Zhishan Weixin Completes Hundreds-of-Millions RMB Series A Financing to Accelerate Gene Therapy Pipeline, Advised by Hyfinity Capital

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that Sichuan Real&Best Biotech Co., Ltd. (“R&B Bio”), a gene therapy company, recently announced the completion of its Series A financing round, raising hundreds of millions of RMB. The round was led by Loyal Valley Capital, with participation from Morningside Group, Delian Capital, Junshi Biosciences, and Leimaris. Existing shareholder Sichuan Provincial Talent Fund continued to increase its investment. HAOYUE CAPITAL served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing round.

R&B Bio, established in 2018, is a leading Chinese gene therapy company dedicated to the R&D and disruptive manufacturing of rAAV-based gene medicines. The company boasts a professional team specializing in gene therapy. Its founder, Dong Biao, has over a decade of experience in rAAV viral vector research and has achieved breakthroughs in both gene therapy drug design and large-scale production.

The company’s therapeutic areas cover multiple disease fields, including hematologic disorders and rare diseases. It possesses highly potent genetic sequences across several indications, with the potential to develop best-in-class therapies. The company has a globally leading novel poxvirus-adenovirus rAAV production system that overcomes the bottlenecks of large-scale rAAV manufacturing at minimal cost. This revolutionary production platform is expected to significantly reduce the cost of gene therapies and greatly improve their accessibility.

Gene therapy has achieved proof of concept in rare diseases and is now expanding to indications for common diseases. The market size is expected to reach $13 billion in 2024. While multiple products have already been launched abroad, gene therapy in China is experiencing rapid growth!

Mr. Dong Biao, Chairman and General Manager of R&B Biostated that gene therapy has the potential to usher in the next wave of new drug development following the era of antibodies. R&B Bio possesses innovative platform technologies, mature manufacturing processes, and an industry-leading poxvirus-adenovirus production system, achieving full-chain coverage across the upstream and downstream segments of gene drug development. Furthermore, R&B Bio’s professional R&D team ensures the rapid advancement of its pipeline. We hope to bring our products to market at an early date, thereby benefiting a broad patient population and contributing to human health.

Mr. Xie Ronggang, Partner at Loyal Valley Capitalstated that gene therapy is a novel therapeutic modality with immense potential, poised to deliver long-lasting and sustained clinical benefits to patients across a broad spectrum of diseases. Characterized by high entry barriers and platform-specific requirements, this field demands robust capabilities. Under the exceptional leadership of its founder, Professor Dong Biao, R&B Bio has established outstanding innovative R&D capabilities and systematic operational development competencies. We remain firmly committed to supporting the long-term growth of R&B Bio and look forward to the future launch of more innovative drugs by the company to benefit patients.

Delian Capital and Mr. Xiao PengDelian Capital stated that innovative CGT therapeutic technologies with platform-level opportunities are a key investment focus. We are highly optimistic about the application prospects of AAV vector-based in vivo gene therapy technologies across multiple target organs and indications. The core team at R&B Bio possesses a profound understanding of underlying AAV vector technologies and has established international competitiveness in both its product pipeline and large-scale vector manufacturing capabilities. We eagerly anticipate R&B Bio’s timely translation of its products into clinical applications, thereby benefiting more patients both domestically and internationally.

Mr. Zhang Lei, Chairman of LeimeiresIt stated that R&B Bio’s core technical team has over a decade of research experience in the field of AAV-based hemophilia therapy and has achieved successful license-out deals with renowned international pharmaceutical companies. With product development progressing smoothly, the company is confident in its ability to advance its products. Furthermore, we recognize that reducing the production costs of AAV gene therapies will profoundly impact future market penetration and patient accessibility. R&B Bio’s next-generation AAV production platform, nearing completion, is expected to break through capacity bottlenecks, significantly lower production costs, and control rcAAV levels, thereby securing a competitive advantage in the future. Consequently, the company holds high expectations for R&B Bio’s future development.

Mr. Ding Yameng, Founding Partner of HAOYUE CAPITAL"We are honored to have assisted R&B Bio in completing this round of financing. Gene therapy is a key area of focus for HAOYUE CAPITAL’s New Drug Group, where we are committed to serving the highest-quality enterprises in the gene therapy industry. The gene therapy market is vast and on the verge of explosive growth. With its globally leading production systems and highly dynamic gene sequence development capabilities, R&B Bio is poised to become an industry leader. We believe that, with the support of capital, R&B Bio will accelerate its development and emerge as a leading enterprise in China’s gene therapy sector."

