Esheng Bio Completes Tens of Millions RMB Financing to Accelerate Industrialization of Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Islet Therapeutics

VCBeat has learned that in October 2023, Essentia Biosciences (hereinafter referred to as “Essentia Biosciences”) completed its Angel+ round of financing. From 2022 to 2023, Essentia Biosciences successively closed its Angel and Angel+ rounds, raising a total of tens of millions of RMB. Investors included Yuansheng Venture Capital, New Airport City Capital, Yiyuan Investment, Beiyang Haitang, and Beijing Molecular Technology, among others. The funds from this round will be primarily used to accelerate the construction of GMP production lines for core pipelines, implement manufacturing processes, and advance preclinical research.

Essentia Biosciences is a high-tech enterprise specializing in pluripotent stem cell therapeutics, with a focus on the research, development, and industrialization of diabetes-related drugs. The company has established R&D laboratories in Beijing, China, and Cambridge, UK. Its core team comprises young talents from prestigious institutions such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and Peking University. Officially launching its R&D efforts in March 2022, Essentia Biosciences has completed technical route validation for its first drug candidate, “ESN5800,” with core technical indicators reaching world-class levels.

It is reported that the company has established its presence in the Comprehensive Bonded Zone Pharmaceutical Incubator Industrial Park within the Daxing Airport Economic Zone. The production base currently under construction covers a total area of 1,600 square meters and is expected to support future clinical trials and other platform-based business operations. Leveraging the world’s largest hub airport, the Daxing Airport Economic Zone has defined a “1+2+2” industrial system strategic layout led by the life and health industry. It focuses on frontier medical technology fields such as cell and gene therapies and high-value medical devices, striving to build a medical innovation demonstration zone characterized by the “integration of medicine, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals,” with medical research as the core link and medical services and the pharmaceutical industry as pillars.

Dr. Liu Tongri, Founder and CEO of Essentia Biosciences, stated, “We extend our gratitude to our existing shareholders for their continued support and to our new investors for their trust. Pluripotent stem cell-derived islet cell therapy represents one of the most promising avenues for achieving a clinical cure for diabetes and holds clear prospects for industrialization. Over the past year, Essentia Biosciences has focused on its islet cell therapy pipeline, rapidly advancing research across multiple technical routes. We have now completed the R&D and process development for our lead pipeline, laying a solid foundation for current industrial translation. Guided by an end-goal-oriented approach, our team will accelerate industrialization efforts to strive for the early availability of off-the-shelf islet cell therapy products for patients.””