Zhenzhi Medicine Secures Over RMB 100 Million in Pre-A Financing to Accelerate Oncology Cell Therapy Pipeline Development
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) recently learned that Beijing Zhenzhi Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhenzhi Medical”) announced the completion of its Pre-A financing round, exceeding RMB 100 million.This round of financing was led by Hetang Venture Capital, with participation from Yahui Investment, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, Ziniu Fund, and existing shareholders. Probe Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.
The proceeds from this financing round will be used to support Zhenzhi Medical’s independently developed “IPM001 Immune Cell Injection” and “IPM103 Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine” in Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (IITs), as well as the construction of its Advanced Therapy Technology Innovation Center (ATTIC) in Beijing. Furthermore, the funding will advance the R&D portfolio encompassing various cell-based therapies and therapeutic vaccines, including TCR-T, DC, TIL, and CTL modalities, covering a broad range of innovative cellular drugs and therapeutic vaccine products for solid tumor immunotherapy.
Zhenzhi Medical, established in 2018, is an international innovative biopharmaceutical company jointly founded by Loyal Valley Capital, Wuxi Zhenhe Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd., and Zhengji Capital. The company’s core founding team possesses over 15 years of experience in the development and clinical research of oncology therapeutic vaccines and cell-based immunotherapies, having advanced multiple oncology therapeutic vaccines and cell immunotherapy products through development, research, and Investigational New Drug (IND) clinical trials. Additionally, the team has previously led the development and commercialization of several immuno-oncology diagnostic products.
Zhenzhi Medical currently possesses leading industrial capabilities in cell immunotherapy target discovery, validation, drug development, CMC, process design, pharmaceutical production management, quality compliance, clinical research, and commercialization. Since its inception, the company has participated in and undertaken research tasks under the National Major Science and Technology Special Project during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, which led to the development of its first cellular drug pipeline—IPM001. Currently, IPM001 has undergone two years of continuous investigator-initiated trial (IIT) clinical studies, demonstrating favorable safety and efficacy profiles. This round of financing will accelerate Zhenzhi Medical’s efforts to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for IPM001. Meanwhile, Zhenzhi Medical also plans to conduct multiple IIT clinical studies on tumor therapeutic vaccines and immune cell drugs, including IPM103, within 2021.
This round of financing will also be used for the construction of the company’s ATTIC. Upon completion, Zhenzhi Medical will possess 4,400 square meters of R&D and manufacturing facilities compliant with both EU and Chinese GMP standards for pipelines including immune cell therapy drugs and therapeutic cancer vaccines. These facilities will support the early-stage development and production of investigational products for Phase I IND clinical trials for various types of cell-based therapies and therapeutic vaccines, such as TCR-T, DC, TIL, and CTL. Meanwhile, the construction of the company’s ATTIC has received strong support from the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission. On August 4, 2021, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission officially issued its approval (Jing Fa Gai [2021] No. 1126), authorizing Zhenzhi Medical to establish the “Beijing Engineering Research Center for Immune Cell Therapy”, and selected ATTIC as the site.
Regarding this round of financing, the company’s core founding team extends its sincere gratitude to all investors and existing shareholders for their recognition and strong support of Zhenzhi Medical. The company will continue to expand its core competitive advantages in the field of tumor immunotherapy. Meanwhile, it will sustain innovation and investment in immune cell and therapeutic vaccine technologies, building an internationally competitive pipeline of innovative drugs and advancing their clinical translation and commercialization.
Zhenzhi Medical operates two core pillar platforms: an AI platform based on machine learning, and a platform for the design, development, and manufacturing of immunotherapies targeting patient-specific tumor neoantigens (TSNAs). The AI platform efficiently and accurately predicts TSNAs and identifies tumor-associated antigen expression from routine tumor tissue and ctDNA sequencing results. The immunotherapy development platform leverages patients’ TSNAs to design, develop, and manufacture highly effective immunotherapies, thereby directing the patient’s immune system to attack and eliminate tumors.
Supported by its two pillar platform technologies, Zhenzhi Medical is committed to an integrated business model encompassing research, diagnosis, and treatment. The company has established three major business segments, driven by core immune multi-omics technologies, and focuses on product development in the areas of tumor immune cell therapies and therapeutic vaccines, methods for monitoring immunotherapy efficacy (drug analytical testing methods), and companion diagnostics for immunotherapy. It is reported that the company currently has nearly 10 new drug development pipelines for solid tumors, covering a variety of solid tumor types. These pipelines include diverse therapeutic modalities such as tumor neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells, tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), dendritic cell (DC) vaccines, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for solid tumors, and therapeutic vaccines.
