Adagene Secures Nearly RMB 200 Million in Series B Financing to Advance Clinical Development of Innovative Antibody Therapies

On January 28, Adagene, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing next-generation therapeutic and diagnostic antibody technologies, announced the completion of its Series B financing, raising nearly RMB 200 million.

This financing round was led by Ginkgo Health Fund, with continued participation from existing investors Eight Roads Ventures China (formerly Fidelity Asia Growth Fund), F-Prime Capital (formerly Fidelity Boston Biotech Fund), and WuXi Corporate Venture Fund. New World TMT also joined the round as a new investor. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor to Adagene.

Dr. Peizhi Luo, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adagene, is a serial entrepreneur with extensive expertise in antibody development and antibody engineering. He co-founded Abmaxis, which was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) in 2006. Following the acquisition, Dr. Luo served as Director of Biologics and Head of Antibody Engineering at Merck. He also previously held the position of Chief Scientist at Xencor.

Adagene leverages its proprietary Dynamic Precision Library (DPL) technology to develop industry-leading novel therapeutics. The company boasts a portfolio of monospecific and bispecific antibodies targeting a diverse range of antigens, including complex targets that have traditionally been challenging for antibody generation. Adagene has established strategic partnerships with multiple leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across North America, Europe, and China.

It is understood that the funds raised in this round of financing will be used to advance several internal projects into the clinical validation phase, while continuing to drive the research and development of innovative antibody therapies.