Zhenzhi Medicine Secures Pre-A+ Funding to Advance Tumor Antigen-Specific T-cell Therapies and mRNA Cancer Vaccines

November 14, 2023Zhenzhi Medical Announces Completion of Tens of Millions of RMB in Pre-A+ Round Financing, Led by Shunxi Fund Under Beijing State-owned Capital Management and Control Center, with Follow-on Investment from Existing Shareholders Junshi Biosciences and Alwin Investment, as Well as the Company’s Founders。This round of financing will be used to support the development of T-cell therapies targeting solid tumor antigens and mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccines, with a commitment to providing more innovative treatment options for patients with solid tumors and clinicians worldwide.

Mr. Ren Peng, Head of Shunxi Fund under the State-owned Assets Management Center“The discovery and screening of tumor antigens serve as the cornerstone of cancer immunotherapy. Therapeutic cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies targeting tumor antigens hold promise for disease prevention and clinical treatment in oncology from diverse perspectives. Dr. Zhang Henghui, founder of Zhenzhi Medical, brings years of experience in clinical medicine and immunological research, offering profound insights into the screening and combination of tumor antigens. We believe that Zhenzhi Medical possesses innovative and unique technological advantages in developing universal antigen-specific T-cell therapeutics for solid tumors and mRNA-based therapeutic vaccines targeting tumor-specific antigens, thereby providing more treatment opportunities for cancer patients worldwide.”

Mr. Xiong Jun, Chairman of Junshi Biosciencesstated: “Leveraging its robust immuno-omics platform, Zhenzhi Medical’s cell therapy and mRNA drug products are poised to further extend survival for patients with refractory tumors, offering an innovative therapeutic option. We look forward to the rapid clinical validation of Zhenzhi Medical’s innovative oncology therapies under the leadership of its highly executable core team.”

Alwin Investmentstated: “Zhenzhi Medical has integrated IT and BT tools to establish a domestically leading platform for the screening, validation, and optimization of tumor antigens, which has begun to undergo stepwise verification in human clinical trials. The founding team of Zhenzhi Medical possesses a solid research foundation and extensive clinical experience. We look forward to the company’s products achieving breakthroughs in the field of solid tumor treatment at an early date, thereby benefiting a broad population of patients.”

Dr. Zhang Henghui, Founder and Chairman of Zhenzhi Medicalstated: “First and foremost, we extend our sincere gratitude to both new and existing shareholders for their support of the company’s development. Since its inception, the company has been dedicated to the discovery of solid tumor antigens and T-cell receptors (TCRs), leveraging T-cell and mRNA technologies to develop therapeutic modalities for solid tumors. To date, the company has established comprehensive databases covering multiple solid tumor antigen epitopes and TCRs, and has built an advanced technology platform for T-cell therapies and mRNA cancer therapeutic vaccines that supports efficacy evaluations across both preclinical and clinical studies. The company is currently conducting a clinical trial of its T-cell therapy drug (IPM001 injection; NCT05536427) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who have failed second-line (2L) treatment (third-line and beyond [3L+]). Enrollment for the low- and medium-dose cohorts has been completed. No drug-related adverse events were observed in any participants, with safety and tolerability profiles superior to those of standard care. Several participants demonstrated clinical efficacy surpassing that of standard second-line treatments. The company plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) in the near future. Meanwhile, the company’s first-in-class mRNA cancer vaccine for hepatocellular carcinoma patients who have failed first-line (1L) treatment (NCT05981066) has entered exploratory clinical research, and the first participant has been dosed. Following this round of financing, the company will continue to advance the clinical development of IPM001 injection, actively promote patient enrollment and subsequent development of its mRNA cancer therapeutic vaccines, and explore the clinical efficacy of combining T-cell therapies and mRNA cancer therapeutic vaccines with various immune checkpoint inhibitors, aiming to provide more, safer, and more effective treatment options for patients with solid tumors at an earlier stage.”

Beijing Shunxi Venture Capital Fund Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shunxi Management”) is a subsidiary of Beijing State-owned Capital Operation and Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Beijing Guoguan”) and serves as its venture capital investment platform. Adhering to its strategic positioning as a venture capital platform, Shunxi Management focuses on early-stage and small-scale investments, targeting high-quality early-stage projects in the fields of technological innovation and healthcare. By establishing market-oriented operational and management mechanisms, the company is committed to becoming a first-class venture capital investment platform in China.

Junshi Biosciences (688180.SH, 1877.HK), established in December 2012, is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies. Leveraging its global integrated capabilities for source innovation and R&D, the Company has built a multi-tiered product pipeline comprising more than 50 innovative drugs, covering five major therapeutic areas: oncology, autoimmune diseases, chronic metabolic disorders, neurological diseases, and infectious diseases. Four of its products have been launched domestically or overseas, including toripalimab (Tuoyi), China’s first independently developed PD-1 inhibitor.^®), with more than 30 drugs in clinical development. During the pandemic, Junshi Biosciences also participated in the development of etesevimab and Mindewei^®and other innovative drugs for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, actively fulfilling the responsibilities of a domestic innovative pharmaceutical enterprise.

Junshi Biosciences is committed to its mission of “developing world-class, trustworthy, original biologics that are accessible to patients.” Headquartered in China, the company has established a global presence. Currently, it employs approximately 3,000 people worldwide, with operations in San Francisco and Maryland in the United States, as well as in Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, and Guangzhou in China.

Alwin Capital, established in 2015, is a specialized investment fund focused on the frontiers of life sciences. Its founding team has two decades of deep expertise in China’s pharmaceutical industry, combining industrial and financial backgrounds with extensive investment research experience. In recent years, grounded in professional research and guided by scientific disciplines, Alwin Capital has systematically deployed capital across the forefront of life sciences in China. Leveraging a robust investment research framework and mature portfolio management, the firm has nurtured several leading companies in cutting-edge fields such as gene editing, nucleic acid therapeutics, cell therapy, and molecular diagnostics. Additionally, with keen investment judgment, it has backed multiple standout projects at the intersection of innovative technology and life sciences.

Zhenzhi Medical is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of tumor antigen-specific cell therapies and tumor antigen mRNA therapeutic vaccines. The company pioneered the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) algorithms combined with a cross-feedback research model integrating “tumor immunology multi-omics data + immunological biotechnology,” launching IMMURITHMS^®Computing platform to establish a tumor antigen epitope library and a T-cell receptor database.

The company has 4,400 m²²Advanced Therapeutic Technology Innovation Center: Capable of high-throughput validation of tumor antigen epitopes and TCRs, preclinical evaluation of mRNA tumor vaccines and cell therapies, and housing a Clinical Immunology Testing Laboratory. The facility features B+A grade cell therapy manufacturing suites compliant with EU EMA, US FDA, and China NMPA requirements, meeting R&D needs across various stages including early-stage development of mRNA tumor vaccines and cell therapies, exploratory clinical studies, and IND-enabling clinical trials.

Zhenzhi Medical is a National High-Tech Enterprise, a Beijing “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” (SRDI) SME, and a Zhongguancun High-Tech Enterprise, with its headquarters located in Beijing, China. The core team has long been engaged in tumor immunology research and clinical studies on tumor vaccines and cell-based therapies, possessing forward-looking scientific insights into cancer immunotherapy. The company operates a postdoctoral research station and hosts the “Beijing Engineering Research Center for Immune Cell Therapy,” approved by the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, as well as the Capital Stem Cell Public Platform.