Huiyan Biotech Completes Tens-of-Millions RMB Series A Funding to Build 10,000L Agarose Microsphere Production Line

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Huiyan Bio, a leading Chinese company in protein purification technology, recently announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-of-yuan RMB Series A financing round.Exclusively invested by Shanghai Greenriver Investment Co., Ltd., the funds raised will be primarily used to build a 10,000L agarose microsphere production line to meet the rapidly growing demand in the biopharmaceutical industry for domestically produced protein separation and purification resins.

It is reported that the production line consists of two 5,000 L reactors, with a single-batch capacity of 5,000 L of agarose microspheres and a maximum annual output of 50,000 L. Huiyan Biotechnology’s independently developed domestic protein purification technology has broken the monopoly held by imported chromatography media, reducing the reliance of China’s biopharmaceutical industry on imported materials.

Huiyan Biotech, established in 2013, is one of the few companies in China to master the core technology for agarose microsphere formation. Its product portfolio encompasses over 100 types of protein separation and purification resins across four major categories: size exclusion chromatography, ion exchange, affinity, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Notably, Huiyan Biotech’s 1,000L microsphere reaction kettle has been in continuous production for more than four years, with its microsphere quality, yield, and batch-to-batch consistency ranking among the top in China. The company’s products have successfully achieved domestic substitution in the production lines of multiple biopharmaceutical enterprises.

Agarose microspheres are manufactured from imported agarose powder using the reverse-phase emulsion polymerization method. Huiyan Biotechnology has mastered microsphere formation processes and surface modification technologies for various raw materials, including agarose, dextran, and cellulose. This core “microsphere formation” technology enables Huiyan Biotechnology’s independently developed agarose microspheres to meet the standards of imported products across multiple internal and external control parameters, such as particle size distribution, functional binding capacity, non-specific adsorption, and service life. Several of its products can achieve 100% domestic substitution without any changes to the production process.

Currently, Huiyan Biotech's agarose microspheres cover over 90% of imported products, with application cases including human vaccines, blood products, antibody drugs, gene therapy viral vectors, recombinant protein drugs, IVD diagnostic reagents, and animal vaccines.

In recent years, the number of innovative protein-based drugs developed in China has been increasing. Due to their unique physicochemical structural differences, conventional chromatography resins fail to meet the requirements of purification processes. Based on various characteristics of proteins, Huiyan Biotech has exclusively developed a range of innovative agarose microspheres by precisely adjusting properties such as matrix material, particle size, pore size, and mechanical strength, thereby meeting the purification needs of novel protein therapeutics.

Among these, in the field of animal vaccines, Huiyan Biologics has developed a microsphere product with high recovery yield, which canIncreased VLP recovery rate from 60% for conventional products to 80%, while improving production efficiency by more than 10-fold, significantly reducing the purification costs of vaccines and improving the quality of animal vaccines, thereby helping domestic animal vaccine enterprises enter the “purification era.”

Similarly, for PEGylated long-acting recombinant protein drugs, Huiyan Biotechnology has also developed a large-pore microsphere product that can effectively remove free PEG and improve protein recovery. With the booming development of China's biopharmaceutical industry, Huiyan Biotechnology will work hand in hand with pharmaceutical companies to address separation and purification challenges from multiple perspectives, including microspheres, ligands, and processes, thereby facilitating efficient R&D and production for these enterprises.

As the exclusive investor in Huiyan Biotech's Series A financing round,Shanghai Greenriver InvestmentIt was acknowledged that “agarose chromatography resins are critical consumables in the downstream separation and purification processes of biopharmaceutical manufacturing, a segment long dominated by imported products. With the rise of China’s biomacromolecule market, domestically produced chromatography resins present certain market opportunities. Huiyan Biotechnology has demonstrated competitive advantages in product development and market expansion, with deep engagement in areas such as animal vaccines, human vaccines, and recombinant proteins. Coupled with its strong team execution capabilities, we believe that Huiyan Biotechnology can help Chinese pharmaceutical companies reduce their heavy reliance on imported resin consumables and establish autonomous, domestically produced production lines.”

Having gained recognition from Shanghai Greenriver Investment Co., Ltd. and completed the Series A financing round,Yi Guojun, Founder of Huiyan BiotechIn response, they stated: “We thank Shanghai Greenriver Investment Co., Ltd. for its recognition and support of Huiyan Biotech. After seven years of accumulation and consolidation, Huiyan Biotech has established robust reserves in technology and talent. This round of financing marks a new beginning for the company, and the 10,000-liter production line represents a fresh starting point. Demand for protein purification microspheres in the biopharmaceutical sector is poised for rapid growth, and the domestic substitution of microspheres is on the verge of an explosive surge. Huiyan Biotech will continue to increase its R&D investment, launch more comprehensive solutions for the separation and purification of biological products, and help domestic biopharmaceutical companies reduce costs and improve efficiency.”

Greenriver Investment, established in 2007, is an investment firm specializing in early-stage venture capital. Since its inception, Greenriver Investment has adhered to the core philosophy of “Value and Growth,” committed to “long-term partnership for mutual growth with portfolio companies.” With professional acuity, it avoids blindly chasing market fads, instead strategically positioning itself in emerging industries ahead of time. Upholding the belief that “technology creates value,” the firm actively aligns with national strategies to support the development of China’s technology-driven sectors. To date, Greenriver Investment manages over RMB 3 billion in assets, has invested in more than 50 innovative companies, and provides both capital and operational support to high-quality startups. Its primary investment focus areas include biomedicine, new energy, new materials, and high-end manufacturing.