Loyal Valley Capital was established in 2015. Adhering to the investment philosophy of “long-termism, focus, and altruism,” it is committed to building China’s premier investment research and post-investment management teams. By conducting in-depth industry research and providing proactive post-investment value-added services, Loyal Valley Capital partners with outstanding entrepreneurs to co-create great enterprises that represent the future growth trajectory of China’s economy and generate social value. Since its inception, Loyal Valley Capital has invested in a portfolio of high-quality companies emblematic of China’s future economic development, including Bilibili, ByteDance, POP MART, Yixian E-Commerce, NetEase Cloud Music, Junshi Biosciences, InnoCare Pharma, Akeso, Henlius Biotech, Supcon Technology, Eight Billion Space-Time, and Avary Holding.

Morningside Group is a global investment firm founded in 1986, primarily engaged in private equity and venture capital, with investments spanning Asia, North America, and Europe. As one of the first institutional investors in China’s internet industry, Morningside Group has also emerged as a leader in China’s rapidly growing biotechnology investment sector. The Morningside team boasts extensive experience in venture capital operations and deep insights into high-tech markets, coupled with a thorough understanding of China’s unique investment landscape. Moreover, most team members possess hands-on experience in company operations and entrepreneurship.

Delian Capital, established in 2011, focuses on technology-driven projects in the fields of innovative healthcare, high-end manufacturing, and frontier technologies. In the realm of innovative healthcare, adhering to the core principles of “Science Based, Data Driven,” Delian Capital identifies high-quality niche sectors from a global perspective and seeks early- to mid-stage investment opportunities within these niches in both China and the United States. Its portfolio of healthcare companies includes Venus Medtech, Sanbo Brain Hospital, MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Amunix, OnKure, Gocheng Biopharma, Medtronic-related entities (Meilian Taike), ChenAn Biology, and XunYin Biology.

Junshi Biosciences (1877.HK, 688180.SH), established in December 2012, is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies. The company boasts a robust pipeline of investigational products, comprising 27 innovative drugs and 2 biosimilars, covering five major therapeutic areas: malignant tumors, autoimmune diseases, chronic metabolic disorders, neurological diseases, and infectious diseases. Leveraging its core protein engineering platform technology, Junshi Biosciences stands at the forefront of international large-molecule drug research and development. It has obtained NMPA marketing approval for the first domestically produced anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, NMPA clinical trial approval for a domestically produced anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody, and clinical trial approvals from both China’s NMPA and the U.S. FDA for the world’s first anti-BTLA blocking antibody for tumor treatment, with Phase I clinical studies underway in both countries. In 2020, Junshi Biosciences collaborated with domestic research institutions in the fight against the pandemic; JS016, jointly developed by the company, became the first domestically developed neutralizing monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2 to enter clinical trials, contributing to disease prevention and control in China and worldwide through local innovation. Currently, Junshi Biosciences employs over 2,000 people globally, with operations in San Francisco and Maryland in the United States, and Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, and Guangzhou in China.

Leimaris Capital, established in 2016, focuses on value investment in the semiconductor, biopharmaceutical, and consumer sectors. The firm is dedicated to identifying small and medium-sized enterprises with high growth potential and latent commercial value, as well as growth-stage companies with clear IPO prospects. Committed to being a long-term partner, Leimaris Capital continuously provides support and assistance to accompany its portfolio companies throughout their growth journey.

Sichuan High-Level Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Fund was established in 2016 under the guidance of the Organization Department of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Sichuan Provincial Talent Office. As China’s first equity investment fund dedicated to promoting the innovation and entrepreneurship of high-level talents through market-oriented operations, it filled a gap in financial service products for high-level talents nationwide. The fund primarily supports innovative projects and enterprises led by high-level talents, such as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and experts enrolled in the “Ten Thousand Talents Program,” as well as newly introduced overseas high-level talents who bring projects, capital, and technology to start businesses in Sichuan. It also invests in other high-quality projects, with a focus on emerging industries such as biopharmaceuticals and intelligent manufacturing.

HAOYUE CAPITAL, established in January 2014, is dedicated to serving as a bridge connecting China’s healthcare industry with capital. Its research and transaction coverage spans multiple sub-sectors, including biopharmaceuticals, innovative medical devices, IVD and precision medicine, healthcare services, and smart healthcare. The HAOYUE CAPITAL team comprises senior investment bankers with extensive experience in China’s healthcare sector. By closely monitoring market dynamics and investment trends in healthcare over the long term, the firm releases weekly healthcare investment newsletters and thematic research reports, offering HAOYUE’s perspectives on new policies and emerging frontiers.