Tolo Bio Secures Tens of Millions in Funding from BGI Win-Win to Advance CRISPR-Based HOLMES Diagnostic Platform

Recently, VCBeat learned that Nanjing Tulugang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Tulugang Biotech”), which focuses on the industrialization of patented “CRISPR diagnostics” technology, announced thatThe company has successfully completed a financing round of tens of millions of yuan. The proceeds from this round will be primarily used for the development and regulatory registration of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products based on the company’s proprietary CRISPR diagnostics methodology patent—HOLMES technology; the establishment of an IVD product manufacturing facility compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards; and the global patent layout for HOLMES technology.

This round of financing was exclusively invested by Huada Win Win. Meanwhile, its subsidiary, Wuxi Tulugang Company, received industrial funding and policy support from the Wuxi Municipal Government, the Huishan District Government, and the Wuxi Huishan Life Science and Technology Industrial Park.。

Tolo Harbor Biology was founded by a top-tier academic team from the CAS Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and seasoned industry veterans from the molecular diagnostics sector. In 2017, the company developed an innovative nucleic acid detection technology based on the CRISPR/Cas12 system, named “HOLMES.” Compared with traditional molecular diagnostic techniques such as isothermal amplification, qPCR, and NGS, HOLMES rapid nucleic acid testing offers advantages including high sensitivity, high specificity, and speed. Hailed by Science magazine as “the next-generation molecular diagnostic technology,” it holds significant application potential in fields such as pathogen detection, disease screening, and precision medicine.

Tulu Port Biology holds the exclusive global patent rights for Cas12 protein in nucleic acid detection technology and applications. Meanwhile, the company has reached a cross-licensing agreement on foundational CRISPR patents with Sherlock Biosciences, a U.S. company co-founded by Professor Feng Zhang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the pioneers of CRISPR gene-editing technology. This agreement further strengthens the patent moat surrounding the HOLMES technology. Currently, both parties are exploring deeper collaboration to accelerate the industrialization of CRISPR-based nucleic acid detection.

In vitro diagnostics (IVD) is a key application area for the company. The company will introduce innovative solutions to the molecular testing market and is actively collaborating with a wide range of IVD and biotechnology companies to achieve mutual success.

Regarding the company’s first round of financing completed during the pandemic, Dr. Wang Jin, Founder of Tolo Harbour Biotech, stated: “We are deeply grateful to our new shareholder, Huada Win Win, for its recognition and support of the Tolo Harbour team and technology. Throughout our interactions, I was profoundly impressed by the professionalism and sense of responsibility demonstrated by the Huada Win Win team. Beyond providing financial support, Huada Win Win has assisted us in refining our development strategy, strengthening team building, and optimizing our equity structure. It has also helped us connect with various industry resources, delivering tangible benefits to our corporate growth. Currently, the company is racing against time to accelerate the strategic layout of patents and the product commercialization of patented technologies.”

Song Luting, the investment manager at Huada Win Win responsible for this project, stated: “As the only company in China and one of only three globally to hold patents for the underlying methodology of CRISPR-based diagnostics, Tuluogang Bio was founded by an innovative technical team led by Academician Zhao Guoping and Dr. Wang Jin, together with seasoned industry operators from the IVD sector. We believe the team can rapidly advance the continuous innovation, upgrading, and commercial application of this platform technology. For instance, to support scientific efforts against the pandemic, the company collaborated with MGI Tech and others as early as February this year to develop a ‘fully enclosed benchtop rapid tester for novel coronavirus’ capable of delivering nucleic acid test results within one hour. Meanwhile, the first CRISPR-based novel coronavirus detection product developed by our partner, Sherlock Biosciences, received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. FDA in early May this year.”

Liu Yu, Managing Partner at Huada Win Win, stated, “We are highly optimistic about Toulugang Biotech’s HOLMES technology. It is one of the few independently developed proprietary technologies in China that underpins life sciences. Its promotion and application will bring about technological upgrades, and even an industrial revolution, to molecular diagnostics. In vitro diagnostics has long been a key area of focus for Huada Win Win, and we will continue to identify outstanding enterprises in this sector to drive the rapid development of molecular diagnostics.”

Huada Win Win, a venture capital firm backed by the BGI Group industrial ecosystem, advocates the professional investment philosophy of “R&D-driven investment.” It adheres to an investment approach centered on mapping industry landscapes and proactively allocating capital along the industrial chain. The firm professionally focuses on projects possessing core technologies or platform-based capabilities in areas such as gene technology, medical devices/high-value consumables, and biopharmaceuticals. With nearly a decade of deep engagement in life and health sector investments, Huada Win Win’s management team has invested in and incubated multiple industry leaders, including BGI Genomics, Kangtai Biological Products, New Industries Biomedical Engineering, and MGI Tech. The fund primarily targets start-up and growth-stage projects to achieve a rational allocation across investment stages. Leveraging resources from BGI Group, leading life science enterprises, renowned domestic and international research institutions, and scientists, Huada Win Win provides portfolio companies with industry development synergies, as well as legal, financial, and human resources services to enhance operational management capabilities, ensure stable long-term growth, and realize mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.