funding to Advance China-Originated Epigenetic Therapeutics

VCBeat has learned that CytosinLab Therapeutics, a company focused on therapeutic technologies and new drug development in the field of epigenetics, announced the recent completion of its Series A financing round, raising nearly RMB 200 million. The round was co-led by prominent industry investors Zeyue Capital and CDH VGC, with participation from Kaitai Capital, Dawu Venture Capital, and SAIC Hengxu Capital. Haoyi Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round.

According to reports, this round of financing will be used to accelerate the clinical development of multiple epigenetic-targeted novel drugs in Sailan Pharma’s pipeline and to further strengthen its EpigenPLUS epigenetics technology R&D platform.

Dr. Wu Haiping and Dr. Mi Yuan, founders of Sailan Pharmaceuticals, stated: “We extend our sincere gratitude to both new and existing investors for their strong recognition and support of Sailan. Epigenetic mechanisms have been proven to be one of the key pathogenic mechanisms underlying major diseases such as cancer, and they represent a significant avenue for developing therapeutic interventions. The integration of basic science and clinical research in this field will provide immeasurable opportunities for novel drug development and open up broad market prospects. Sailan is fully committed to building its distinctive EpigenPLUS technology platform and efficiently translating innovations into drug development. This round of financing will accelerate the construction of our technology platform and the advancement of our pipeline, with the aim of moving our projects into clinical trials as soon as possible.”

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression and phenotypes that occur without alterations to the DNA sequence, serving as a bridge linking internal regulatory mechanisms of gene expression with external environmental changes in living systems.

From the perspective of market professionals, epigenetic approaches are currently among the most promising directions in cancer therapy. This is because the onset and progression of tumors are often driven by abnormalities in the regulation of key gene expressions; therefore, research targeting gene expression regulation, particularly epigenetic regulation, represents the most targeted and effective therapeutic strategy.

Meanwhile, in contrast to transcription factors that control gene expression, epigenetic targets are often various enzymes that exert catalytic functions in vivo, offering opportunities to design diverse small-molecule compounds for targeted therapy using current drug discovery technologies. By targeting key nodes in epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and intervening at the epigenomic level, there is greater promise of controlling tumorigenesis holistically. Furthermore, targeting key epigenetic regulators in various cell types within both the tumor and its microenvironment may fundamentally control tumor progression.

Founded in 2019, Sailan Biopharma is an innovative biotechnology company focused on next-generation epigenetic therapies and novel drug development.

Sailan Pharma was co-founded by Academician Xu Guoliang, a world-renowned scientist in the field of epigenetics; Dr. Wu Haiping, formerly of Novartis’s Biological Research and Development team; and Dr. Mi Yuan, previously from Novartis’s Medicinal Chemistry and Operations team. The remainder of the R&D team comprises experienced local and overseas-returnee scientists and industry elites from leading multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Johnson & Johnson, as well as from top-tier domestic and international research institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University, Peking University, and Harvard University. Previously, multiple biopharmaceutical funds under Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC) and Sany Innovation Fund provided angel and Pre-A round investment support to Sailan Pharma.

“China’s innovative drug R&D is undergoing an iterative transformation. Assessments of the clinical and commercial value of innovative drugs will no longer be confined to China’s large patient population, but will instead be based on global unmet clinical needs and the competitive landscape. The ecosystem for new drug development will increasingly favor biotechnology companies with sustained capabilities for differentiated innovation.” stated Lu Xiaoxiang, Founding Partner of Zeyue Capital, one of the lead investors in this round. He noted that therapeutic strategies targeting epigenetic alterations represent a new direction in oncology treatment. The founding team of Sailan Pharmaceuticals—Academician Xu Guoliang, Dr. Wu Haiping, and Dr. Mi Yuan—possesses profound scientific expertise in the field of epigenetics, as well as extensive experience in industrial new drug discovery and clinical translation. This makes Sailan Pharmaceuticals a company with genuine innovative capacity and global competitiveness.

Dr. Liu Dan, Partner at CDH Investments’ Innovation and Growth Fund, also stated that China’s pharmaceutical innovation has entered a new phase, requiring companies like Sailan Pharma to leverage the profound basic research expertise of China’s top scientific teams to develop truly original innovative drugs. “The co-founding team of Academician Xu Guoliang and Drs. Wu Haiping and Mi Yuan is highly complementary: one is a world-class scientist, while the other two bring extensive industry experience. We look forward to Sailan Pharma growing into an international leader in epigenetics-based drug development.”

Specifically, Sailan Pharma focuses on the field of epigenetic therapy, which utilizes innovative epigenetic technologies—including small-molecule drugs—to modulate and reprogram gene expression in tumors and their microenvironment. By precisely targeting critical genes or mechanisms on which tumors depend, this approach enables the treatment of cancer and other major diseases.

Currently, leveraging its robust foundation in basic research and translational science, the Sailun team has focused on the latest targets and mechanisms in tumor epigenetics. Within just two years, it has built a diverse and globally innovative pipeline of targeted novel drug candidates, comprising more than 10 first-in-class or best-in-class projects based on novel targets and mechanisms. Among these, several small-molecule new drug programs have entered the preclinical stage and will sequentially submit Investigational New Drug (IND) applications and initiate clinical trials.

