Xinrui Regeneration Secures Tens of Millions RMB in Series Angel Funding Led by CAS Star to Advance Regenerative Drug Development

VCBeat (biobeat1) has learned that Nanjing Xinrui Regenerative Medicine Technology Co., Ltd. (“Xinrui Regeneration”) recently secured tens of millions of RMB in angel-round financing, led by CAS Star. The proceeds from this round will be allocated to talent development and the research and development of small-molecule drugs, among other areas.Founded in March 2019, Xinrui Regeneration is located in the “Pharma Valley” of the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, a national-level new area, and relies on the support of the Peking University Institute of Molecular Medicine Nanjing Translational Research Center. Dr. Zhao Yang, the founder and Chief Scientist, is a researcher at the Peking University Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, and the State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs. His team is primarily dedicated to developing novel technologies in somatic cell reprogramming and regenerative medicine. They focus on developing small-molecule drugs to reverse tissue and organ fibrosis and achieve in situ regeneration of functional cells, thereby providing innovative therapeutic solutions for various difficult-to-treat serious diseases, such as chronic heart failure and liver failure.

Worldwide, tissue fibrosis is a leading cause of disability and death in many diseases. For instance, cardiac fibrosis is a major pathological process in heart failure and a potential risk factor for sudden cardiac death; there are over 26 million heart failure patients globally, with a five-year survival rate of less than 50%. Meanwhile, 280 million people in China are at risk of liver fibrosis, and nearly 400,000 deaths occur annually due to severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Currently, clinically available drugs worldwide for treating fibrosis-related conditions are very limited; they can only attempt to address the underlying causes or alleviate symptoms, making a cure difficult to achieve.

Breakthroughs in the fields of stem cells and cellular reprogramming have provided entirely new directions for the development of novel therapeutics for such diseases. In 2013, Zhao Yang and his mentor, Professor Deng Hongkui, as co-corresponding authors, reported the world’s first successful generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (CiPS cells) through all-small-molecule induction, thereby opening up a third avenue for somatic cell reprogramming. This achievement was recognized as one of the Top Ten Scientific Advances in China in 2013.

After joining the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Peking University in 2016, Zhao Yang established a team dedicated to developing small molecules that bypass the pluripotent stem cell state to directly induce functional cells of the heart and liver. The team aims to leverage this novel principle of small-molecule-induced direct cellular reprogramming to develop new drugs for tissue and organ injury repair and in situ regeneration. This technology represents a win-win regenerative medical strategy that “turns waste into wealth,” as fibroblasts excessively accumulated at sites of cardiac injury can serve as seeds for cardiomyocyte regeneration. While inducing regeneration, this approach also reverses tissue fibrosis, thereby mitigating its adverse effects on organ physiological function. Moreover, compared with regenerative strategies such as cell transplantation and transgene-induced reprogramming, small-molecule drug therapy is more amenable to clinical application.

Supported by the Nanjing Institute of Translational Molecular Medicine at Peking University, Xinrui Regeneration will leverage social capital and industry guidance funds, as well as engage in project collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, to jointly advance structural optimization and preclinical studies of small-molecule compounds with drug development potential, ultimately incubating innovative small-molecule drugs with independent intellectual property rights. Researcher Zhao Yang revealed that the team has achieved breakthroughs in small-molecule compound-induced in situ regeneration of the heart and liver for conditions such as heart failure and liver failure. “The establishment of the Nanjing Institute of Translational Molecular Medicine at Peking University and the incubation of related enterprises such as Xinrui Regeneration will bridge the gap between basic research innovation and clinical translation in new drug development. This is an exciting moment,” said Zhao Yang.