Cross-border startup Adcentrx Therapeutics Inc., with operations in San Diego and soon in Shanghai, secured $50 million in a series A financing round led by CBC Group to establish its presence in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space.
Genome editing startup Edigene Inc. closed a ¥400 million (US$62 million) series B+ round to expand its operation to more cities and advance its lead product ET-01 into clinical trials. The financing follows the $67 million series B that closed in October 2020.
HONG KONG – Pharmcadd Co. Ltd., a developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based drug discovery platform, bagged ₩17.3 billion (US$15.5 million) in its series B funding. This brings the total funds raised since its establishment to $22 million.
HONG KONG – Beijing Stonewise Technology Co. Ltd., a med-tech firm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in the discovery of small molecule drugs, closed series B and B+ financing rounds that added $100 million to its pocket. The company intends to use the proceeds to upgrade its AI-enabled drug discovery platform.
Qihan Biotechology Co. Ltd., a company known for its multiplexable genome editing technology, has yet again extended its series A financing, this time with a $67 million round that will support advancement of its allogeneic cell therapy candidates to IND in China. To date the company has raised more than $100 million.
HONG KONG – Bispecific antibody startup Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. has completed a $120 million series C financing, bringing it closer to a potential IPO next year. The Shanghai-based company said the new funds would help it move EMB-01 into phase II testing this year.
While historical data suggest venture capital rounds will eventually dip below the peak years, biopharma financings completed in recent months indicate the dollars are continuing to climb in 2021. A maturing industry, the high potential of cell and gene therapy products, the advancing technologies of artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as an eager financial community, are all responsible for the ever-increasing availability of private money.
Eight months after Beijing-based Yisheng Biopharma Co. Ltd. unveiled its recombinant protein vaccine candidate for COVID-19, YS-SC2-010, the company raised $130 million in a series B round to pave way for the vaccine to enter clinical trials in the second quarter of this year, the company’s CEO David Shao told BioWorld.
Scineuro Pharmaceuticals, based in Shanghai and Philadelphia, launched with a $100 million series A financing to focus on tackling central nervous system diseases. CEO Min Li told BioWorld the startup is “building a CNS portfolio through a combination of internal R&D and strategic collaborations.” Lilly Asia Ventures Fund and Arch Venture Partners co-led the round.
The rising tide of digital therapeutics approved and funded in the U.S. raised the outlook for Mahana Therapeutics Inc. and Freespira Inc. as both companies announced good news. Mahana's prescription digital therapeutic for gastrointestinal conditions, Parallel, received premarket authorization from the U.S. FDA and Freespira, formerly Palo Alto Health Sciences Inc., raised $10 million for its digital therapeutic for panic attacks, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
