QureBio Secures Nearly RMB 200 Million in Series B Financing Led by BOCHK International with WinX Capital as Lead Financial Advisor
December 2021,Qiyu Biotech (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“Qiyu Biotech”), a company focused on developing an innovative platform for bispecific and multispecific antibody drugs, announced the completion of its Series B financing round, raising nearly RMB 200 million. The round was led by BOCOM International (BOCOM Industrial Investment Fund), with participation from Guoshun Investment, Yuanhe Holdings, Lihe Hongxin, Tianfu Sanjiang Capital, Pudong Sci-Tech Innovation, and Longmen Capital. WinX Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing round.
Qiyu Biologics is an R&D-focused company dedicated to the development of innovative large-molecule biologics, aiming to develop novel therapeutics for refractory cancers, autoimmune diseases, and other indications in China and worldwide to benefit patients. The company possesses robust in-house R&D capabilities and has established several innovative platforms, including a phage display technology platform, a hybridoma antibody humanization platform, a single-domain antibody platform, and antibody engineering platforms. Among these, the hybridoma antibody humanization platform can overcome immune tolerance and has successfully completed multiple projects targeting multi-pass transmembrane antigens. The phage display platform is a synthetic human library platform used for screening common light chain libraries for bispecific antibodies.
Relying on its proprietary technology platform, Qiyu Biologics has developed a series of novel biologics with independent intellectual property rights. Among them, Q1802 (a Claudin18.2/PD-L1 bispecific antibody) received clinical trial approvals in both China and the United States in March 2021. With Phase I clinical trials nearing completion, the company is poised to implement a differentiated clinical development strategy, positioning Q1802 to potentially become the first approved product in the highly competitive Claudin18.2 therapeutic landscape in China. Q1801 (a SIRPα/PD-L1 bispecific antibody) is currently under application for clinical trial approval. Furthermore, the company has established a pipeline comprising multiple innovative bispecific and trispecific antibody candidates, for which relevant patents have already been filed.
Qiyu Bio’s technologies in antibody engineering and screening have also gained widespread recognition within the industry. Leveraging its proprietary technology platform, Qiyu Bio has established a series of collaborations with leading biotechnology companies, including Bioray Laboratories, BioMap, Hengrui Medicine, and Precision Biotech. These partnerships fully demonstrate Qiyu Bio’s prominent position in the field of innovative large-molecule biologics.
Qu Xiangdong, Founder of Qiyu BiotechStatement: We extend our sincere gratitude to leading biomedical investment institutions for their support of the company. Qiyu Bio will continue to focus on leveraging its proprietary technology platform to develop innovative biologics targeting refractory cancers, autoimmune diseases, and other therapeutic areas in China and globally, thereby benefiting patients and addressing current unmet clinical needs.
Lead Investor in This Round of FinancingXi Xuanhua, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of BOCOM InternationalStatement: Innovative immuno-oncology drugs are a key focus area for BOCOM International’s Healthcare Investment Team, and Qiyu Biopharma stands out as a highly representative and exemplary company in this field. The company’s founding team has over two decades of experience at renowned pharmaceutical companies such as Amgen, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer, bringing profound expertise in tumor immunology and extensive industry experience in biopharmaceuticals. Qiyu Biopharma has assembled an outstanding clinical development team with exceptional efficiency and execution capabilities in advancing clinical programs. Building on a commitment to innovation, the company’s pipeline strategically minimizes R&D risks through clever target combinations and distinctive structural designs, while enhancing product development success rates and market prospects via differentiated clinical positioning. BOCOM International is honored to lead this round of financing for Qiyu Biopharma. We look forward to continuously supporting the company and its team in their product development efforts, helping Qiyu Biopharma become a leading enterprise in the new generation of innovative biopharmaceuticals.
Dr. Zou Guowen, Partner at Kaicheng CapitalStatement: Kaicheng Capital is honored to have provided comprehensive support to Qiyu Biopharma in completing this round of financing. Qiyu Biopharma boasts an innovative, end-to-end R&D team specializing in bispecific and multispecific antibodies. Its product pipeline features a differentiated project initiation strategy and forward-looking vision, its CMC processes are industry-leading, and its clinical development efficiency is exceptionally high, earning strong recognition from both existing and new shareholders. We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us by the Qiyu Biopharma team and hope that Qiyu Biopharma will accelerate the progress of its clinical programs, thereby benefiting patients at the earliest possible date.
