Chengdu Meikang Biotech Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million in Pre-A Financing to Advance Novel Vaccine Pipelines into Clinical Trials

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on April 16, Chengdu Maxvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Maxvax”) announced the completion of its Pre-A financing round, raising nearly RMB 100 million. The round was exclusively invested by KIP Capital (Korea Investment Partners). The proceeds will be primarily used to advance Maxvax’s pipeline candidates for an elderly shingles vaccine and a novel rotavirus vaccine into clinical trials.

Previously, Maxvax completed an angel round of financing amounting to tens of millions of RMB in 2017.

Maxvax, established in 2016 by Dr. Chen Dexiang, is a novel vaccine industrialization company. It boasts China’s first novel adjuvant platform and recombinant protein platform, along with multiple vaccine candidates currently undergoing clinical trial applications, including therapeutic vaccines for major infectious diseases, allergic disorders, and cancer.

Maxvax currently possesses more than 10 cutting-edge international technologies and over 20 invention patents. The company has established three core vaccine pipelines and three reserve vaccine pipelines, covering multiple fields such as hepatitis B and cancer. Among these, the two most advanced pipelines are the primary focus of the current financing: a novel herpes zoster vaccine for the elderly and a novel rotavirus vaccine. Both candidates have completed preclinical process development and evaluation, and the company expects to submit Investigational New Drug (IND) applications by the end of this year.

As a vaccine R&D enterprise, Maxvax has also actively contributed its share during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Chen Dexiang told VCBeat that Maxvax leveraged its expertise to develop adjuvants for COVID-19 vaccines, which have already entered trial evaluation in two state-supported COVID-19 vaccine projects. “Existing animal studies show that adjuvant-supplemented COVID-19 vaccines can significantly enhance immunogenicity, increase yield, and reduce antigen dosage. We have begun laying the groundwork for pilot-scale production and are currently designing and renovating our manufacturing facilities, with the aim of achieving scaled-up production and operational readiness by the end of the year.”

“Securing this round of financing,” remarked Dr. Chen Dexiang, founder of Maxvax, “would not have been possible without the support of our team and the leading edge of our technology.”

Regarding the investment in Maxvax, Fu Hao, Vice President of Investment at KIP Capital, stated, “China’s vaccine industry lags significantly behind international counterparts in terms of technology, with outdated product technologies and frequent safety incidents. It is gratifying to see that excellent entrepreneurial teams are currently striving for innovation and working hard to change this status quo, and Maxvax is one of the companies we are particularly bullish on. Currently, KIP Capital maintains a steady investment pace, and we are honored to join hands with Maxvax to drive the catch-up and eventual surpassing of China’s vaccine industry.”

Maxvax, leveraging its proprietary adjuvant platform, has upgraded its existing herpes zoster virus vaccine and rotavirus vaccine, thereby enhancing production capacity and improving efficacy.

Herpes zoster is a vesicular skin disease characterized by clusters of blisters on the skin accompanied by stabbing pain. It predominantly affects the elderly, and patients often experience prolonged post-healing cutaneous stabbing pain, known as postherpetic neuralgia. According to statistics from Prevention and Treatment of 100 Diseases in the Elderly, approximately 80% of elderly patients develop symptoms of postherpetic neuralgia.

The first-generation herpes zoster vaccine has an average efficacy of only 50% in individuals aged 50 and older, and is nearly ineffective in those over 80. Maxvax’s novel herpes zoster vaccine for the elderly is poised to fill this gap. With the aid of adjuvants, Maxvax’s new herpes zoster vaccine can effectively enhance therapeutic efficacy by 20% to 30%, raising the vaccine’s effectiveness to over 90% in individuals aged 50 and older, and enabling those over 80 to benefit from this novel vaccine as well.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years of age, with approximately 525,000 children under five dying from diarrheal diseases each year. Rotavirus is one of the primary pathogens causing infantile diarrhea; it mainly infects the small intestinal epithelial cells in children, thereby inducing diarrhea. Nearly every child worldwide has been infected with rotavirus at least once by the age of five.

Traditional first-generation rotavirus vaccines are administered orally, a method that carries the drawback of potentially causing severe intestinal adverse reactions in children at an incidence rate of approximately 1 in 100,000, while their efficacy remains debatable. Maxvax is currently developing a novel rotavirus vaccine that utilizes a new injectable administration route for children, which can enhance vaccine effectiveness while mitigating side effects.

Dr. Chen Dexiang, the founder, holds a Ph.D. in Immunology/Microbiology from Mississippi State University in the United States and completed his postdoctoral research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Chen has previously served as Project Manager at Pfizer Vaccines, Director of R&D at Novartis Vaccines, and Technical Director of Vaccines at PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health).

Over nearly three decades dedicated to vaccine research, development, and promotion, Dr. Chen Dexiang has mastered cutting-edge international technologies in vaccines and adjuvants and accumulated extensive experience in industrialization. He has participated in and led the development of more than 20 vaccines for infectious diseases and therapeutic purposes, including marketed pneumococcal vaccines, meningococcal vaccines, rotavirus vaccines, and influenza vaccines.

Notably, during his tenure at PowderJect, Dr. De-Xiang Chen founded and led a vaccine project that secured $80 million in equity financing, propelling the company to become the sixth-largest vaccine manufacturer globally by the early 2000s within just a few years.

The remaining team members at Maxvax also possess extensive experience in the industrialization of vaccines. Dr. He Yonggang, Vice President of Production, earned his Ph.D. from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and completed his postdoctoral research there. With 15 years of experience in adjuvant-related technology research and vaccine development, Dr. He previously served as a Project Technical Officer at the China Office of PATH, a global health technology organization, where he managed the implementation and execution of multiple vaccine projects in China.

Dong Lichun, Vice President of R&D at Maxvax Biotechnology, graduated from Mississippi State University in the United States. She has dedicated 27 years to vaccine development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, the University of Rochester, and Washington University. She has participated in the research and development and clinical immunological testing of more than 10 vaccines. Dr. Dong holds 20 invention patents for vaccines and has published 46 academic papers on vaccines in prestigious international journals.

KIP Capital is a leading investment institution in Asia. Established in 1986, it has accumulated assets under management exceeding USD 5 billion and has launched seven RMB-denominated funds in China. KIP Capital focuses on the development of multiple emerging sectors, particularly biopharmaceuticals/general healthcare, mass consumption/IoT, and advanced technologies/AI. To date, more than 200 portfolio companies have been listed on secondary markets in various countries and regions.

As an institution with a global footprint in the broader health industry, KIP Capital has invested in numerous leading domestic projects across vertical sectors such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. Notable portfolio companies include Henlius Biotech (2696.HK), an innovative biopharmaceutical company; Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a pioneer in novel drug R&D; Peijia Medical, a supplier of interventional therapy devices; Ansun Biopharma, an innovator in biologics for respiratory diseases; and Quanyuantang, an online pharmacy platform.