Pharmex Bio Announces Over RMB 100 Million Series B+ Financing Led by HTS Capital to Accelerate Development of Complex Specialty Formulation Pipeline and Manufacturing Capabilities

Shenzhen Pharmacin Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Pharmacin”) has recently completed a Series B+ financing round exceeding RMB 100 million. The round was led by Huatai Zijin (Jiangsu) Equity Investment Fund, with participation from Dayou Capital, Qingdao Yaoyuan, Shenzhen HTI, and other institutional investors. Xu Jun, Founder and CEO of Pharmacin, revealed that the funds raised will be primarily used to sustain investment in product pipeline R&D, accelerate the U.S. market launch of clinical-stage products, and advance production platform construction. Additionally, Pharmacin will begin establishing production lines for complex, specialized formulations to expand its R&D and manufacturing capabilities, thereby completing the final link in its core industrial chain encompassing “R&D–pilot scale-up–production.”

Pharmacin, established in 2016, specializes in the R&D and industrialization of Best-in-Class innovative drugs and advanced modified-release formulations. Its pipeline covers multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, allergy, and analgesia. By focusing on modified new drugs as its entry point, and driven by internationally competitive “in-house R&D capabilities + U.S.-localized business development (BD) capabilities,” along with a comprehensive R&D organizational management system compliant with both Chinese and U.S. regulations, Pharmacin has become a leading innovative technology platform in the development of poorly soluble drugs domestically and internationally, and indeed across the entire modified new drug industry.

Since its establishment, Pharmacin has been dedicated to building an internationalized platform for foundational technologies in complex, specialized drug formulations. It established the first Department of Physical Pharmacy in China, focusing on addressing critical bottlenecks in the global development of innovative drug formulations. To date, the company has fully built technical platforms for oral poorly soluble drugs, sublingual rapid-release drugs, and topical local administration. Technologies for oral peptides, small nucleic acid drugs, and colon-targeted drug delivery have also entered the stage of project suitability screening. Dozens of PCT patents have been filed or granted around its formulation platform technologies and product pipeline. The construction of this foundational technology platform has accelerated the R&D of the company’s product pipeline. In particular, the maturation of its next-generation amorphous technology—NGASD—has successfully enabled the industrial-scale manufacturing of the HLK-1001 project. Meanwhile, multiple pipeline projects have been incubated: two drugs are currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States, one drug has submitted a clinical trial application in China, and several other drugs are scheduled to submit clinical trial applications this year. The company’s HLK-1001 is expected to receive marketing approval in the United States in 2023; additionally, Phase I clinical data for HLK-0006, jointly developed with U.S.-based Insignis Therapeutics, have shown favorable results.

From a team perspective, the company has successfully established a presence in both China and the United States. It has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the U.S., along with localized R&D and business development (BD) teams. The Scientific Advisory Committee is chaired by Dr. Peter Farina, former Senior Vice President of R&D at Boehringer Ingelheim and currently an executive at the U.S. venture capital firm Canaan Partners. Committee members include internationally renowned pharmaceutical experts such as Dr. Giora Davidai, former executive in clinical research at Boehringer Ingelheim, and Dr. Cheng Yijun, a specialist in medical oncology and hematology in Buffalo, USA. The company’s co-founder, Dr. Wang Zeren, holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Utah, where he studied under Professor Higuchi, the pioneer of pharmaceutics. Dr. Wang previously served as Vice President of the Formulation Department at Boehringer Ingelheim, leading the development and market launch of several blockbuster products, including empagliflozin. With nearly 20 years of senior management experience in multinational pharmaceutical companies, this international team ensures that the company can effectively engage with high-quality global projects and maintain technological standards aligned with international best practices.

From the perspective of international clinical medicine and pharmaceutical regulatory authorities, oral dosage forms remain the most widely used, with high clinical acceptance and lower medication risks. However, conventional oral formulations are largely unable to address the druggability challenges of poorly soluble drugs, particularly issues related to in vivo absorption. Internationally, over 70–90% of new chemical entities (NCEs) are classified as poorly soluble drugs, yet only approximately 20% of formulated products employ advanced formulation technologies for poorly soluble drugs.

From a market entry strategy perspective, large pharmaceutical companies prioritize the development of new molecular entities and their rapid commercialization. The formulation development of poorly soluble drugs is generally neither a primary focus nor a core competency for them. Leveraging its proprietary foundational technologies, Pharmacin has carved out a distinctive path by applying novel solid dispersion theories to address the critical bottlenecks in the development of poorly soluble drugs.

