Biortus Secures Over RMB 100 Million Series A Financing to Upgrade Cryo-EM Platform and Launch 'Thousand Targets, Ten Thousand Leads' Initiative

Recently, innovative drug R&D service provider “Biortus” announced the completion of its Series A strategic financing round, raising over RMB 100 million. Led by Bayland Capital, the proceeds will primarily be used to upgrade the cryo-electron microscopy platform and launch the “Thousand Targets, Ten Thousand Leads” initiative. This marks the company’s first external equity financing in its history.

“Biortus” established China’s first commercial cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) service platform in 2018 and installed the first cryo-EM instrument in China’s CRO sector, launching the world’s first one-stop innovative drug discovery service platform capable of delivering an integrated workflow from drug target genes to proteins to cryo-EM structures.

Upon completion of this funding round, Wuxi Biortus Biosciences Co., Ltd. (“Biortus”) will leverage its comprehensive suite of high-end cryo-electron microscopy equipment, including the Titan Krios, to jointly establish the “International Cryo-EM Innovation Center” and the “International Drug Target Protein Innovation Center” in collaboration with the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park, which is co-developed by the Wuxi Municipal Government, Wuxi High-Tech Zone, and AstraZeneca.

The two innovation centers will work in close synergy with Biortus’s existing platforms to achieve the “1,000 Targets, 10,000 Leads” business plan within the next three years. They will establish a comprehensive R&D service system for source-innovative new drugs centered on “new targets, new mechanisms, and new molecular entities,” empowering biotechnology innovators worldwide, fostering original innovation in domestic new drug development, and delivering societal benefits. Currently, Phase I construction of both innovation centers has commenced; the Cryo-EM Innovation Center is scheduled for completion by January next year, at which time three high-end cryo-electron microscopes will be deployed to provide clients with comprehensive services.

“Biortus” was jointly founded by Shuangliang Group, a “Top 500 Chinese Enterprise,” and several overseas-returnee scientists with experience in international pharmaceutical companies. It is dedicated to providing innovative drug R&D services to global innovative drug research institutions, with the preparation of complex drug target proteins as its core and structural biology as its specialty. The company boasts four major technical platforms: protein expression and purification, bioanalysis, X-ray crystallography-based structural biology, and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Biortus’s core technical team comprises dozens of Ph.D. holders from China and abroad who have long specialized in the field of structural biology. To date, the company has provided high-quality services to hundreds of multinational pharmaceutical companies and leading emerging biotechnology firms worldwide. Its service portfolio covers various stages of the innovative drug R&D process, including drug target protein preparation, biochemical and biophysical analysis, compound screening and analysis, crystal structure determination, cryo-EM structure determination, and MicroED-based small-molecule polymorph and structure determination.

The lead investor in this financing round, Bayland Capital, is a specialized investment institution in the biomedical sector jointly established by Pharmaron and Legend Capital. It focuses primarily on global biomedical R&D services and technological innovation platforms. Pharmaron (Stock Codes: 300759.SZ/3759.HK) is an internationally leading life sciences R&D service provider with operational entities in China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Boasting a workforce of over 10,000 employees, the company has gained widespread industry recognition for its top-tier talent pool and high-quality R&D services, maintaining long-term, stable partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and institutions across North America, Europe, Japan, and China.