Virogin Biotech Secures $80 Million Series D1 Financing Led by China Structural Reform Fund
Vancouver, Canada / Shanghai, China, May 7, 2021 – Virogin Biotech Limited (Virogin Biotech, hereinafter referred to as “Virogin”) announced that it has secured USD 80 million in Series D1 financing.
This funding round was led by Guotiao Fund, with participation from Guangyuan Capital, Jinpu Investment, Young Label, and Champion Ascend, while previous investor Panlin Capital continued to increase its investment. BMD Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round.。
The proceeds from this round of financing will be used to further advance existing clinical projects, continue R&D and preclinical studies for the subsequent product pipeline, and pursue potential strategic collaborations.
Virogin Biotech, established in 2015, is dedicated to the research and development of next-generation oncolytic viruses based on tumor immunotherapy. By combining synergistic immune modulators and exploring diverse routes of administration, the company aims to achieve potent and durable anti-tumor immunity.
Virogin Biotech’s first clinical trial candidate, VG161, successfully completed its Phase Ia clinical trial in Australia in February 2021 and is scheduled to complete its Phase Ib clinical trial within 2021, while the Phase I clinical trial of VG161 in China is also underway.
In addition to VG161, the company’s subsequent product pipeline includes the VG200 series, which offers higher efficacy and safety based on its core viral backbone platform; the VG300 series, which expresses novel combinations of immune modulatory factors; and innovative product candidates exploring alternative routes of administration. The VG200 series has reached the stage of clinical trial application, with the first TTDR core product, VG201, scheduled to submit investigational new drug (IND) applications in both China and the United States within 2021.
The company will steadily implement its global clinical development strategy in the future.
Huang Hongwei, Co-founder and CEO of Virogin Biotech: Over the past six months, we have successfully completed two rounds of financing, raising a total of more than $140 million. This fully demonstrates the trust and consistent support of professional healthcare investment institutions in Virogin Biotech, which would not have been possible without the unity and dedication of our entire team. For this, I express my deepest gratitude. As an enterprise with lofty aspirations, our goal of “developing the best oncolytic virus therapeutics” remains a significant and long-term endeavor. Therefore, we will continue to strive forward with determination, living up to the contributions of our employees, the trust of our investors, and the expectations of cancer patients worldwide. In the coming years, with the completion of our global R&D center in Nanxiang, Shanghai, the implementation of the SAP system, and the continuous improvement and expansion of our global clinical, manufacturing, commercial, and management teams, the company will steadily advance its global development strategy, further solidifying its position as an industry leader. The research and development of innovative drugs is fraught with thorns and challenges. Virogin Biotech remains committed to continuous innovation and the pursuit of excellence, aiming to deliver the best oncolytic virus-based immuno-oncology therapies to cancer patients around the world.
Jia Weiguo, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Virogin BiotechTechnological innovation is the DNA of Virogin Biotech and the primary driving force behind the company’s development; only through continuous innovation and breakthroughs can we maintain an invincible position. While continuously expanding its product pipeline, Virogin’s R&D team closely monitors the frontiers of tumor immunotherapy, delving deeply into the development of new technologies and basic research. In the coming years, the company will continuously launch oncolytic virus drugs based on novel concepts and technologies. Among these, VG201, which is undergoing simultaneous regulatory filings in China and the United States this year, represents a revolutionary next-generation oncolytic virus product. It not only demonstrates significantly enhanced oncolytic activity and safety but also stands as the world’s first precision therapy oncolytic virus based on biological targets with the potential for basket trials. Additionally, VG301, currently under development, is the world’s first HSV-1-based oncolytic virus carrying a bispecific antibody. Furthermore, the more innovative R&D projects in the company’s subsequent pipeline are highly anticipated. This round of financing provides a solid financial foundation for Virogin Biotech’s substantial future growth. For this, we extend our sincere gratitude to our investors for their trust and support.
Wei Ran, Manager of the National Adjustment Fund and General Manager of Chengtong FundInvesting in Virogin Biotech represents another strategic move by the National Adjustment Fund in the field of tumor immunotherapy. We are optimistic about the significant potential of oncolytic viruses, whether used as monotherapy or in combination regimens, as well as the broad applications enabled by breakthroughs in delivery methods. Leveraging its R&D capabilities and keen insights into clinical needs, Virogin Biotech has rapidly emerged as one of the industry leaders. With the support of capital and additional industry resources, we believe Virogin Biotech will achieve rapid growth and bring benefits to patients at an early stage.
Liu Cheng, Managing Partner at Guangyuan Capital: Genetically engineered viruses are an increasingly relied-upon therapeutic modality in clinical practice and hold significant potential as drug delivery vectors. As a globally innovative biopharmaceutical company, Virogin Biotech has achieved multiple worldwide innovations in the mechanisms combining oncolytic viruses with cancer immunotherapy, and has established experienced teams in both clinical development and manufacturing. We are confident in Virogin Biotech’s sustained innovation capabilities in this field, support its technical collaboration with our partners in the areas of tumor neoantigens and mRNA vaccines, and look forward to Virogin Biotech delivering breakthrough products for the treatment of advanced solid tumors to meet substantial unmet clinical needs.
