MezCare Pharma Completes Tens-of-Millions Pre-A Financing to Advance Hematologic Oncology Drug into IND Submission

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Shanghai Meizhi Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Meizhi Pharma”), a biopharmaceutical company, has completed a tens-of-millions-level pre-A financing round.Exclusively invested by Haijinge Medicine, with Yingshan Capital serving as the financial advisor. The proceeds from this round of financing will be primarily used to advance the company’s hematologic malignancy projects in its R&D pipeline to the Investigational New Drug (IND) application stage, with clinical trials expected to commence by the end of 2021.

Previously, the founding team of Meizhi Pharma raised several million yuan in initial capital through self-funding and secured angel-round investment in 2019 from the “Zefu” Fund, part of the Minhang District Innovation Guidance Fund.

Meizhi Pharma is a novel drug R&D company focused on targeted protein degradation, established in 2017. As one of the first companies in China to engage in PROTAC technology research and development, Meizhi Pharma has built its own new drug R&D platform based on PROTAC technology and has completed the layout of several core pipelines, covering hematologic malignancies, various solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

The investor in this round of financing, Haijinge Pharma, is a CRO company specializing in providing clinical research and related technical services. In response to gaining recognition from the investment arm of such a well-known pharmaceutical technology service platform, Shu Yongzhi, founder of Meizhi Pharma, stated: “Meizhi Pharma has accumulated years of expertise in PROTAC technology and maintains a robust pipeline of new drug candidates, while Haijinge Pharma possesses extensive experience and resources in clinical research. Our mutual recognition constitutes the primary significance of this financing round.”

“Meizhi Pharmaceutical’s goal is to align with international standards, which necessitates the development of First-in-Class (FIC) novel drugs. For startup biotech companies, a promising approach to developing FIC drugs is to leverage cutting-edge technologies, such as the PROTAC technology on which Meizhi focuses,” founder Shu Yongzhi told VCBeat.

PROTAC technology is a novel targeted protein degradation therapy that leverages the intracellular ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) to selectively eliminate pathogenic proteins within cells, thereby exerting therapeutic effects.

PROTAC molecules consist of three components: a binder that targets the protein of interest, a binder that recruits the E3 ubiquitin ligase of the protein degradation system, and a linker connecting the two. After entering the cell, the PROTAC molecule binds to the target protein and the E3 ubiquitin ligase at its respective ends, forming a ternary complex. Upon formation of this complex, the E3 ligase mediates the ubiquitination of the target protein by the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. The polyubiquitinated target protein is then recognized and degraded by the proteasome, ultimately achieving the destruction of the target protein.

Furthermore, PROTAC technology exhibits “event-driven” catalytic properties. Leveraging these unique mechanisms of action, PROTAC technology has demonstrated significant promise in new drug development, such as enabling the development of therapeutics against “undruggable” targets, abolishing scaffold functions of proteins, and selectively degrading mutant proteins to overcome resistance to targeted therapies.

Meizhi Pharma’s team possesses profound expertise and extensive experience in PROTAC technology. Leveraging its platform-based PROTAC technology, Meizhi Pharma has established several differentiated core pipelines targeting various proteins. The most advanced candidate is MZ-001, a novel oral degrader developed for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, including B-cell lymphomas resistant to first-line therapies. The company also plans to further expand the application of MZ-001 to autoimmune diseases, such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

MZ-001 has demonstrated favorable in vitro and in vivo efficacy, drug developability, and safety in preclinical studies. This round of financing will support further preclinical research on this pipeline, accelerating the Investigational New Drug (IND) application and clinical trials.

Regarding the investment in Meizhi Pharmaceutical, the investorsLang Guona, COO of Haijinge Pharma“It stated: ‘Since its inception, PROTAC technology has garnered significant attention due to its unique mechanism of action, holding great promise in overcoming drug resistance and targeting previously undruggable proteins. Meizhi Pharmaceutical is one of the earliest companies in China to establish a presence in this field. After years of screening and drug design, its candidate drugs have demonstrated favorable safety and efficacy profiles across various models, positioning the company to be among the first in China to advance PROTAC candidates into clinical trials. Haijinge will engage in in-depth collaboration with the company to accelerate R&D and clinical trials, facilitating the timely market launch of new products to benefit more patients.’”

Financial Advisor for This RoundYingshan Capital Healthcare Teamstated, “We are deeply honored to have assisted Meizhi Pharmaceutical in completing this round of financing. In recent years, PROTACs have emerged as a prominent force in the field of innovative drugs due to their unique advantages, and they are poised to play a pivotal role in drug research and development in the coming years. We believe that, with the support of this financing, the Meizhi team led by Dr. Shu Yongzhi will continue to strengthen its advantages in team building, technology, and industrial collaboration, achieve breakthroughs in key aspects of R&D, and reach new milestones. We are privileged to have witnessed Meizhi’s rapid growth along the way, and Yingshan Capital will remain a long-term partner for Meizhi Pharmaceutical in the capital markets, accompanying the company on its journey forward.”

Haijingge Medicine is a contract research organization (CRO) specializing in providing Phase I–IV clinical trials and related technical services to pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and new drug research institutions. Having witnessed the entire trajectory of China’s CRO industry—from its emergence and growth to maturity—Haijingge Medicine has evolved into a highly specialized, standardized, large-scale, and internationalized CRO with extensive practical project experience. Leveraging the favorable policy environment that encourages innovation in China, the company has seized significant development opportunities to deliver one-stop professional technical services and solutions for clinical research. By doing so, Haijingge Medicine helps clients mitigate R&D risks, accelerate drug market entry, and create substantial value.

Yingshan Capital is an independent boutique investment bank under Ruanshan Capital. Yingshan Capital is committed to providing services for private equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, and other transaction-related businesses for growth-stage enterprises, with a particular focus on sectors such as biomedicine, innovative technology, and the new economy. The Yingshan medical team has successfully served multiple projects to date, including Huanya Medical, Colibri, and Beilai Bio. Ruanshan Capital primarily invests in urban comprehensive development and operations, innovative technology, and major consumer sectors.