• China Immunotech

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2021

  BriSTAR Immunotech, founded in March 2018, focuses on development and industrialization of innovative cell‑therapy drugs using two proprietary platforms: STAR‑T and enTCR‑T. The company has diversified pipelines targeting hematologic malignancies, solid tumors and viral infections and has established cooperation in more than ten First‑in‑Human clinical studies with domestic hospitals. Early IIT clinical data show positive safety and effectiveness and the work has received recognition from Science Translational Medicine, ASH and EHA. Management and scientific leadership include founder Professor Lin Xin and co‑founder Dr. Xueqiang Zhao, and the company says it has a high‑level international team and mature process and quality control platforms. Planned use of new capital includes clinical trials for the dual‑target hematoma STAR‑T project, development and clinical research of solid‑tumor STAR‑T pipelines, and steps toward industrialization to scale product manufacturing.

• Ascentawits

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2021

  Ascentawits focuses on discovery and development of precision-targeted small‑molecule anticancer prodrugs, using tumor‑microenvironment‑guided prodrug design. Its lead candidate, AST-3424, is described as a first-in-class small molecule that selectively kills AKR1C3‑overexpressing tumor cells and permits companion‑diagnostic selection by IHC. The company has secured Asian patent rights or applications for AST-3424 and global patent protection for subsequent pipeline candidates. It reported completion of a 亿元 (CNY‑hundreds‑of‑millions) Pre‑B financing at the end of 2020 and plans to use proceeds to advance two Phase II trials of AST-3424 in China. Proceeds will also support clinical trial applications for two other novel compounds, multiple preclinical registration studies, and expansion of the company’s R&D center and team. Management said COVID‑19 affected clinical work in the prior year but the company nevertheless made expected progress and the financing will support further pipeline and organizational growth. Ascentawits Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing precision-targeted small-molecule prodrug anti-cancer compounds, led by its lead candidate AST-3424. AST-3424 is described as a globally novel small-molecule prodrug that selectively kills AKR1C3-overexpressing tumor cells with limited effects on normal cells and can be paired with an IHC companion diagnostic to select patients. The company holds Asian patent rights or applications for AST-3424 and has built a pipeline of globally IP-protected targeted prodrug compounds. In late 2019 the company completed a ¥100M A+ financing round to support its programs. Proceeds will be used to advance AST-3424 through China Phase I/II clinical trials, accelerate registration-directed preclinical studies for multiple innovative candidates, and expand the team. Company leadership states clinical development and financing are progressing smoothly as it pushes toward broader clinical and pipeline development.

