YiMiao Shenzhou Secures RMB 140 Million Series C Financing to Enhance GMP Manufacturing Capacity and Advance CAR-T Pipeline

On January 22, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: VCbeat) learned that Beijing Imunopharm Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (“Imunopharm”) announced today the completion of its RMB 140 million (approximately USD 20.4 million) Series C financing. This funding will enable the company to expand its GMP-grade manufacturing capacity, continue clinical trials of its lead product IM19 for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and advance the development of its pipeline targeting various solid and liquid tumors.

This financing round was led by a syndicate of Chinese and international investors, including Shougang Fund, Sherpa Capital, Peter Thiel, Qingzhe Capital, and China Resources Innovation Equity Investment Fund. Previously, in November 2017, Yimiao Shenzhou secured RMB 50 million in Series B financing, led by Legend Capital and followed by Thiel Capital and Shengjing Jiacheng.

“We are excited by the interest generated in this financing round and believe that the investors we ultimately selected are highly aligned with our strategic ambitions. We are not only committed to becoming a leading CAR-T company in China, but as we observe growing international interest in our CAR-T cell therapy products and lentiviral manufacturing platform, our Series C financing enables us to continue evolving into a stronger company with the potential to enter the global market,” said Dr. He Ting, CEO and Co-founder of ImmunoChina.

The company’s latest financing round has added new investors, reflecting support for the new positive clinical results achieved by Imunopharm, which were publicly announced on December 2, 2018, at the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting held in San Diego, California, USA.

At ASH, ImmuneOnco presented results from ongoing clinical studies of its leading CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, which included a cohort of 110 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Enrolled patients comprised several high-risk subgroups, including those with extramedullary disease (EMD), high tumor burden, BCR-ABL positivity, TP53 mutations, post-transplant relapse, or central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL). Among the 110 subjects, 102 (93%) achieved complete remission, and the one-year relapse-free survival rate was 70.5%.

“This study aims to reflect a more diverse, real-world patient population in order to obtain accurate data on the safety and efficacy profile. These considerations are crucial to our mission of developing best-in-class therapies,” said Hai-feng Feng, Medical Director at ImmuneOnco, who previously served as Head of Hematology at Xi’an Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary in China.

As ImmuneOnco expects to obtain two IND approvals in China by the end of the year, the company is accelerating the construction of its new commercial-scale, GMP-compliant manufacturing facility, supported by recent collaborations with Sartorius, a German biopharmaceutical manufacturing and equipment supplier, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, a U.S. biotechnology product development company.

Immuno-oncology biotech firm ImmuneOnco is dedicated to developing innovative CAR-T cell therapies and a lentiviral manufacturing platform for the treatment of malignant tumors. Reportedly, it is one of the few cell therapy companies in China that has established end-to-end R&D capabilities. The founding team of ImmuneOnco largely graduated from the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University. They have long been committed to basic and translational research in oncology and immunology, mastering multiple core CAR-T technologies. ImmuneOnco has received support from numerous Chinese and international investors, including Peter Thiel and Legend Capital.

Reprinted from: PharmCube