Cothera Bioscience Completes $30M Series B Financing to Advance Oncology Targeted Therapies and Files IPO Prospectus

Cothera Bioscience Announces Completion of Nearly $30 Million Series B FinancingCothera Bioscience has announced the completion of its Series B financing round, raising nearly $30 million. The round was led by China Tsing Song Investment Ltd., with participation from domestic and international funds including China Merchants Bank International Capital Management (Shenzhen) Ltd., Sherpa Healthcare Partners, New World Investment, Hangzhou Longshine Investment Co. Ltd., Kunlun Capital, and Harbinger Venture. Existing investors Legend Capital and Legendstar Capital continued their support. The funds raised will be primarily used to accelerate the global clinical development of the company’s multiple innovative oncology-targeted therapies.

China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor to Coseray Bio in this transaction.

Kaiserui Bio was founded by core members of the founding team of the renowned CRO CrownBio, focusing on the research and development of innovative tumor-targeted drugs. Its independently developed i-CR^®By integrating conditional reprogramming (CR) technology for primary tumor cell culture with a high-content drug screening system, this technical platform enables efficient, unbiased expansion of patient-derived primary tumor cells in vitro while preserving tumor heterogeneity. Furthermore, by leveraging this system for high-efficiency drug screening using patient-derived primary tumor cells in vitro, it is better suited for personalized drug selection for clinical patients and new drug development. Through collaborations with leading oncology medical centers in China, Kesarui has conducted multiple prospective comparative clinical trials, which have initially demonstrated the efficacy of i-CR^®The system can effectively predict the actual clinical response to drugs, thereby promising to significantly enhance the efficiency and clinical success rate of new anti-tumor drug development.

Utilizing i-CR^®Given the high correlation between its technology platform and clinical drug responses, Kesarui has developed a portfolio of novel cancer therapeutics in the fields of synthetic lethality and immunotherapy, with multiple international and domestic patents filed for its early-stage R&D achievements.

The company’s core product, PC-002, is a first-in-class small-molecule drug targeting tumors with MYC gene alterations. The MYC protein is overexpressed in more than 50% of tumors, making it one of the most important “undruggable” oncology targets. PC-002 induces degradation of the MYC protein through a unique mechanism of action (MOA), selectively triggering apoptosis in MYC-dependent tumor cells. PC-002 is about to initiate Phase II clinical trials in the United States and is expected to achieve accelerated approval based on Phase II results, positioning it as a blockbuster pan-cancer therapy. Another pipeline candidate, CTB-02, targets pan-KRAS mutant colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, and was expected to enter Phase I clinical trials in Australia in 2021.

Dr. Yue Wu, Co-founder and CEO of Kaserui BiotechStatement: We extend our sincere gratitude to both new and existing investors for their support of the Company, as we jointly explore new frontiers in oncology drug development and uncover new value. The progress Kaseron has achieved to date is attributable to our commitment to science and innovation, as well as the courage and capability to accomplish what others cannot. Looking ahead, we will continue to anchor our strategy in the development of global first-in-class novel drugs. We will fully leverage the barriers to entry and specialized expertise we have built over many years in translational medicine. Grounded in rigorous research on drug mechanisms and deep insights into tumor biology, we aim to understand not only how our therapies work but also why they work, thereby significantly improving the success rate of new drug development. By introducing innovative products to expand into global markets, we are committed to contributing to the fulfillment of unmet medical needs for cancer patients.

Dr. Zhang Song, Partner at Tsing Song CapitalStatement: We are optimistic about the extensive drug development experience and profound understanding of translational oncology demonstrated by Dr. Wu Yue and the founding team of the former Sino-United Crown Bioscience. We firmly support Cothera’s exploration and drug development efforts targeting multiple “undruggable” targets, leveraging its unique drug screening platform. China Tsing Song Investment Ltd hopes to maintain a long-term partnership with the team through this collaboration. Amid intensifying competition in the innovative drug market, we aim to facilitate the global development of the company’s first-in-class targeted oncology therapies and look forward to achieving new breakthroughs in cancer treatment together with the company.

Zhang Xiao, Managing Director of China RenaissanceStatement: Kesarui Bio boasts a world-class translational medicine team. Leveraging its proprietary i-CR drug screening platform, the company has dedicated years to developing therapeutics for undruggable targets and has achieved significant progress in the R&D of novel drugs targeting Myc, KRAS, and other key proteins. We are honored to have assisted Kesarui Bio in completing this round of financing. We look forward to witnessing further clinical advancements and enabling more patients to benefit from these innovations at an earlier stage.