CytosinLab Therapeutics Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million Series A+ Financing to Advance Global First-in-Class Epigenetic Therapies into Clinical Development

In 2023, stakeholders across the biopharmaceutical industry felt a pronounced chill. According to data released by Zero2IPO Research, investment in the biopharmaceutical sector during the first half of 2023 amounted to only 42% of the level seen in the same period of 2021. Amid this significant contraction in investment capital, institutional investors have shown a stronger preference for high-quality companies with greater development certainty and genuine technological barriers.

On December 25, 2023, CytosinLab Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on next-generation epigenetic therapeutic technologies, announced against the trend that it had recently completed an A+ round of financing totaling nearly RMB 100 million. The round was co-led by Fortune Capital and Hangzhou Heda Fund, and the proceeds will be primarily used to accelerate the clinical development of multiple products in CytosinLab’s pipeline and to further enhance its EpigenPLUS epigenetics technology platform.

Dr. Wu Haiping, Founder of Sailan Pharma, stated: “We extend our sincere gratitude to both new and existing investors for their strong recognition and support of Sailan Pharma. Since its inception, the company has remained committed to addressing unmet medical and market needs by developing next-generation epigenetic therapies for oncology. Leveraging our proprietary EpigenPLUS technology platform, we have independently developed multiple global ‘First-in-Class’ candidates that have entered clinical trials. Encouragingly, our products have already demonstrated positive clinical efficacy. We are firmly convinced that the market prospects for next-generation epigenetic drugs are promising, and we aspire to create groundbreaking, China-originated blockbuster drugs that provide safer and superior treatment options for cancer patients in China and around the world.”

Public information indicates that Sailan Pharma has recently made frequent progress in its R&D efforts. This year, the company’s two self-developed innovative drugs, CTS2190 and CTS2016, have both successfully initiated Phase I clinical trials, with the first subjects enrolled in the first half of the year. The rapid and efficient clinical advancement demonstrates the solid expertise and top-tier execution capabilities of the company’s clinical team. Additionally, the next-generation PRMT5-MTA complex inhibitor disclosed at this year’s AACR meeting is scheduled to enter Phase I clinical trials in 2024.

It is reported that the rapid advancement of clinical trials for its innovative pipeline and the positive data released have attracted greater attention from institutional investors to Sailan Pharma, which has just completed this round of financing, while also raising market expectations for the potential embedded in epigenetics technologies.

The onset and progression of tumors often stem from dysregulated expression of key genes, making epigenetics—the study of heritable changes in gene expression and phenotypes without alterations in the DNA sequence—one of the most promising avenues in current cancer therapy.

Currently, 14 epigenetic drugs have been approved for market launch globally, and the market size for epigenetic therapies is projected to exceed USD 10 billion in the next decade. In overseas markets, first-generation biopharmaceutical companies dedicated to reshaping the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases through epigenetic drugs have emerged successively, including Epizyme, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, and Imago Biosciences. In the domestic market, leading biotechnology companies such as Sailan Medicine are developing globally innovative drugs targeting the larger blue-ocean market of solid tumors. The R&D pipelines of these relevant enterprises have attracted significant attention from major multinational pharmaceutical companies.

In fact, by targeting key epigenetic regulatory factors in various cells within the tumor and its microenvironment, epigenetics can fundamentally control tumor progression and metastasis, significantly prolonging patient survival. It is expected to become the most revolutionary opportunity in cancer treatment in the next decade. In addition, the druggability of epigenetic factor targets has also been proven. Compared with transcription factors that control gene expression, epigenetic targets are often enzymes that perform catalytic functions in vivo. Under existing drug discovery technologies, there is an opportunity to design various small molecule compounds for targeted therapy. Furthermore, by targeting key nodes in epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and intervening at the epigenomic level, it is more promising to control the occurrence of tumors as a whole.

Sailan Pharmaceuticals’ investigational candidate, CTS2190, is an oral, selective small-molecule clinical candidate drug based on the mechanisms of cancer epigenetics and integrating precision medicine with epigenomic technologies.

Preclinical and translational medicine research data indicate that CTS2190 exhibits excellent pharmacological efficacy, a unique mechanism of action, and well-defined targets. It has demonstrated effective inhibition across various solid tumor and hematologic malignancy cell lines, as well as in CDX, PDO, and PDX models, while also showing potential for combination therapy with multiple standard treatments. Currently, CTS2190 is undergoing Phase I dose-escalation and expansion studies in patients with advanced solid tumors. Notably, based on previously reported positive clinical efficacy and safety data, CTS2190 is poised to initiate Phase II clinical trials.

Beyond the realm of solid tumors, epigenetics also holds broad application prospects in the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

In March this year, Sailan Pharma officially initiated Phase I clinical trials for its next-generation targeted oncology drug in development, CTS2016 capsules, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and intermediate- to high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Preclinical studies demonstrated that CTS2016 potently inhibited a variety of hematologic malignancies and metastatic solid tumor models, showing excellent efficacy against relapsed or refractory malignant hematologic tumors.

“Compared with similar drugs, CTS2016 features high selectivity, a wide safety window, and unique, superior pharmacokinetic properties. It holds promise for significantly reducing the common side effects associated with this class of targeted therapies in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, thereby addressing urgent clinical pain points and challenges,” stated Dr. Mi Yuan, Co-founder of Sailun Pharma.

Dr. Wang Dakui, Executive Director of Fortune Capital’s Healthcare Sub-Fund, stated: “In just four years since its establishment, Sailan Pharma has advanced two innovative drug candidates into clinical trials. We are exhilarated by the company’s progress and robust execution capabilities in the field of epigenetics. Epigenetics plays a pivotal role in disease and drug research, offering opportunities to gain deeper insights into disease pathogenesis and enable personalized treatment. We look forward to the early market launch of Sailan Pharma’s novel epigenetic anticancer drugs, which will benefit cancer patients in China and bring new possibilities for curing cancer.”