Li Yuhui, Founding Managing Partner and Chairman of Panlin CapitalDriven by innovation, through technological iteration and product development, Virogin Biotech—a quintessential company focused on the development of oncolytic virus therapeutics—addresses rigid demands by targeting appropriate clinical scenarios and reforming existing therapeutic approaches. It provides unique, novel, and highly promising solutions in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Adhering to its consistent investment philosophy and methodology, Panlin Capital firmly supports outstanding entrepreneurial teams and enterprises, making continued follow-on investments. We look forward to Virogin Biotech’s platform technology and its portfolio of products bringing new hope to patients in the near future.
Yang Hao, Founder and Managing Partner of BMD Capital: It is a great honor to serve as the exclusive financial advisor for Virogin Biotech’s current financing round. Just six months after its Series C funding last year, Virogin Biotech has rapidly achieved an oversubscribed Series D1 round, demonstrating strong market recognition of the company’s team and the oncolytic virus sector. The VG200 series, built on the TTDR backbone, is poised to lead the advent of the Oncolytic Virus 3.0 era. As a long-term capital market partner of the company, we are deeply honored to support Virogin Biotech once again in this new financing round and look forward to continuing our contributions toward realizing its vision of “creating the world’s best oncolytic viruses.”
About Virogin Biotech
Virogin Biotech is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of original drugs, founded by an overseas Chinese team in 2015. In 2018, it established a clinical translation center at the Nanxiang Precision Medicine Industrial Park in Shanghai.
As a global leader in the field of oncolytic virus R&D, Virogin Biotech’s core R&D team boasts over 20 years of experience in oncolytic virus development and clinical expertise from the first approved oncolytic virus therapy. Meanwhile, the company’s commercial leadership team possesses extensive experience and a strong background in technology R&D strategy, clinical development advancement, and commercial operations.
Virogin Biotech’s oncolytic virus products leverage its proprietary Transcription-Translation Dual Regulation (TTDR) viral backbone and its innovative Synerlytic™ technology platform. By expressing multiple synergistic immunomodulatory factors, these products significantly enhance oncolytic activity and substantially improve the tumor microenvironment, thereby effectively activating anti-tumor immunity.
About the National Adjustment Fund
The National Adjustment Fund is a "national-level" equity investment fund established and managed under the leadership of China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd., a state-owned capital operating company of central enterprises, as the primary sponsor. It was approved by the State Council and operates under the entrustment of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.
With a total fund size of RMB 350 billion and an initial raise of RMB 131 billion, the fund is tasked with major missions such as optimizing the layout and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy, enhancing industrial concentration, and improving the operational efficiency of state-owned capital. It focuses on supporting projects related to the optimization of industrial layout, transformation and upgrading, specialized integration, and international operations for central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and key state-owned backbone enterprises. As a market-oriented professional investment platform, it serves the national supply-side structural reform, supports innovative enterprises, and promotes the transformation, upgrading, and structural adjustment of central SOEs and key state-owned backbone enterprises.
About Guangyuan Capital
Guangyuan Capital originated from the US dollar fund team established by China Everbright Holdings in 2001, and has operated independently under the Guangyuan brand since 2014.
As one of China’s earliest and most seasoned private equity investment teams, we have raised and managed multiple USD-denominated funds, accumulating extensive industry resources as well as specialized expertise in finance and industrial sectors. We are committed to leveraging our capital and experience to drive the long-term growth of outstanding Chinese enterprises.
About Panlin Capital
Panlin Capital is a technology-driven early-to-mid-stage venture capital firm that, under the theme of “technology innovation leading consumption upgrades,” focuses on biotechnology and data intelligence applications.
In the biomedical sector, Panlin, leveraging biotechnology, focuses on investing in innovative biologics for major diseases and domestic substitution of high-end medical devices. Its early-stage portfolio includes biopharmaceutical companies such as Kangtai Biological Products (300601), Ribo Life Science, Shengnuoji, Apollomics, GenFleet Therapeutics, Qinhe Li, Cothera, ABM, Virogin Biotech, and Jianxin Bio, as well as medical device and service providers including Hybribio (300639), Jinshi Bio, Antai Kangcheng, Touche Imaging, Langrui Medical, Omega Consulting Group, Beijing Children’s Hospital Kyoto Campus, Hybribio Medical Laboratory, and Yueer Gene.
Currently, Panlin has become a tech venture capital firm with both professionalism and influence in the two major fields of biotechnology and data intelligence applications.
About BMD Capital
BMD Capital was founded in 2018 and specializes in investment and financing within China’s biopharmaceutical sector. It is led and composed of senior experts from the healthcare industry and professional investment bankers.
The team possesses deep insights and judgment into the healthcare industry, capital markets, and business models. It directly addresses the complexities and structural challenges inherent in transactions, providing clients with specialized capital solutions for financing, mergers and acquisitions, and technology transfer.