Hummingbird Bioscience Secures $25 Million Series B Financing to Advance Breakthrough Oncology Therapies

On May 10, 2020, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that Hummingbird Bioscience, an innovative biopharmaceutical company, had completed a $25 million Series B financing round. The round was led by new investor SK Holdings, with participation from existing shareholders Heritas Capital and SEEDS Capital, the investment arms of Singapore-based enterprise groups. The proceeds will be used to accelerate clinical trials of new drug candidates and strengthen its research and development capabilities.

Hummingbird Bioscience is an innovative biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel, breakthrough precision antibody therapies for refractory diseases. Leveraging its proprietary rational antibody discovery platform and extensive expertise in systems biology, Hummingbird Bioscience can accurately identify novel disease targets, enabling it to engineer and generate antibodies that precisely engage these typically challenging targets.

The company is extensively developing a pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates across multiple indications, including HMBD-001 (an anti-HER3 antibody) and HMBD-002 (an anti-VISTA antibody) for the treatment of cancer. Hummingbird Bioscience has established strategic collaborations with Cancer Research UK and Amgen, and has received product development funding from the Texas Institute for Cancer Prevention.

“We are delighted that SK Holdings has become the lead investor. These funds provide us with the resources to advance our early-stage pipeline technologies and support the clinical progress of the company’s lead programs,” said Dr. Piers Ingram, CEO and Co-founder of Hummingbird Bioscience.

Chik Wai Chiew, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Heritas Capital, commented, “Following our lead investment in the Series A round, Heritas Capital is pleased to continue supporting the team at Hummingbird Bioscience. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a slowdown in investment, we recognize that supporting leading innovative biotechnology companies in developing therapies that address patient needs remains our top priority.”

As the integrated holding company of the SK Group, SK Holdings enhances its portfolio value through long-term strategic investments in numerous competitive subsidiaries across diverse business sectors, including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, energy, chemicals, information technology, telecommunications, and semiconductors. Furthermore, SK Holdings is committed to solidifying its growth foundation through practical management grounded in financial stability, while simultaneously boosting its corporate value by investing in emerging future growth businesses.

Heritas is an Accredited/Institutional (A/I) fund management company licensed by the Capital Markets Services (“CMS”), managing private equity, venture capital, and fund investments in the healthcare, education, and technology sectors globally.

As the investment arm of a Singaporean enterprise group, SEEDS Capital facilitates investments in innovative Singapore-based startups with strong intellectual foundations and global market potential. Leveraging partners’ expertise and strategic networks in technology translation, commercialization, and market expansion, SEEDS Capital helps startups achieve commercialization and global growth. Through co-investment, SEEDS Capital promotes investments in emerging and strategic sectors. Its investment focus areas include advanced manufacturing and engineering, health and biomedicine, urban sustainability and solutions, and services and the digital economy.