Zesen Therapeutics Announces Proposed RMB 507 Million Financing to Advance Global First-in-Class Cardiomyocyte Therapy

On the evening of November 15, 2017, Zesheng Technology (871392.OC), a leading domestic innovative drug R&D company, announced that the company plans to issue additional sharesNot exceedingRMB 507 million.

According to the announcement, the investors proposed to participate in this private placement include SDIC Venture Capital, Tianfeng Tianrui, Orient Securities, China Venture Capital (CVC), and Everbright Ivy Investment. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor to Zesheng Technology in this private placement.

The funds raised in this offering will be primarily used for the recombinant human neuregulin project, other projects under development, the new laboratory building project, and to supplement working capital.

Zesheng Technology is a high-tech biopharmaceutical enterprise driven by international pharmaceutical market demands and grounded in innovative research, dedicated to the development of original novel drugs with independent intellectual property rights. The company was listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) in May 2017. It possesses two core innovative drug R&D platforms centered on cardiomyocyte therapy technology and cellular energy metabolism therapy technology. To date, it has filed 186 patent applications worldwide, with 73 patents granted.

Leveraging Zesheng’s cardiomyocyte therapy platform and cutting-edge technology, Zesheng Technology has developed its core product for the treatment of chronic heart failure, Neucardin™ (recombinant human neuregulin). As a first-in-class innovative drug with global patents and rights, Neucardin™ is poised to break the nearly two-decade-long stagnation marked by a lack of major breakthroughs in this field upon its market launch.

In addition to this product, the Company has leveraged its cardiomyocyte therapy platform to develop other first-in-class (FIC) innovative drugs, including new indications for Neuregulin in the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and stroke, as well as “rAAV9/cMLCK,” a gene therapy drug for severe heart failure. Relying on Zesheng’s cellular energy metabolism therapy platform and technologies, the Company has also developed a series of innovative chemical drugs targeting aging-related conditions such as functional constipation and Alzheimer’s disease. These products are expected to enter clinical stages sequentially starting from 2018.

To facilitate the smooth progress of Zesheng Technology’s financing round, Tang Jianping, Head of the Biopharmaceutical Industry at SDIC Venture Capital, and Dr. Hu Zhiyuan, Investment Director for Project Investments, stated: “SDIC Venture Capital intends to lead a RMB 250 million investment through the National Science and Technology Major Special Project Achievement Transformation Fund under its management. This investment will accelerate the regulatory approval and market launch in China of Zesheng Technology’s flagship product, recombinant human neuregulin-1 (rhNRG-1), with the potential to become a landmark achievement of the ‘Major New Drug Creation’ initiative. Recombinant human neuregulin-1 is a rare original innovative drug genuinely developed in China that has entered the international new drug market. SDIC Venture Capital’s investment in this round is driven by the commitment to support Chinese original scientific and technological innovations of international leading standards in going global, and to back the international multicenter clinical trials of Zesheng’s flagship product, thereby actively promoting the early market launch of neuregulin-1 in China as well as in developed countries in Europe and the United States.”

Ms. Hong Ailin, Partner at China Renaissance Capital, stated, “In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies have begun to expand into international markets, and Zesheng Technology is undoubtedly a pioneer among them. As a rare domestic innovative drug company that independently develops both drug targets and compounds, Zesheng Technology will leverage this round of financing to rapidly initiate international multi-center Phase III clinical trials for its core product, ‘Recombinant Human Neuregulin.’ This will mark a significant step for Chinese original innovative pharmaceutical enterprises on the global stage. China Renaissance Capital is also honored to contribute to the rise of China’s original innovative pharmaceutical industry.”