InnoLake Pharma Secures RMB 300 Million Pre-A Financing to Advance First-in-Class and Best-in-Class Drug Pipeline

VCBeat has learned that InnoLake Pharma (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (“InnoLake Pharma”) recently completed a RMB 300 million Pre-A financing round, with joint investment from WuXi Biologics Industrial Fund, Hangzhou Hua’an Jingyin Investment, CDH Investments, and Huagai Capital. The proceeds will be primarily used to accelerate the development of its pipeline of first-in-class or best-in-class novel drug candidates.

InnoLife Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the development and commercialization of therapeutic drugs for oncology and immune system diseases, aiming to meet the urgent medical needs of patients in China and around the world. The company has assembled a management team of domestic and international experts with extensive experience in new drug R&D and clinical research, and has established a product pipeline with significant differentiated competitive advantages. Leveraging internal and external platforms and superior resources, InnoLife continuously strengthens its pipeline construction and accelerates product development and market launch through diversified models, including independent R&D and global collaborations. The company’s vision is to become a leading biopharmaceutical enterprise in China with international influence, developing and commercializing medicines with global competitiveness that address major unmet medical needs in China and extend their reach to international markets through strategic partnerships.

For this round of financing,Dr. Xia Mingde, Chairman and CEO of InnoLake PharmaHe stated, “We are deeply grateful for the recognition and support from our investors. It was truly moving that some of our investor partners engaged in investment discussions with us even during the Spring Festival and on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I am confident that this round of financing will accelerate the development of our pipeline of first-in-class or best-in-class novel drugs globally, while providing strong support for the building of our high-caliber talent team. Guided by our patient-centric philosophy and a commitment to win-win cooperation, we remain dedicated to continuously developing urgently needed new medicines to address unmet needs in both domestic and international markets.”

As one of the investors in this round,Dr. Chen Zhisheng, CEO of WuXi Biologics“It was stated: ‘InnoLake Pharma was founded by a senior management team with extensive experience in biopharmaceutical development. As a startup dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies worldwide, we are delighted to empower InnoLake Pharma, contribute to accelerating the R&D of innovative biologics, and support the InnoLake team in building a product pipeline with core competitiveness. This collaboration aims to achieve win-win outcomes in the biopharmaceutical industry and benefit patients globally.’”

Mr. Zhang Ming, Executive Partner of Hua'an Jingyin“Hua’an Jingyin is honored to participate in InnoLake’s Series A financing. Led by Dr. Xia Mingde, the company’s team possesses a global perspective, profound insights into unmet clinical needs, keen business acumen, and strong execution capabilities. Hua’an Jingyin will leverage its ecosystem advantages in the life sciences sector to provide comprehensive support for InnoLake’s development.”

Dr. Liu Dan, Partner at CDH VGC (Venture & Growth Capital)stated: “Dr. Xia Mingde and the management team combine a global perspective from multinational pharmaceutical companies with practical experience in local innovation translation, making them a highly competitive team in the industry. Leveraging profound insights into both Chinese and international therapeutic markets and a precise understanding of clinical development, their products offer high value, rapid progress, and relatively limited competition. We expect this first round of financing to accelerate InnoLake’s growth and further solidify its competitiveness on a global scale.”

Luo Ying, Partner at Huagai Medical Fundstated: “InnoLake Pharma’s core team possesses outstanding professional expertise and an innovative spirit in new drug R&D, while the company’s product pipeline for both development and commercialization is globally competitive. In the future, it will serve the Chinese market and expand into international markets through external collaborations. We are honored to partner with the team led by Dr. Xia to jointly build InnoLake Pharma into a leading biopharmaceutical enterprise in China with global influence.”

InnoLake Pharmaceuticals (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established in December 2020, co-founded by Dr. Xia Mingde, former Senior Director of Global External Innovation at Johnson & Johnson, and Mr. Chen Rulei, a founding team member and former Executive Vice President of Genor Biopharma. The company’s senior and middle management teams comprise seasoned experts from multinational pharmaceutical corporations and leading domestic pharmaceutical enterprises, bringing broad strategic vision and extensive industry experience. InnoLake has received robust financial and strategic resource support from mainstream investment institutions. Its headquarters is located in the Qiantang New Area of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, with a branch and business operations office in Shanghai. Prior to founding InnoLake, Dr. Xia Mingde spent 21 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he accumulated extensive experience in new drug R&D, exceptional capabilities in investment incubation and business operations, and successfully led more than 50 external collaboration projects for J&J. Previously, he worked at China Pharmaceutical University and Yale University. He serves as a Board Director of the Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SAPA), having formerly served as its President.

WuXi Biologics (Stock Code: 2269.HK), a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is a globally leading open, integrated biologics technology and manufacturing platform. The Company provides comprehensive end-to-end research and development services to global biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, empowering any individual or organization to discover, develop, and manufacture biologics. By facilitating the entire process from concept to commercial production, WuXi Biologics accelerates global biologics R&D, reduces development costs, and ultimately benefits patients. As of December 31, 2020, there were 334 integrated projects on the WuXi Biologics platform, including 169 in preclinical studies, 135 in early-stage clinical trials (Phase I and II), 28 in late-stage clinical trials (Phase III), and 2 in commercial manufacturing. It is projected that after 2024, the combined production capacity of the Company’s planned biologics manufacturing facilities in China, Ireland, the United States, Germany, and Singapore will reach 430,000 liters. This substantial capacity will robustly ensure the Company’s ability to deliver biologics meeting global quality standards to customers through its sound and powerful global supply chain network.

Hua'an Jingyin, established in February 2016, is a specialized fund focused on investments in the life sciences sector, covering: basic life sciences research services, early detection, diagnostics, clinical research services, biopharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine, novel drug delivery materials, and commercial health insurance services.

CDH Investments, established in 2002, is one of the most influential alternative asset management firms in China. As of 2020, its assets under management exceeded RMB 160 billion. CDH Investments operates six core business segments: private equity, innovation and growth, securities investment, real estate investment, mezzanine investment, and wealth management. CDH VGC (Venture & Growth Capital) focuses on investments in healthcare, TMT, and innovative growth opportunities with Chinese characteristics. Managed by a seasoned and distinctive professional investment team, CDH Venture & Growth Capital is committed to driving innovation and development in high-potential growth-stage enterprises. Leveraging CDH Investments’ outstanding performance in healthcare and growth-sector investments, as well as its focused strategy in the TMT sector, CDH Venture & Growth Capital has developed unique investment strategies and platform advantages. By drawing on the team’s extensive investment experience, professional judgment, and operational management expertise, the fund comprehensively enhances the value of its portfolio companies.

Huagai Capital, established in 2012, is a private equity investment firm co-founded by professionals from renowned domestic and international investment institutions. With the vision of “becoming the most trusted capital partner for entrepreneurs and investors,” the company focuses on private equity investments in three key sectors: healthcare, TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom), and digital innovation, committed to fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises into industry leaders. Currently, the firm manages assets totaling approximately RMB 20 billion.