Akeso Inc. Completes Nearly $150 Million Series D Financing and Advances Pipeline of Over 30 Antibody Drug Candidates

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on November 2, 2019, Akeso announced the completion of its Series D financing round, raising nearly USD 150 million. The round was led by Loyal Valley Capital and Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, with participation from renowned investment institutions including Shenzhen Capital Group, LAKE BLEU Healthcare Fund, Guoxin Guoxin Dongwu Overseas Fund, AIHC, Orbimed, Wah Ha Group, CCB Capital, Xingze Capital, Qinzhi Capital, and BOCOM International. The funds will be used to advance the research and clinical development of its innovative drugs.

In 2017, Akeso completed a RMB 300 million Series B financing round, led by GTJA Capital, with participation from Shenzhen Capital Group, existing shareholder Qianhai Fund of Funds, and Qianhai Qinzi Capital.

Dr. Xia Yu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Akeso, stated, “We are deeply honored to have gained recognition and support from leading investment institutions in the biopharmaceutical sector, both domestically and internationally. This financing round has successfully attracted renowned long-term investment funds, prominent strategic investors, top-tier healthcare funds widely recognized in the capital markets, state-backed funds, and family offices with strong influence in Hong Kong, while also securing continued support from many of our existing prestigious shareholders. Upon completion of this financing round, Akeso will accelerate the research and development of innovative drugs and the clinical studies of multiple products in its pipeline. Through independent R&D and external product collaborations, we aim to expedite the market entry of high-quality innovative therapies, while attracting and cultivating top talent to further strengthen and expand the company.”

Akeso is driven by the vision of “developing affordable, high-quality novel antibody drugs for patients” and is dedicated to the independent research and development of next-generation, world-leading innovative antibody therapeutics. Since its establishment in 2012, the company has built a product pipeline comprising 30 drug candidates in the fields of oncology and autoimmune diseases. Akeso’s proprietary Tetrabody bispecific antibody development technology has become one of the few bispecific antibody platforms that have achieved both manufacturing and clinical validation. Leveraging the Tetrabody platform, Akeso has developed a series of novel PD-1-based bispecific antibody drugs. Among these, AK104 and AK112 are the first anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody drugs, respectively, to enter clinical studies worldwide, and they were selected as one of the “Top Ten Biotechnology Advances in China in 2017.” The Akeso portfolio of PD-1-based bispecific antibody drugs, represented by AK104 and AK112, holds promise as a next-generation tumor immunotherapy superior to conventional PD-1 antibody therapies.

Akeso’s team comprises immunologists, antibody drug R&D specialists, and GMP manufacturing experts with many years of experience at globally renowned pharmaceutical companies. Akeso has established a pipeline of more than 30 novel antibody drugs, covering therapeutic areas such as oncology, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, metabolic disorders, and pain management. Among these, 10 candidates are in clinical trials both domestically and internationally, and four novel antibodies targeting broad-spectrum malignancies and major immune-mediated diseases have been selected for the National Science and Technology Major Project on “Major New Drug Development” under the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Akeso has built a world-class, integrated platform for novel antibody drug development, encompassing R&D, process development, large-scale manufacturing, and clinical research.