Dr. Zeren Wang, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Ze-Ren Wang, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific OfficerStatement: According to foreign research reports, 90% of newly developed small-molecule drugs are poorly soluble, particularly those with novel molecular structures such as PROTACs and peptide-based therapeutics. This poor solubility leads to numerous clinical deficiencies in new drugs, resulting in their market approval despite unresolved issues (“approval with liabilities”). Currently, our core product pipeline precisely targets drug candidates whose clinical efficacy or patient experience is significantly impacted by solubility and delivery challenges. The core advantage of our proprietary and universal platform for developing poorly soluble drugs lies in its ability to develop compounds based on diverse mechanisms of poor solubility, offering a broad selection scope and enabling effective development of compounds that are intractable to traditional technologies. Therefore, we are effectively a platform capable of “continuous value creation,” with ongoing extended applications and new pipeline expansions. Our equity investment in Insignis Therapeutics and the establishment of an in-depth collaborative development arrangement for the HLK-0006 project further enhance the likelihood of acquiring valuable product pipelines or pursuing acquisitions at lower costs or with greater priority, leveraging our technological advantages. Following the closing of our Series B+ financing, our R&D and manufacturing layout will be further optimized, allowing better utilization of our specialized know-how and granting us greater autonomy and control over the commercial launch of our clinical products.

Co-founder and General Manager Xu JunHe stated, “Throughout this financing round, we have increasingly felt the growing attention from domestic policies and capital markets toward improved new drugs. The favorable domestic and international environment is conducive to Pharmacin’s rapid development. We extend our gratitude to all shareholders and the investors participating in this round for their trust in the Pharmacin team, as well as for their recognition of our development strategy, innovative technology platform, and products. We also thank everyone for their strong support in various aspects of Pharmacin’s growth. The completion of this financing will accelerate the introduction of our product pipeline to the international market. We anticipate that 2–3 of our products will receive New Drug Applications (NDA) approvals for marketing in both China and the United States between 2023 and 2024.”

Cao Qun, Chairman of Huatai Zijin (Jiangsu) Equity Investment FundIt is widely recognized internationally that the development of oral formulations for poorly soluble drugs presents significant technical challenges. These challenges have led to prominent issues in drug developability and commercial viability. The FDA has attached great importance to the variability in efficacy, safety risks, and food effects associated with oral formulations of poorly soluble drugs, issuing specific guidelines on these matters in 2019. These guidelines address key issues such as in vivo absorption, high product dosage, and variability in in vivo absorption. Pharmacin boasts an outstanding founding team and extensive experience in the development of poorly soluble drugs. It is one of the few companies in China that possesses an industrializable platform for the development of formulations for poorly soluble drugs. We are confident that Pharmacin will deliver exceptional performance in this field. Meanwhile, we are jointly integrating domestic and international resources to build a blockbuster-level technology and production platform, thereby assisting Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies in expanding into the global market.

Huatai Zijin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huatai Securities (601688.SH) engaged in private equity investment. Leveraging the full business chain advantages of Huatai Securities and adhering to the investment philosophy of “growing with entrepreneurs,” it provides comprehensive capital services to partners by drawing on its extensive financial and industrial resources.

With a registered capital of RMB 6 billion and assets under management exceeding RMB 50 billion, the company manages a diverse portfolio of funds, including private equity (PE), mergers and acquisitions (M&A), fund of funds (FOF), and industry-specific funds. Huatai Zijin adheres to its strategic positioning by leveraging robust industry research to deeply cultivate strategic emerging sectors such as healthcare and TMT, thereby accumulating extensive industry experience and resources.

The healthcare investment portfolio includes: Mindray Medical (300760), WuXi AppTec (603259.SH/2359.HK), RemeGen (09995.HK), Getein Biotech (603387), BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology (688166), Adicon Holdings (688488), Shuoshi Biotech (688399), Shuyu Pingmin Pharmacy Chain (301017), Geneseeq, Pumen Technology, Yestar, and Happy Dentistry. Leveraging the capital operation advantages of its securities firm ecosystem, the company has facilitated the successful listing of multiple enterprises on the A-share and H-share markets. By providing comprehensive support to industry leaders, it has established leading capabilities in industrial investment and mergers and acquisitions.