Behind the two innovative drugs is Sailan Pharma’s proprietary EpigenPLUS R&D platform.

According to the introduction, this platform integrates diverse innovative drug R&D technologies—including epigenomics, epigenetics, clinical pharmacology and toxicology, tumor biology, medicinal chemistry, AI-driven drug discovery (AIDD), structural biology, and translational medicine—to efficiently, integratively, and comprehensively facilitate the platform-based translation of novel epigenetic mechanisms, targets, and technologies, thereby enabling the rapid discovery of innovative targets and candidate compounds.

In addition to CTS2190 and CTS2016, two candidate drugs that have entered clinical trials, Sailan Pharmaceuticals has developed multiple preclinical candidate (PCC) molecules based on its EpigenPLUS technology platform, which are poised to enter the Investigational New Drug (IND) application stage. All these candidates target next-generation epigenetic mechanisms, with several pipeline assets demonstrating the potential to be first-in-class or best-in-class.

The power of the EpigenPLUS technology platform extends beyond Sailan Pharma, providing systematic technical support for target discovery and validation, drug screening, and preclinical drug evaluation for both internal R&D and external collaborations.

Currently, Sailan Pharma has established in-depth collaborations with the Roche China Accelerator, multiple research institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and other leading research institutions, as well as several top-tier hospitals in China. These efforts are dedicated to addressing tumor types with high prevalence in China that urgently require innovative therapeutic approaches, while exploring the extended applications of epigenetics across academic, medical, and industrial sectors.

As Sailan Pharma’s R&D pipeline and technologies continue to achieve breakthroughs, the company itself is in a phase of rapid development, with its team expanding quickly. Currently, the company has established its headquarters in Hangzhou. With operations in both Hangzhou and Shanghai, it has completed the construction of integrated R&D centers encompassing biological and chemical laboratories as well as office spaces, totaling over 3,000 square meters in area.

Mr. Jin Yufeng, President of Hangzhou Heda Industrial Fund, the lead investor in this round, stated: “The Heda Biopharmaceutical Fund is committed to investing in frontier innovations within the global innovative drug sector, specifically targeting R&D enterprises focused on clinically urgent drugs with validated druggability. Sailan Bio’s robust EpigenPLUS technology platform provides a foundation for identifying next-generation epigenetic therapeutic targets and evaluating their synergistic effects when combined with existing therapies. Leveraging the extensive industry experience accumulated by the company’s three founders, we are confident in the successful development of Sailan Bio’s novel epigenetic drugs.”

According to Academician Xu Guoliang, founder of Sailan Pharmaceutical Sciences, by focusing on the most promising field of epigenetic therapy in the post-genomic era and leveraging the EpigenPLUS platform, Sailan Pharmaceutical will not only persist in the research and development of blockbuster novel drugs with independent intellectual property rights based on “source innovation,” but also aims to provide an industrialization and translation platform for outstanding basic scientific achievements by local Chinese scientists. The company is committed to continuously exploring the clinical translation value of China’s excellent basic scientific results, facilitating their platform-based, specialized, and industry-standard-compliant product output, and fully empowering the R&D of efficient, safe, and cost-effective targeted novel drugs with independent Chinese intellectual property rights.

Sailan (Hangzhou) Biopharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on next-generation epigenetic therapeutics, committed to advancing the development of innovative drugs globally. Leveraging cutting-edge advancements in epigenomics and specialized epigenetic technologies, the team researches and develops innovative drugs and therapies for major diseases such as cancer. Simultaneously, the company engages in the translational application and development of highly innovative, internationally advanced life science technologies to meet the medical needs of patients in China and worldwide. The company’s team comprises academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, overseas-returnee scientists, and seasoned pharmaceutical industry executives, possessing extensive experience in basic research and successful new drug development. Adopting a “Platform + Assets” model, Sailan has built the EpigenPLUS technology platform and a robust drug pipeline, predominantly featuring global “First-in-Class” products. Currently, two of its products have entered clinical trials, while multiple preclinical candidate drugs are being actively advanced. Grounded in independent innovation, the company actively translates outstanding achievements from China’s basic scientific research into practical applications. It has established collaborations with numerous external pharmaceutical companies and research institutions and is actively seeking further partnership opportunities.

Fortune Capital is one of the most influential venture capital firms in China. Founded in 2000, it manages funds totaling nearly RMB 50 billion and has invested in more than 730 companies. Thanks to its outstanding performance, Fortune Capital has consistently ranked among the top in evaluations conducted by authoritative institutions such as the China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), Zero2IPO Group, CVSource, and Financing China. It has been named to Zero2IPO’s “Top 50 Best Venture Capital Firms in China” for 23 consecutive years, ranking first in 2012 and 2015, and has remained among the top three domestic venture capital firms for the past decade. Furthermore, in the assessments of private equity fund managers investing insurance funds conducted by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China (IAMAC) in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Fortune Capital was rated as a Class A institution with high scores for three consecutive years.

The Heda Industrial Fund is operated and managed by Hangzhou Heda Financial Services Group Co., Ltd. and its subordinate private equity fund managers. As the primary vehicle for innovative industrial investment in Qiantang (New) District, it builds a capital ecosystem chain to support the development of regional innovative industries through market-oriented investment strategies. Over the five years since its establishment, the Heda Industrial Fund has leveraged its professional investment capabilities and post-investment empowerment and incubation expertise. It has expanded from providing precise services to the biopharmaceutical industry to achieving comprehensive coverage of “all key dominant industries” and the “full enterprise lifecycle,” thereby promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, and capital chain.