Seven CGT Companies Secure Funding in December and File IPO Prospectuses

On December 24, 2024, Jiangsu IMMUNE CELL Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the successful completion of a new round of strategic financing nearing 200 million RMB, jointly invested by Beijing Changping Industrial Development Investment Fund and Beijing Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund. The funds will be used to further support IMMUNE CELL's ATMPs CDMO commercial production base construction, promote technological iteration, and enhance the service capabilities of the CDMO global service network.

IMMUNE CELL, established in 2015, is a global enterprise dedicated to the development and application of Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) CDMO technologies, providing one-stop CDMO comprehensive solutions.

On December 27, AusperBio completed a $73 million Series B financing round led by H&K Capital, with participation from Sherpa Investment, CDH VGC, and a globally renowned industrial investment institution. Previous investors Qiming Venture Partners, InnoPinnacle Fund, and Vivo Capital also contributed additional investments. The proceeds will primarily be used to advance the China and international clinical trials and early commercialization preparations for its core small nucleic acid innovative drug AHB-137, as well as to support pipeline expansion and team building. AHB-137 is an innovative non-conjugated antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. It is currently undergoing international multicenter Phase I clinical trials and Phase II clinical trials in China, and has been designated as a breakthrough therapy by the Chinese CDE due to its clinical advantages.

AusperBio is an innovative biopharmaceutical company with a global presence and in the clinical stage, committed to transforming hepatitis B curative therapies and leading oligonucleotide technology innovation. Relying on its proprietary Med-Oligo™ ASO platform and highly efficient targeted delivery technology, the company focuses on revolutionary ASO therapies.

R&D Pipeline

On December 30, Guangzhou Ruifeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced that it had secured a new round of financing worth hundreds of millions of RMB, led by Guangzhou Industrial Investment with participation from Guangzhou Finance Holdings, Kejin Holdings, and existing shareholder GZ-Yue Capital among other institutions. The funds will primarily be used to advance clinical trials of gene-editing drugs, expand subsequent R&D pipelines, and drive core technological innovation.

Rui Feng Bio is a leading gene drug company in China, driven by core gene editing technology, dedicated to the birth of revolutionary drugs.

R&D Pipeline

Early December, Suzhou Qilin Biotech Co., Ltd. ("Qilin Biotech") completed an A-round financing of over 200 million RMB. This round of financing was led by Beijing Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund, with Chang Development Group and Mingzhe Assets participating as co-investors, while the existing shareholder ChenDe Capital continued to support.

Qiheshengke stated that the funds raised will be mainly used for the in-depth research and development of the company's gene editing technology, the optimization and expansion of the gene editing product pipeline, and the commercialization platform implementation, further enhancing the company's core competitiveness and market influence in the biotechnology industry.

Qiheshengke is a genomic editing technology developer, focusing on the development of new genomic editing technologies that are independently controllable. Currently, Qiheshengke is actively developing novel gene editing technologies and exploring their applications in various fields such as bio-breeding.

At the end of December, ViGeneron completed its Series A+ financing round, led by Huagai Capital with participation from well-known industry funds. The proceeds will be used to advance the clinical development of two ophthalmic gene therapy drugs. VG801, developed by the company, has been approved by the U.S. FDA to enter the IND phase of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. This marks the world's first gene therapy utilizing mRNA trans-splicing recombination technology, aimed at treating Stargardt disease and retinal dystrophy associated with ABCA4 gene mutations. The company has also been selected for the U.S. FDA’s Rare Disease Endpoint Advancement (RDEA) pilot program.

ViGeneron, established in 2017, is dedicated to bringing innovative gene therapies to patients in need. ViGeneron's three next-generation gene therapy technology platforms aim to overcome the limitations of existing AAV-based gene therapies.

R&D Pipeline

In December, GEMMA Biotherapeutics announced a $34 million seed funding round to support company operations and the development of gene therapy projects. The round was jointly led by Double Point Ventures, Biolescence Ventures, and Earlybird Venture Capital, with additional support from Savanne Life Sciences. Founded in August 2024, the company secured $100 million in funding from the Brazilian Ministry of Health just two months later. Through a collaboration with Fiocruz, GEMMA aims to reduce production costs and expand patient access to treatments. The company has obtained global exclusive rights for the development and commercialization of three clinical-stage gene therapy candidates targeting severe pediatric diseases from Passage Bio.

GEMMA Biotherapeutics (referred to as "GEMMABio") is a company focused on gene drug research and development, founded by gene therapy pioneer James Wilson.

At the end of December, IO Biotech announced a €57.5 million loan from the European Investment Bank to advance the development of its therapeutic cancer vaccine IO102-IO103, with a Biologics License Application (BLA) expected to be submitted in 2025. The company focuses on developing immuno-oncology therapies, utilizing T-cell vaccine technology to activate patients' immune systems. Its lead candidate, IO102-IO103, is an off-the-shelf therapeutic cancer vaccine targeting IDO and PD-L1, with indications including advanced melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

R&D Pipeline