BOCOM International Holdings Company Limited (“BOCOM International”, Stock Code: 3329.HK), established in 1998, is the sole integrated securities and securities-related financial services platform of Bank of Communications, a state-controlled joint-stock commercial bank, in Hong Kong. It is one of the earliest licensed securities companies in Hong Kong with Chinese mainland background. Having weathered multiple economic and industry cycles as well as regulatory reforms, BOCOM International has grown into one of the largest securities companies in Hong Kong, specializing in securities brokerage and margin financing, corporate finance and underwriting, investment and lending, and asset management and advisory services. The company was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on May 19, 2017.The BOCOM Production-Investment (Hangzhou) Equity Investment Fund is the first science and technology innovation equity investment fund backed by a commercial bank established in Zhejiang Province. Jointly initiated by BOCOM International and Hangzhou Capital, the fund was set up in partnership with Hangzhou Heda and Changxing Financial Holdings, with Bank of Communications Zhejiang Branch serving as the fund custodian. The fund is based in Qiantang District, Hangzhou. Anchored in supporting the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, the fund practices the integration of financial services with the technology industry, leverages the technological industrial advantages of Hangzhou and Zhejiang, and is committed to tracking technologies, products, and applications that enhance efficiency and improve user experience in the era of 5G, new energy, and an aging population. It focuses primarily on investment opportunities in growth-stage enterprises in sectors such as healthcare and data intelligence.
Since its establishment in 2001, Yuanhe Holdings has focused on the field of equity investment, with assets under management exceeding RMB 100 billion, making it one of China’s leading equity investment firms. Since its inception, the company has prioritized investment opportunities in emerging industries such as integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology applications, cloud computing, and big data, while remaining committed to supporting the real economy and promoting industrial transformation and upgrading. To date, it has made direct investments in over 1,000 projects, and its fund-of-funds has invested in 129 sub-funds.
Shenzhen Lihhe Hongxin Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership), established in 2016, focuses on investing in strategic emerging industries such as biomedicine, new energy, new materials, electronic information, integrated circuits, and high-end equipment. The firm primarily targets early-to-mid-stage investments and has invested in over 60 projects to date. In response to the call in the "Made in China 2025" plan to vigorously develop a high-level biomedicine industry, and to implement the major deployments for strategic emerging industries—including biomedicine, high-end medical imaging, and gene technology—outlined in Shenzhen’s "13th Five-Year Plan," Lihhe Hongxin is based in Shenzhen with a global outlook. In recent years, it has progressively increased its investment layout in high-tech enterprises within the biomedicine sector.
Chengdu Tianfu Sanjiang Asset Management Co., Ltd. was established in June 2019 and currently manages an investment portfolio exceeding RMB 3 billion, with investments spanning innovative drugs, emerging consumer sectors, and technology-driven manufacturing.
Pudong Sci-Tech Innovation Group is a state-owned venture capital group established by the People's Government of Pudong New Area to advance the construction of a globally influential science and technology innovation center and promote the development of high-tech industries. The Group specializes in venture capital investment, sci-tech financial services, and overseas resource integration. Adhering to its positioning as an "integrator of innovative resources and shaper of industrial development," the Group is committed to empowering industries and enterprises. It focuses on hard-core technologies and serves national strategies. Centering on investments in hard-core tech sectors such as biopharmaceuticals, integrated circuits, high-end equipment, aerospace, and artificial intelligence, the Group upholds the investment philosophy of targeting "the upstream of the industrial chain, the top end of the value chain, and the foundational layer of the technology system," with a focus on investing in enterprises with high technological content and strong innovation capabilities. To date, the Group has served over 1,500 enterprises through guarantee, loan, and financial leasing services; made direct equity investments in more than 200 companies; facilitated the listing of over 50 portfolio companies, including 26 on the STAR Market; manages assets exceeding RMB 60 billion; and has invested in more than 60 venture capital funds with a total fund size surpassing RMB 100 billion. As one of China’s longest-established and most capable state-owned venture capital firms, it stands as Shanghai’s state-owned VC platform with the strongest global investment capability and brand influence.
Longmen Capital is a specialized venture capital firm in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on research and early-stage investment in innovative pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. All team members have backgrounds in medicine or biology and possess many years of industry experience. Since its establishment in 2017, Longmen Capital has invested in more than 30 innovative pharmaceutical companies, with assets under management exceeding RMB 2 billion.
WinX Capital is a leading investment bank in China’s healthcare sector. Its founding team includes five PhDs in Global Finance from the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University, while its frontline professionals boast an average of over 10 years of experience in management, investment, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with cumulative transaction values exceeding RMB 30 billion. Headquartered in Beijing and Shanghai, WinX Capital serves more than 3,000 active institutional investors and industrial conglomerates. In 2020 and 2021, it was consecutively ranked among the “Top 5 Most Promising Emerging Investment Banks in China” by 36Kr under its WISE series, and named one of the “Top 4 Best Financial Advisory Firms in Healthcare” for 2020 by Qiming Technology & Xinsheng Chuangfu.