TargetingOne Completes Largest Digital PCR Financing in China with $230M Series B Led by Lilly Asia Ventures

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that TargetingOne Corporation., Ltd. (“TargetingOne”), a leading digital PCR company, announced in January 2021 the completion of its RMB 150 million Series B financing round. The round was led by Lilly Asia Ventures, with participation from China Growth Capital, GL Ventures, and existing shareholders Qingdao Yufeng and Chongyuan Huichen. Qushi Capital served as the financial advisor.

This round of financing will help further develop TARGETING ONE’s digital PCR technology platform, advance the R&D and clinical trials of multiple innovative molecular diagnostic reagents, promote the application of its digital PCR product series in life sciences and clinical settings, and accelerate its commercialization strategy.

With the growing demand for liquid biopsy in oncology, early cancer screening, early diagnosis of infectious diseases, rapid diagnosis of severe infections, and non-invasive prenatal screening for birth defects, digital PCR, as a groundbreaking “third-generation PCR technology,” holds immense market potential. Featuring single-molecule sensitivity, precise absolute quantification, strong resistance to interference, ease of operation, and facilitation of standardization, it is one of the most competitive next-generation molecular diagnostic platform technologies, prompting major international players to actively establish their presence in this field.

TARGETING ONE boasts an excellent R&D team, a comprehensive intellectual property system, a highly competitive digital PCR instrument platform, and strong commercialization capabilities. The company has rapidly built a product portfolio covering key disease areas, including tumor liquid biopsy, early tumor screening, early diagnosis of infectious diseases, rapid diagnosis of severe infections, and birth defects.

Dr. Yang Wenjun, Co-founder of TARGETING ONEstated: “We appreciate the recognition from Lilly Asia Ventures, China Growth Capital, and GL Ventures, as well as the continued support from our existing shareholders. Moving forward, TARGETING ONE plans to leverage its digital PCR technology platform over the next two to three years, guided by major clinical applications urgently needed in China. Through continuous technological innovation, we aim to achieve independent control over our product development while establishing an effective ‘R&D-driven commercialization’ operational mechanism, thereby delivering superior products to researchers, clinicians, and patients.”

Chen Fei, Managing Partner at Lilly Asia Venturesstated: “As a platform technology, digital PCR holds broad application prospects in key disease areas such as infectious diseases and tumor liquid biopsy, and is currently in the early stages of industry development. TARGETING ONE has built a complete digital PCR system with independent intellectual property rights, covering hardware instruments, chips, raw materials, reagents, and software. Its products have achieved key breakthroughs in sensitivity, absolute quantification, stability, and anti-interference capability. We are delighted to partner with the TARGETING ONE team to promote the clinical application and development of this technology.”

Xiong Weiming, Partner at China Growth Capitalstated: “We are highly optimistic about the application of digital PCR in tumor liquid biopsy. As a leading enterprise in both product development and academic research within the digital PCR field, TARGETING ONE is well-positioned to deliver significant value to clinical oncology diagnostics. Furthermore, we recognize the potential of TARGETING ONE’s digital PCR technology in areas such as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), quantitative detection of infectious diseases, gene therapy, and targeted drug resistance. We hope that this round of financing will accelerate the TARGETING ONE team’s continued delivery of outstanding clinical products.”

Head of Biopharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, GL Ventures“It stated: ‘Digital PCR (dPCR) technology represents the third generation of PCR techniques and is a novel method for nucleic acid detection and quantification. Compared with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), digital PCR offers simpler operation, controllable quality, and higher sensitivity. TARGETING ONE is a leader in the field of digital PCR, having developed mature technological products for applications such as liquid biopsy in oncology, screening for birth defects, and diagnosis of infectious diseases, making significant contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to support the company’s original innovations to benefit more patients.’”

Established in 2015, TARGETING ONE specializes in the independent innovation of molecular diagnostic technologies and their translational applications for major diseases. The company boasts a high-caliber R&D team with expertise in instruments, chips, materials, reagents, and software. Experiencing rapid growth, TARGETING ONE has filed over 100 domestic and international patents, secured more than 40 granted patents, continuously published academic papers in authoritative journals, and undertaken national-level research grants. Its digital PCR system, developed based on proprietary intellectual property, has won the Gold Award for Outstanding Innovative IVD Products in China for two consecutive years and claimed the Grand Prize at the Zhongguancun International Frontier Technology Innovation Competition. Upholding the philosophy of “Innovative Precision, Dedicated to You,” the company is advancing multi-analyte, high-throughput, automated, contamination-resistant, and cost-effective molecular diagnostic technologies. Committed to becoming a leading enterprise in life sciences and molecular diagnostics, TARGETING ONE serves the fields of life sciences, precision medicine, drug development, and health management.

Established in 2006, China Growth Capital focuses on early-stage investments in enterprise software, frontier technologies, life sciences, and consumption upgrades. Leveraging its extensive resources and expertise, the firm assists portfolio companies with strategic planning, business development, and team building. Currently, China Growth Capital manages RMB and USD funds totaling RMB 8 billion, with investments ranging from angel rounds to Series C, and investment amounts spanning from several million to hundreds of millions of RMB. Representative life science investments include Huake Jingzhun, Singleron, Fubei Biotechnology, Bichen Biopharma, and Innovent Bio.

Hillhouse Ventures is the venture capital fund under Hillhouse Capital, focusing on early-stage innovative companies. It primarily invests in four key sectors: biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, software and hard technology, consumer internet and technology, and emerging consumer brands and services. Biopharmaceuticals and medical devices have long been a core investment focus for Hillhouse. Over the past decade, Hillhouse has invested in more than 200 outstanding enterprises in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. We aim to partner with companies as “friends of time,” jointly driving innovation and development in the broader healthcare sector to benefit more patients.