Velavigo Secures $50 Million in Series Angel Funding to Accelerate Innovative Drug Discovery Platform and Pipeline Development

VCBeat has learned that on November 15, 2021, Velavigo announced the successful completion of a $50 million angel financing round. The round was led by HighLight Capital, with participation from Sany Innovation Investment, Panacea Venture, Vertex Ventures, and M-Fund. The funds raised will be used to establish Velavigo’s Shanghai R&D center, build platforms for innovative drug discovery and development, and advance its product pipeline.

VelaVigo, a Shanghai-based global new drug R&D enterprise, was founded in Shanghai in October 2021 by Dr. Li Jing, former Senior Vice President of WuXi Biologics. With the Chinese government’s increasing support for biomedical innovation, regulatory authorities’ continuous elevation of innovation standards, and growing recognition of innovative value among capital markets and industry stakeholders, China’s biomedical sector has gradually entered a new phase where drug discovery serves as the core value driver. VelaVigo is committed to building a comprehensive system covering the entire innovative drug value chain, grounded in disease biology and powered by drug discovery. This includes establishing full capabilities across novel drug discovery technology platforms, CMC development, translational science, clinical development, and commercialization.

 

Dr. Li Jing, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of OrangeSail Biopharma, stated: “We sincerely appreciate the recognition and support from investors in this round for OrangeSail’s innovation-driven drug discovery strategy, which has provided us with abundant resources to execute our innovative initiatives. We are honored to leverage our team’s expertise during this period of vigorous development in China’s biopharmaceutical industry, contributing to the global expansion of Chinese innovations.OrangeSail focuses on pioneering new targets, novel technologies, innovative drug modalities, and clinical strategies at a global leading edge. We are committed to building a robust internal innovation engine and a systematic R&D pipeline, establishing a ‘closed loop’ between drug discovery and clinical development through strong translational medicine capabilities to enhance pipeline success rates. By combining internal R&D capabilities with the introduction of external technologies, we will continuously invest resources to strengthen our capabilities across the entire value chain. We aim to advance and enrich our product pipeline with the highest quality and efficiency, while collaborating flexibly with various industry stakeholders—including CROs, CDMOs, domestic and international biotech and pharmaceutical companies, technology platform providers, and research institutes—to co-create and share value. Our goal is to maximize value for investors, partners, and society, and to provide affordable, differentiated, high-quality novel biologics to patients worldwide.As thousands of sails compete in the vast ocean of pharmaceutical innovation, OrangeSail Biopharma is poised to ride the wind and waves, setting sail for a promising future.”

 

Dr. Li Jing, the founder, has previously worked at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now Pfizer), the Oncology Research Department and Biologics Discovery Center of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and the Biologics Drug Discovery Department of WuXi Biologics. He possesses over 20 years of industry experience in innovative biologic drug R&D within international pharmaceutical companies, with expertise in project development, pipeline portfolio management, licensing transactions, and strategic collaborations. The Biologics Drug Discovery Department at WuXi Biologics, established by Dr. Li in 2013, built China’s largest drug discovery team in the biologics sector, comprising more than 300 professionals. It developed a pipeline of over 300 projects and successfully completed the transfer of more than 40 projects, providing robust support for the biologic drug pipelines of numerous domestic and international companies.

 

About Orange Sail Pharma

VelaVigo Therapeutics was founded in October 2021 by Dr. Li Jing, a renowned R&D leader in the pharmaceutical industry. With innovative R&D capabilities as its value engine, the company focuses on new technologies related to large molecules, including bispecific/multispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and novel molecular entities, adhering to a sustained and comprehensive approach to developing effective innovative drugs that meet patient needs. Headquartered in Shanghai with its R&D center based in China, VelaVigo plans to establish global R&D branches and clinical centers in the future, adopting a flexible and mutually beneficial business model for both internally developed and externally commercialized product pipelines. The name “VelaVigo” embodies the entrepreneurial philosophy of “working with passion and living with joy,” as well as a firm commitment to navigating the seas of innovation. The company is dedicated to contributing its utmost efforts to benefit patients in China and around the world.