Apexigen Secures $73 Million in Series B and C Financing to Advance CD40 Agonist APX005M and Expand Pipeline

On August 13, 2018, VCBeat learned that U.S. biopharmaceutical company Apexigen announced the completion of a combined $73 million in Series B and C financing. Decheng Capital participated in the Series B round, while Delian Capital, Bencao Capital, SV Tech, Virtus Inspire Ventures, and other institutions jointly participated in the Series C round.

Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Apexigen is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing next-generation antibodies for cancer immunotherapy. The company possesses a unique antibody drug development platform, APXiMAB™, which has been utilized to develop its core product, APX005M, as well as other preclinical programs.

This platform enables the company and its partners to develop high-quality antibodies against diverse targets, including those that are challenging to drug using conventional antibody development technologies. Currently, seven antibodies developed using APXiMAB™ have entered clinical trials.

Apexigen’s core product at this stage is APX005M, a tumor immunotherapy antibody targeting CD40. Currently, APX005M is undergoing multiple Phase II clinical trials for various indications.

It is understood that APX005M is an agonist humanized monoclonal antibody that activates anti-tumor immune responses by targeting CD40, a key co-stimulatory receptor that activates both innate and adaptive immunity.

Image provided by Apexigen

When APX005M binds to CD40 on the surface of antigen-presenting cells (dendritic cells, monocytes, and B cells), it triggers a cascade of immune responses, enabling various components of the immune system (such as T cells and phagocytes) to work synergistically against tumors.

Currently, APX005M is undergoing multiple Phase II clinical trials in combination with tumor immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for various indications, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cancer.

The proceeds from this financing round will be used to advance the clinical trials of APX005M, as well as to support the research and development of the company’s other product pipelines.

“The completion of this financing round marks Apexigen’s entry into a new trajectory of growth. It also provides us with sufficient resources to advance the clinical trials of our core product, APX005M, and to leverage our unique drug development platform, APXiMAB™, to rapidly build out our new product pipeline,” said Dr. Yang Xiaodong, CEO of Apexigen. “Regarding our core product APX005M, we are currently conducting eight clinical trials simultaneously. We believe that, as a CD40 agonist, APX005M will play a significant role in future cancer immunotherapy regimens.”

In the future, they will leverage our unique R&D platform to accelerate the development of next-generation cancer immunotherapies.

Zhao Guobao, Vice President of Delian Capital, stated, “Apexigen boasts an experienced management team and a highly promising product pipeline. The development of APX005M is among the most advanced globally. Furthermore, Apexigen possesses a unique antibody drug discovery platform, APXiMAB™. We are optimistic about the company’s potential to develop more groundbreaking products in the future.”