ChenAn Bio Secures $8.25M Series A Funding to Advance Single-Cell Mass Cytometry for Oncology Diagnostics and Submits IPO Prospectus

On January 19, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that ChenAn Bio announced the recent completion of an $8.25 million Series A financing round. The round was led by ETP (DaoKang ZhiHe), with Morningside Venture Capital participating as a co-investor, while Volcanic Stone Capital, the lead investor in the previous round, continued to increase its stake.

Prior to this, ChenAn Biosciences completed its Pre-A financing round in March 2018, with joint investment from Volcanic Stone Capital, Puhua Capital, and Shulan Healthcare. The proceeds from these two rounds of financing will be used to expand collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and clinical institutions, and to advance the application of ChenAn’s independently developed mass cytometry system in the field of single-cell tumor diagnostics.

In recent years, new therapeutic technologies, represented by immunotherapy, have developed rapidly, and the role of precision diagnostics has shifted from supportive assistance to a driving, leading force. Mass cytometry enables high-throughput proteomic and transcriptomic analysis at the single-cell level, assessing the interactions among tumors, the immune system, and therapeutic interventions with unprecedented resolution, thereby providing a systematic, novel perspective for the development and clinical application of new therapies.

“Mass cytometry offers unique advantages in the field of immunotherapy,” said Sun Shuangwu, Partner of the Immuno-Oncology (IO) Business Unit at ChenAn Biosciences. He oversees mass cytometry R&D at ChenAn Biosciences and was involved throughout both rounds of financing. By enabling systematic assessment of immune cells and tumors, mass cytometry plays a significant role in helping pharmaceutical R&D companies optimize patient enrollment in clinical trials, thereby improving the efficacy of immunotherapies and preventing severe adverse effects.

“Capital is increasingly focusing on technological innovation, and investors have developed a deep understanding of both the technology and its application scenarios,” he added. For technology-driven startups, it is difficult to stand out in the competitive landscape without proprietary core technologies.

From its inception, ChenAn has clearly established R&D as its core focus. Zou Li, co-founder of ChenAn Bio, led the development of the company’s core technologies: “We are deeply grateful for the trust and support from our investors, which enabled us to develop China’s first mass cytometry instrument with limited time and resources. Throughout this process, the independent R&D spanning methodologies, hardware equipment, and the entire system posed a significant challenge for a startup.”

Wang Yuchong, Founder and CEO of ChenAn Biologics, revealed that precise diagnostic technologies at the single-cell level have already played a significant role in the development of new therapies. It is an inevitable trend for novel therapeutics, deeply integrated with single-cell diagnostics, to advance into clinical practice.

“Integration between R&D and clinical stages, as well as the establishment of core proprietary platforms, will be key factors for the clinical application of precision diagnostics in the future,” said Wang Yuchong.

Dr. Liu Xiaoling, the project lead of the ETP Fund, stated, “Despite the prevailing trend in tumor immunotherapy, many areas of research remain a ‘black box.’” Mass cytometry technology enables multiparametric detection of proteins and nucleic acids at the single-cell level, providing clearer insights into the tumor microenvironment and facilitating precise patient stratification for treatment as well as prognostic monitoring. “Dr. Wang Yuchong, founder of ChenAn BioSciences, and his outstanding team are dedicated to independently developing China’s first mass cytometry instrument, which is expected to provide more precise data support for tumor immunotherapy. We are highly optimistic about the team and will fully support ChenAn BioSciences in becoming an internationally leading R&D and manufacturing enterprise in the field of precision oncology diagnostics,” said Dr. Liu.

Jing Xutian, Vice President of Morningside Venture Capital, stated, “Immunotherapy is gradually rising to a mainstream position in the field of oncology treatment. Single-cell proteomic analysis at the protein level plays a role in immunotherapy analogous to that of genetic testing in targeted therapy; it will complement and even guide clinical medication and drug development for immunotherapy. Developing related detection technology platforms requires a team with strong multidisciplinary cross-functional capabilities to collaborate and continuously iterate. ChenAn’s team is precisely composed of young, high-tech talents from various relevant specialized fields. We are optimistic about ChenAn’s R&D strength; this team has the potential to bring this platform to market, ultimately establishing it as foundational infrastructure for the entire field of immunotherapy.”

Zhang Suyang, Managing Partner at Volcanic Stone Capital, believes that a multi-dimensional and comprehensive understanding of tumor immunity is the key to breakthroughs in immunotherapy and has been a major focus of research for leading pharmaceutical companies in recent years. “Since its inception, the ChenAn team has been dedicated to building a technological platform that enables high-throughput, multi-dimensional, and comprehensive understanding of tumor immunity. As an early investor in ChenAn, we have clearly witnessed the company’s rapid development and recognized the team’s strong R&D and engineering capabilities. We are highly optimistic about the company’s strategic direction and believe that, with a more comprehensive understanding of tumor immunity, more therapeutic approaches based on ChenAn’s technology platform will emerge. We will continue to support ChenAn’s growth in the future.”

It is understood that ChenAn Bio has currently established in-depth collaborations in the field of oncology with multiple large Grade A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and other regions. The institutional investors of ChenAn Bio include ETP, Qiming Venture Partners, Volcanic Stone Capital, Puhua Capital, Shulan Healthcare, and Daotong Capital.