StemiRNA Secures Nearly $200 Million in New Funding to Strengthen Its Leadership in mRNA Therapeutics in China

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on June 3, 2021, Stemirna (Shanghai) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the successful closing of a new financing round totaling nearly USD 200 million. The round was co-led by China Merchants Health, Sequoia Capital China, Jinglin Investment, and WuXi AppTec, with participation from existing and new investors including OrbiMed, Shangcheng Investment, Guoxin Guotong, CMB International, Kali Yifang Capital, Guangyuan Capital, Qingsong Capital, and CITIC Securities Investment, among other professional healthcare investment institutions. The proceeds will be primarily used to accelerate clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, construct GMP-compliant production facilities, and expand its R&D pipeline. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor, while Multi-Dimension HaiTuo and Yafa Capital acted as joint financial advisors in this transaction.

Stemirna Therapeutics is a leading domestic mRNA new drug R&D enterprise, possessing independently owned intellectual property rights for its full-chain mRNA technology platform and the LPP (Lipid-Polymer Particle) formulation structure patent. The company has independently developed an antigen analysis, prediction, and sequence optimization platform based on cloud computing technologies. It also maintains a comprehensive mRNA vaccine analysis and quality control technology platform, along with the key technologies and equipment required for large-scale production of hundreds of millions of doses of mRNA vaccines annually.

Stemirna Therapeutics boasts a team with top-tier R&D capabilities and a global vision. Its founder, Dr. Li Hangwen, holds a Ph.D. in Tumor Biology from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and has nearly 20 years of experience in the research and development of biotherapy and immunotherapy. He previously conducted scientific research and technological development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with research interests including tumor immunotherapy, innovative RNA vaccines, and cancer stem cell therapy. The core team comprises elite professionals in vaccines and oncology from globally leading organizations such as GSK, Merck & Co., WuXi AppTec, and China National Biotec Group. Currently, Stemirna Therapeutics has an R&D and industrial team of over 200 members, more than 40% of whom hold doctoral or master’s degrees or have overseas study and work experience.

Dr. Li Hangwen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Stemirna Therapeutics, stated, “We thank the investment institutions for choosing Stemirna Therapeutics, a leading mRNA vaccine enterprise in China. We boast a comprehensive mRNA vaccine team, a robust patent portfolio, a rich pipeline of mRNA candidates, advanced manufacturing processes, and scalable mass-production technologies. Our next-generation COVID-19 mRNA vaccine effectively prevents multiple variant strains, including those first identified in South Africa, Brazil, and India. It will soon enter Phase II clinical trials, with overseas Phase III trials also planned.”

China Merchants Health, the lead investor in this round, stated that Stemirna Therapeutics is one of the few platform companies in China possessing independent intellectual property rights in the mRNA field. China Merchants Health has completed two consecutive rounds of investment in Stemirna Therapeutics, growing alongside the company’s team. Adhering to the core values of “Sharing the Destiny with the Motherland and Developing with the Times,” China Merchants Group pursues the strategic mission of “Technology-Led, Value-Driven Health” in its development of the health industry. China Merchants Health looks forward to working with Stemirna Therapeutics to contribute technological drops that converge into an industry river, flowing toward a vast ocean of health.

Sequoia Capital China, the lead investor in this round, stated that Sequoia China has long focused on cutting-edge developments in the research and development of nucleic acid therapeutics as an innovative treatment modality. Leveraging its mRNA technology and corresponding delivery systems, Stemirna Therapeutics has emerged as a domestic leader in the fields of vaccines and nucleic acid drugs. The firm expressed its hope that the company, together with other enterprises pursuing different technical routes for COVID-19 vaccines backed by Sequoia Capital, will jointly contribute to human health.

The lead investor in this round, Greenwoods Asset Management, stated that as a practitioner of long-term investment philosophy in China, it has been actively seeking investment targets with "core technological barriers + vast incremental markets." The co-founder of Stemirna Therapeutics is the inventor of the LPP delivery system, with clear and traceable patent origins, making it one of the few mRNA technology platform companies in China with international market competitiveness. Greenwoods Asset Management not only values Stemirna's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product but also has high expectations for its other vaccine, oncology, and rare disease therapy pipelines based on mRNA technology, as well as its industrialization solutions.