China's Biopharma Sector Accelerates: EFUNG Capital Portfolio Highlights Major Breakthroughs in September 2026

When Nanjing IASO Biotechnology announced in mid-September that its Phase III trial for a multiple myeloma cell therapy had completed full enrollment, it marked more than just another clinical milestone. The achievement underscored a broader pattern playing out across China's biopharma sector—one where portfolio companies of Shanghai-based EFUNG Capital are increasingly delivering on the promise of innovative therapies reaching patients.

September 2026 brought a wave of breakthroughs for the investment firm's portfolio. From near-billion-yuan financing rounds to first-in-class drug approvals, the month illustrated how China's biopharma industry is accelerating from bench to bedside, buoyed by both policy support and commercial execution.

The timing aligns with Beijing's ambitions. Ten government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, released the "15th Five-Year Plan" for pharmaceutical industry development, setting a 2030 target for China's biopharma R&D to rank among the world's elite. The plan calls for systematic breakthroughs in core technologies and positions biopharma as a national pillar industry.

Policy sets direction, but company-level progress provides the real temperature check.

Capital Flows In

Beijing Inno Medicine closed a Series D round worth nearly 800 million RMB (approximately $112 million), the company announced. The funds will accelerate international multi-center clinical trials for its core pipeline products, pushing its global development timeline forward.

In earlier-stage financing, Lumiere Therapeutics secured over 100 million RMB (roughly $14 million) in a Pre-A round led by Yuanhang Capital and Huafang Capital, with participation from EFUNG's Zhuohua Fund and Junling Investment among others.

Zhejiang Barty Medical Technology completed a Series D expansion round in the tens of millions of RMB range, with investment from a CICC Capital fund.

Meanwhile, two portfolio companies are pursuing public listings. ProteLight Pharmaceuticals filed an 18A prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, while Nanjing Novlead Biotechnology updated its own Hong Kong IPO prospectus.

Clinical Breakthroughs Multiply

IASO Biotechnology dominated the clinical news cycle. On September 12, the company announced that enrollment had been completed for a Phase III registration trial of equecabtagene autoleucel—marketed as Fucoso®—in patients with multiple myeloma who had received one to two prior lines of therapy. The product holds distinction as the world's first fully human anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy.

Two weeks later, at the International Myeloma Society annual meeting, IASO presented first-in-human Phase I data for IASO206, an in vivo BCMA CAR-T product, in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The company also showcased the therapy at BIOHK 2026, Hong Kong's international biotechnology forum, where founder and CEO Zhang Jinhua outlined plans to use the city as a launchpad for bringing China's advanced therapies to global markets.

In the ADC space, Genuine Biotech presented new data at CBI 2026. President Dr. Dang Qun detailed the company's novel non-camptothecin TOPO1 inhibitor platform and its potential to overcome resistance mechanisms that have limited existing antibody-drug conjugates.

Beijing Protgen Biotechnology saw its Phase III trial results for recombinant human serum albumin (PG-rHSA) in liver cirrhosis ascites published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy on September 19.

Other clinical developments included Tianqin Bio facilitating CDE approval and "Care Plan" pilot status for SZJ0107, a tablet targeting a hereditary neurodegenerative disease with no currently effective treatment. Huayuan Regeneration's renal progenitor cell therapy received national filing for a clinical trial evaluating iNPC injection in kidney transplant recipients.

Firsts and Approvals

September also delivered regulatory wins. TinoMab's Xinduotuo received NMPA approval on September 3 as the world's first anti-RSV monoclonal antibody with nine-month protection data from a single dose. The recombinant fully human antibody targets respiratory syncytial virus, a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and elderly populations.

Xuanyu Medical's VariSeal® varicose vein closure system gained NMPA approval on September 21, becoming China's first laser-red-light surface navigation vein closure glue.

In oncology, Maijing Gene's ensartinib hydrochloride capsules (Beimeina®) won NMPA approval for adjuvant treatment of ALK-positive IB-IIIB stage non-small cell lung cancer—the first domestic ALK inhibitor to secure this indication. Biaoxin Bio's GT818, a world-first RSK dual-functional degrader, received FDA approval to enter clinical trials for advanced malignant tumors.

IASO Biotechnology added another regulatory milestone when its CD20-targeting in vivo CAR-T product IASO208 received FDA implied approval for an investigational new drug application on September 16.

Nuriteite's BC008-1A injection and Lingshi Zhiyuan's ES502 injection both had their clinical trial applications accepted by CDE, the latter representing a significant breakthrough in the TCR bispecific antibody field.

Commercial Momentum

Beyond R&D, portfolio companies are securing commercial footholds. US-China Shuanghe's WOTEN series coronary balloons—both pre-dilation and post-dilation variants—were selected in Guangdong province's centralized medical consumables procurement alliance.

Jingweishida saw dual products selected in the seventh national high-value medical consumables centralized procurement on September 10. Its transoral electronic imaging biliary-pancreatic catheter achieved the highest selected price, while its transcutaneous variant won inclusion across all specifications.

Tingsheng Tech crossed a usage milestone on September 8, with its TINGSN Sonic Eyes series intracardiac echocardiography catheters surpassing 10,000 units in clinical use.

Weiguang Medical's P80 and P80-E multimodal OCT imaging systems completed their first clinical applications at two Hong Kong hospitals—Tuen Mun Hospital and Tseung Kwan O Hospital.

Chunjun New Materials expanded manufacturing capacity by establishing Dongguan Xinjun Guangleng Technology with industry partners, investing hundreds of millions of RMB in a specialized liquid cooling component production facility.

Recognition and Reach

Industry recognition followed the operational progress. Hepa Pharma made the "2026 New Drug BD Power List TOP20," while eight portfolio companies—including BeiDa Pharma, Microcore, Qianyuan Bio, and TinoMab—earned spots on the "2026 China Innovative Pharma TOP101" list.

Heyuan Bio received a China Patent Silver Award for its core patent. Keraui's gradient core-shell microsphere technology paper was published in the international journal Regenerative Biomaterials.

The month concluded with EFUNG Capital showcasing its portfolio at the 2026 Shenzhen International High-Performance Medical Device Expo from September 21-23. Eleven companies—including Pulument, Microcore, Haplosum, and Beixin Life—appeared together, illustrating the firm's strategy of providing full-cycle support from early financing through clinical development to commercial scale-up.

As China's biopharma sector moves toward the 2030 targets outlined in the government's five-year plan, the September results suggest the industry is not merely on track but accelerating. For investors watching the space, the question is no longer whether Chinese biotech can compete globally, but how quickly its innovations will reshape treatment paradigms worldwide.