Aikon Pharma Secures Tens of Millions in Funding to Advance Fluorinated Drug R&D and Production Facility Construction

VCBeat (WeChat ID: biobeat1) has learned that AQ BioPharma (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. recently announced the completion of a financing round worth tens of millions of yuan, led by Hangzhou Chenghe Venture Capital Co., Ltd. The funds will be primarily used for the development of novel fluorine-containing drugs and the construction of a 51-mu production base for its subsidiary, Lishui Lvfu Technology Co., Ltd. On February 23, 2019, a groundbreaking ceremony was grandly held for Lishui Lvfu Technology’s 100-ton-scale industrialization base.

AQ BioPharma (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is a pharmaceutical R&D company primarily focused on fluorine-containing drugs. Founded in 2007 in Zhangjiang Pharma Valley, the company has multiple shareholders, including Zhangjiang Torch Venture Capital. AQ BioPharma is mainly engaged in the R&D of new fluorine-containing drugs and the R&D and production of related products, such as building blocks for new fluorine-containing drugs or fluorinated pharmaceutical intermediates. The company also specializes in process development for fluorine-containing drugs and provides related technical services.

Centered around Dr. Lu Shoufu, a recipient of the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, the company has assembled a management team composed of multiple PhDs with extensive experience in innovative new drug R&D, international market development, and global trade. The team possesses core technologies in the pharmaceutical field, as well as substantial experience in domestic and international markets and entrepreneurship. The company has undertaken numerous national and local scientific research fund projects. Currently, the company’s fluorinated pharmaceutical intermediate products are at an internationally advanced level, with 30% of its processes and products reaching an internationally leading standard.

The Company’s fluorinated new drug building block products have facilitated the advancement of new drug projects for numerous domestic and international enterprises to clinical phases I–III. The Company has filed 20 invention patent applications, with 13 patents granted. Ongoing new drug R&D projects at the Company include: development of fluorinated anti-tumor agents; development of fluorinated anti-HIV agents; development of fluorinated lipid-lowering agents; development of fluorinated agents for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); and development of fluorinated antifungal agents.

In recent decades, fluorinated drugs have witnessed rapid development, occupying a significant position particularly among small-molecule therapeutics and including major blockbusters such as Lipitor and sofosbuvir. The proportion of fluorinated compounds among new small-molecule drugs approved annually by the FDA has risen from an average of 20% before 2010 to an average of 30% per year, reaching 43% in 2018.

Groundbreaking Ceremony of Lishui Lvfu Technology

Hangzhou Chenghe Venture Capital Co., Ltd. was registered and established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in June 2006, with a registered capital of RMB 30 million. The company focuses on investing in early-stage projects, with a particular emphasis on the IT applications and services sector.