Meanwhile, the company has established robust and in-depth comprehensive collaborations with leading institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, enabling the continuous innovation of original projects. In the future, the company will also collaborate withIncluding multinational pharmaceutical companiesCollaborate with external partners to build a more globally competitive R&D pipeline.

Behind the rapid emergence of original innovative drugs lies the EpigenPLUS technology platform, meticulously developed by the scientist team at Sailan Pharma. This platform integrates China’s rapidly advancing scientific and technological achievements in epigenetics with cutting-edge drug development, biotechnology, and therapeutic approaches, bringing together biotechnology, basic research, new drug discovery, and clinical medical applications.

It is reported that the EpigenPLUS technology platform targets not only individual molecular targets but also related epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, including tumor mismatch repair, tumor differentiation, and tumor metabolism. The platform boasts a comprehensive and systematic portfolio of tool compounds in the epigenetics field, along with in vivo and in vitro pharmacodynamic models. It holds promise for combining epigenetic therapies with other innovative treatments, such as tumor immunotherapy and targeted therapy, thereby unlocking a broader and more exciting market landscape. This approach offers new hope and opportunities to address the unmet clinical needs of cancer patients in China and worldwide.

“In recent years, China has produced a wealth of achievements in epigenetics research, many of which are at the international forefront. There is an urgent need for R&D enterprises to translate these original basic research findings into pharmaceutical products that benefit the public. Sailan Bio will continue to strive to build a representative platform in China for translating cutting-edge biotechnologies in this field into therapeutic applications,” stated Academician Xu Guoliang, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of Sailan Bio.

Zeyue Capital is a private equity firm specializing in the healthcare and wellness sector, co-founded by seasoned industry veterans with extensive industrial resources and a distinctive investment philosophy. Leveraging profound insights into China’s healthcare landscape and medical reform trends, the team integrates industrial resources across R&D, manufacturing, and marketing to identify entrepreneurial ventures with a “China angle” and sustainable growth potential on a global scale, making investment decisions grounded in the creation of long-term value.

CDH VGC is a fund under CDH Investments focused on innovation and growth investments, combining the innovative vision of venture capital (VC) with the professional rigor of growth investing. It primarily covers four investment sectors: healthcare, ToC new consumption, ToB enterprise services, and hard-tech innovation. Since its establishment over five years ago, CDH VGC has adhered to CDH Investments’ core philosophy of partnering with strivers to create long-term value. Committed to addressing societal pain points, it helps enterprises improve efficiency and reduce costs through technological or business model innovations, having invested in more than 60 leading innovative companies. CDH VGC firmly believes that allocating resources to outstanding innovative growth enterprises will inevitably drive progress in industries and society.

Caitai Capital is an innovative capital management firm focused on investments in biopharmaceuticals and life sciences, artificial intelligence and digital technology, as well as data intelligence and tech-driven consumer sectors. With a global perspective, forward-looking industry research, and an investment philosophy centered on industrial ecosystem development, Caitai Capital has invested in more than 100 biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies both domestically and internationally, initially establishing a collaborative industrial ecosystem. The firm has built an ecosystem-oriented investment portfolio spanning oncology, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, anti-infectives, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neuroscience, nephrology, ophthalmology, dermatology, gene therapy and cell-based therapies, pharmaceutical manufacturing, innovative biotechnologies, and the broader health and wellness industry.

Dawu Venture Capital is a professional venture capital (VC) firm co-founded by Mr. Xu Gangwu and Mr. Jing Tao. The firm primarily focuses on investment sectors such as biopharmaceuticals, autonomous driving, semiconductors, new materials, and commercial aerospace. It strategically invests in high-potential startups at their growth stage, providing them with the resources necessary for corporate development to help entrepreneurial teams build industry-leading, and even world-class, enterprises. Its portfolio includes investments in SpaceX, JD Logistics, Sany Innovation, UTC (Youtai Jisheng), and Zhimeng Pharmaceutical. Dawu Venture Capital is committed to offering entrepreneurs firsthand business development experience and extensive network resources accumulated in the technology and industrial sectors. Dawu’s mission is to identify visionary entrepreneurs who will drive transformation across various fields, working together with them to achieve mutual growth.

SAIC Hengxu (AMAC Registration No.: P1070270), established in 2019, currently manages a total asset scale exceeding RMB 20 billion. As the private equity investment platform under SAIC Motor (600104.SH), it leverages the overall strengths of SAIC Motor to strategically invest in emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing, healthcare, frontier technologies, and mass consumption, thereby contributing to the development of SAIC Motor’s innovative industrial chain and the enhancement of its mobility ecosystem. Hengxu Capital’s healthcare portfolio includes numerous outstanding companies, such as Aier Medical, Anzhiyin Biotechnology, Changfeng Pharmaceutical, Changyu Pharma, Demei Medical, Dikai'er Medical, Gaocheng Biotechnology, Likai Technology, Meili Weiye, Moyang Biotechnology, Ribobio, Yuhong Pharmaceutical, Weizhizhuo Biotechnology, and UtiLife (UTC).