lncTAC Secures RMB 100 Million Pre-A Financing to Advance lncRNA-Based Therapeutics

VCBeat has learned that Chengdu lncTAC Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (lncTAC, hereinafter referred to as “lncTAC Biotech”) has recently completed a Pre-A financing round worth hundreds of millions of yuan. The round was led by Legend Capital, with participation from a subsidiary of CHINA MEDICAL SYSTEM HOLDINGS LIMITED (00867.HK, hereinafter referred to as “CMS”), Huoying Haoyue, and Chengdu Guosheng Capital.

lncTAC Biopharma was founded in 2021 by a founding team comprising Song Xu, Ding Lihua, and Qin Chong, consisting of two scientists and one senior executive. The company is dedicated to the research and development of innovative nucleic acid therapeutics based on lncRNA. Currently, lncTAC Biopharma has established proprietary platforms for stable nucleic acid drug formulation and extrahepatic targeted delivery. Research data demonstrate that these platforms outperform traditional nucleic acid delivery vectors in terms of delivery efficiency, safety, dosage requirements, and organ targeting specificity.

This round of financing will be used to advance the company’s pipeline through preclinical development, optimize its novel tumor D&T delivery platform, and expand its R&D team. The company is scheduled to complete the preclinical research phase for multiple pipeline candidates in 2024.

Dr. Qi Fei, Executive Director of Legend Capital, stated: Built upon the years of lncRNA scientific accumulation by Professor Song Xu’s team, and through the joint efforts of its founding team with extensive experience in both industry and academia, lncTAC has achieved exciting results in the development of next-generation nucleic acid drugs, based on “targeted delivery” and “enhanced stability of nucleic acid therapeutics.” As a global first-in-class (FIC) technological platform, it boasts broad market prospects. Adhering to the philosophy of “like-minded partners co-creating desirable ventures and sharing success,” Legend Capital will leverage its ecosystem resources to comprehensively empower the company’s growth.

Jiang Fei, CIO (Greater China) of CMS Pharmaceutical Group, stated: lncTAC is the first biopharmaceutical company in China to focus on drug development targeting long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). By leveraging modular combinations of lncRNAs, it achieves stability, delivery, and targeting functions, which are then integrated with other RNA molecules or proteins to exert therapeutic effects. Its advanced lncRNA module technology is at a global First-in-Class (FIC) level and can be applied to the development of drugs for oncology, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, and other conditions. This technology offers significant benefits for siRNA-based therapeutics by reducing production costs and shortening development cycles. As an open-platform enterprise bridging pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization, CMS looks forward to comprehensive future collaboration with lncTAC to successfully achieve clinical translation and commercialization of lncRNA technologies, thereby addressing unmet medical needs.

Li Zheng, Managing Partner of Shaoxing Huoyinghaoyue, statedWe are honored to have followed lncTAC’s development since its inception and participated in its early-stage investment. lncTAC focuses on pioneering technologies based on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), maintaining a leading position globally. In particular, we highly value its core technological advantages in stability and extrahepatic delivery platforms. The complementary composition of lncTAC’s founding team is exceptionally rare, bringing together top domestic leaders in the lncTAC field as well as seasoned management elites from the industry. We believe that the combination of scientists and operational management experts not only ensures advanced innovation but also guarantees sustainable and steady growth, which reflects our recognition of the team. Through our previous collaboration, mutual trust has continued to strengthen. We are privileged to further increase our investment to support lncTAC’s continued development. We look forward to seeing lncTAC’s technology platform achieve more breakthroughs at an accelerated pace, successfully incubate innovative drugs, and benefit patients at an early date!

The Chengdu Guosheng Capital investment team stated: lncTAC Biotech is an incubated enterprise at the Chengdu Biological City Park, having been established just two years ago. The company focuses on lncRNA and is engaged in source innovation. In recent years, biomedical innovation has been exceptionally dynamic, with new technologies and products frequently undergoing iterative or even disruptive changes. Guosheng Capital believes that lncTAC Biotech’s platform technology possesses such potential. On July 3, the State Council officially promulgated the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Private Investment Funds. Whether driven by industry demand or government guidance, “investing early, investing in small enterprises, and investing in technology” has become a clear trend. Guosheng Capital aims to support lncTAC Biotech in becoming a locally rooted biotech company with internationally leading technology.

Legend Capital was established in April 2001 and is a leading fund management company in China specializing in early-stage venture capital and growth-stage private equity investment. Over the past two decades, Legend Capital has adhered to international standards, creating best practices for fund operations and management. Through its proactive value-added service system, Legend Capital fosters innovative corporate growth, delivering consistent strong investment returns across multiple sectors while driving industrial advancement and social development in China. With the vision of “becoming an investment firm with global influence,” Legend Capital upholds the core value of “Wealth with Integrity” and actively fulfills its social responsibilities.

Legend Capital has maintained a deep focus on investments in the healthcare sector, systematically building its portfolio across the broader health industry. In this field, several of its portfolio companies—industry leaders in their respective segments, including Pharmaron (300759.SZ)(03759.HK), WuXi AppTec (603259.SH)(02359.HK), WuXi Biologics (02269.HK), Innovent Biologics (01801.HK), New Horizon Health (06606.HK), and Mingde Biology (002932.SZ)—have been listed on the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets.

CMS is an open-platform enterprise that bridges pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization, exercising control over the entire product lifecycle. It is dedicated to providing competitive products and services to address unmet medical needs. CMS focuses on first-in-class (FIC) and best-in-class (BIC) innovative products, efficiently advancing their clinical development and commercialization. This empowers the continuous translation of scientific achievements into diagnostic and therapeutic practices, ultimately benefiting patients.With a focus on specialized therapeutic areas, CMS possesses proven commercialization capabilities, an extensive channel network, and access to experts across multiple disease fields. Its core marketed products have achieved leading academic and market positions. CMS continues to deepen its development in advantageous specialized areas to consolidate the competitiveness of its cardiovascular/cerebrovascular and gastrointestinal businesses. Meanwhile, it operates its dermatology/aesthetic medicine and ophthalmology businesses independently, cultivating dominant players in niche specialized segments to enhance scale efficiency. Furthermore, CMS is expanding its business footprint into the Southeast Asian market, striving to become the “bridgehead” for global pharmaceutical companies entering Southeast Asia, thereby supporting the high-quality, sustainable, and healthy development of CMS.

Shaoxing Huoyinghaoyue Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership was founded by Mr. Li Zheng in 2021. The firm is primarily engaged in investment and management within high-tech industries, corporate investment planning, and enterprise management consulting, with a key focus on the biopharmaceutical sector.

Guosheng Capital is a state-owned industrial capital firm rooted in the Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-City, dedicated to serving the global development of innovative life sciences. It has established a coordinated cluster of nine parent-subsidiary industry funds with a total scale exceeding RMB 10 billion. The firm has completed investments in over 70 outstanding enterprises in the biopharmaceutical sector, covering five major areas: modern biotechnological drugs, innovative chemical drugs, high-performance medical devices, professional outsourcing services, and health services. Adhering to the model of “government guidance + market logic + specialized operations,” Guosheng Capital is committed to becoming the most influential comprehensive financial service provider in China’s industry.