Meanwhile, Zhenzhi Medical has developed five companion diagnostic product pipelines based on its new drug development platform, with application scenarios including multi-factor diagnosis of cytokine release syndrome, immune scoring for prognosis prediction of solid tumor recurrence, and monitoring of tumor-specific T cells.
As the lead investor in this round of financing,Qiu Qing, Managing Director of the Hetang Life Sciences Original Innovation FundHighly Recognizing Zhenzhi Medical: Zhenzhi Medical is a technology-driven innovative enterprise. Its founding team has accumulated solid research foundations and process expertise in the field of tumor immunotherapy over many years. In response to urgent clinical needs, the company has developed a series of cell therapy and tumor vaccine products. We look forward to seeing Zhenzhi’s products achieve breakthroughs in the treatment of solid tumors at an early date, thereby benefiting more patients!
Dr. Yu Bo, Executive Director / Head of Healthcare Investments at Purple Cow FundIt also stated: “We are deeply honored to have the opportunity to participate in the early development of Zhenzhi Medical. This investment further strengthens our fund’s strategic layout in the cell therapy sector. Tumor immunotherapy has demonstrated significant clinical and commercial value. We firmly believe that cellular immunotherapy is a highly promising novel therapeutic approach for future oncology treatment, representing a major paradigm shift in cancer care.”
Given the current lack of long-term control and treatment modalities with clear clinical advantages for solid tumors, represented by hepatocellular carcinoma and other major malignancies, there is substantial clinical and market demand for innovative immunotherapies targeting solid tumors.
Zhenzhi Medical has comprehensively leveraged “IT+BT” tools to develop an integrated platform for immune cell therapy drugs and diagnostics, driven by immunomics technology. The company boasts a rich pipeline and high technical barriers. We are deeply impressed by the founding team’s clear strategic planning and efficient execution capabilities. The team is staffed with experienced professionals in key areas, including R&D, quality control, product registration and regulatory affairs, and commercial sales. We hope that, under the leadership of the founding team, the company will expedite the clinical application of its cell immunotherapy drugs for solid tumors, thereby truly benefiting a broad population of cancer patients. We also hope that, with the support of both existing and new shareholders, the company can rapidly grow into a leader in its sector.
Hedang Venture Capital Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Hedang VC”) was founded in 2001 as an investment platform for the commercialization of research achievements under the Beijing Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute. Hedang VC has long been committed to investing in technology-driven innovative enterprises, focusing on high-tech, high-growth companies with core competitiveness during their start-up and growth stages. Its investments span hard technology sectors such as information technology, high-end equipment, and biopharmaceuticals. The Hedang Life Sciences Original Innovation Fund is a specialized sub-fund of Hedang VC in the life and health sector. It primarily invests in early-stage R&D projects featuring original innovations in drugs and medical devices that are internationally leading and domestically first-class, as well as projects involving the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements in life sciences from universities such as Tsinghua University, hospitals, and research institutes.
Yahui Capital is a specialized investment fund focused on the frontiers of life sciences. Its core management team hails from the investment and research divisions of China’s top financial institutions, bringing extensive expertise in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. Guided by a profound understanding of scientific research and portfolio management, Yahui Capital has established a systematic investment strategy in cutting-edge life science fields and has nurtured leading enterprises across multiple niche segments.
Abogen Biosciences, established in early 2019, is a clinical-stage innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics. It possesses an industry-leading, independently developed mRNA and nanoparticle delivery technology platform. The company has built a robust product pipeline covering areas such as infectious disease prevention and control, and tumor immunotherapy. In June 2020, the novel coronavirus mRNA vaccine (ARCoV), jointly developed by the company, the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the Academy of Military Sciences, and Walvax Biotechnology, officially received clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), becoming the first mRNA vaccine approved for clinical trials in China. Currently, this vaccine has completed Phase I and Phase II clinical studies and has initiated Phase III clinical trials.
Purple Cow Fund is an early-stage equity investment fund jointly established in 2016 by Fu Sheng, Chairman of Cheetah Mobile, and Zhang Quanling, a former renowned CCTV host. It currently manages two RMB-denominated funds. The fund primarily invests in the healthcare, consumer, and education sectors. Its mission is to identify high-potential “Purple Cows” at emerging market inflection points, leveraging technology and business innovation to address critical societal pain points. It focuses on discovering outstanding early-stage startups, with investments ranging from angel to Series A rounds. Purple Cow Healthcare specializes in identifying innovative business models driven by essential clinical needs and technological breakthroughs, focusing on novel diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for three major disease areas: malignant tumors, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and infectious diseases.