• Sirnaomics

  Participated · Series D · Oct 2020

  Sirnaomics is a biopharmaceutical company developing RNAi therapeutics, with a portfolio targeting oncology, anti‑fibrotic, anti‑viral and metabolic disorders. Its lead product candidates include STP705 and STP707, dual‑targeting siRNA therapeutics against TGF‑β1 and COX‑2 for local or systemic administration. The company is advancing systemic RNAi delivery platforms including siRNA‑chemodrug conjugates and proprietary GalNAc‑siRNA conjugates, and plans clinical evaluation in immune‑oncology combinations with PD‑1/PD‑L1 inhibitors. Proceeds from the announced Series E financing will fund continued development across its pipeline, advance delivery technologies, and strengthen large‑scale manufacturing capacity. Sirnaomics operates as a Delaware corporation headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China. Sirnaomics Inc., based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, discovers and develops RNAi therapeutics. Led by Patrick Lu, PhD, Founder, President and CEO, the company focuses on oncology, anti‑fibrotic therapeutics and viral infection and has subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China. Its lead candidates, STP705 and STP707, are dual‑targeting siRNA therapeutics against TGF‑β1 and COX‑2 for local and systemic administrations to treat various cancers and fibrotic diseases. The company reported positive results from a Phase IIa study for treatment of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in‑situ and plans multiple clinical studies to further evaluate these candidates. A clinical focus will be immune‑oncological evaluation of the dual‑targeted siRNA inhibitors based on potential synergistic effects with immune checkpoint inhibitors observed in preclinical and clinical settings. Sirnaomics raised $105M in a Series D financing to fund continued development of its RNAi therapeutics across indications including cancers, fibrosis, metabolic diseases and viral infections. Sirnaomics discovers and develops RNAi therapeutics targeting cancer and fibrotic diseases. Its lead candidate, STP705, leverages a dual-targeting approach and was in a Phase II study for non-melanoma skin cancer at the time of the report. The company planned a second clinical trial for cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma expected to begin in the second half of 2019. Sirnaomics said it would use proceeds from its recent financing to support its clinical programs and to advance its technology platforms. The company is led by Patrick Lu, PhD, and maintains subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou. No operating metrics were reported in the article. Sirnaomics develops RNAi therapeutics using pluripotent siRNA cocktail design and nanoparticle-enhanced delivery. The company’s lead candidate, STP705, targets TGF-β1 and COX-2 and has shown anti-fibrotic and anti-tumor activity in preclinical models. STP705 has a fully developed, validated manufacturing process and a preclinical safety profile that supports human clinical studies. STP705 is in a Phase IIa clinical study for hypertrophic scar in the U.S., and the same indication has been approved for clinical study by the Chinese FDA. The company said proceeds will expand clinical programs for its anti-fibrosis and anti-cancer RNAi therapeutics, strengthen management, and bolster pre-clinical development of new drug candidates. Sirnaomics is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China, and is led by Founder and CEO Dr. Patrick Y. Lu and CMO Dr. Michael Molyneaux. Sirnaomics is a Gaithersburg, Maryland–based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics. The company has developed a portfolio of intellectual property in areas including anti-fibrotic medicine and cancer therapeutics. Its lead product candidate, STP705, is an anti-fibrosis siRNA therapeutic that uses a dual-targeted inhibitory approach and PNP-enhanced delivery. STP705 has shown activity in animal models ranging from skin hypertrophic scar to liver and lung fibrosis. Sirnaomics intends to use new funding to advance its anti-fibrosis programs into clinical development and expected to enter a Phase I trial with STP705 in the early second half of 2016. The company also operates subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China.

• Denovo Biopharma

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2019

  索元生物 is a biomedicine R&D company concentrating on the anti-tumor (oncology) field. The company introduces drugs that have been validated in clinical Phase II and III trials and that show efficacy in some patients. It applies a biomarker-platform technology to discover biomarkers and thereby optimize the safety and tolerability profiles of these therapies. The firm aims to develop innovative drugs by combining clinically validated candidates with biomarker-driven patient selection and safety optimization. Recently the company received a strategic investment of $12 million, which supports its ongoing R&D and development efforts. 索元生物 is a precision-medicine biopharma that acquires late-stage assets from major pharma and uses its proprietary biomarker platform to identify predictive biomarkers and relaunch enriched clinical trials. The company holds global rights to four late-stage, first-in-class assets (DB102, DB103, DB104, DB105). DB102 (enzastaurin) is in the global Phase 3 ENGINE trial for frontline high‑risk DLBCL (about 70% enrolled across China and the U.S.) and has an IND approved by the FDA for a global multicenter GBM Phase 2b program that is being prepared. DB103 (pomaglumetad methionil) has entered clinical testing for schizophrenia; DB105 is a selective α‑2C adrenergic antagonist for Alzheimer’s acquired from Orion; DB104 (liafensine) targets depression. After closing the B round, the company has launched a Pre‑IPO financing to support the upcoming GBM 2b study and plans to complete share reform and prepare for a Sci‑Tech Innovation Board (科创版) listing by year‑end.

• Refuge Biotechnologies

  Participated · Series B · May 2018

  Refuge Biotechnologies develops intelligent cell therapeutics engineered to make decisions inside patients using its receptor‑dCas platform, which employs a mutated or dead Cas9 (dCas) to enable precision CRISPR activation and interference. The company is led by co‑founder and CEO Bing C. Wang, Ph.D., with Francesco Marincola, M.D., newly appointed as chief scientific officer. Refuge intends to use the financing to advance cell therapies built on its receptor‑dCas platform and to support collaborative research with partners. As part of the financing, lead investors will have an exclusive right to negotiate development and commercialization rights for therapies using the platform in China. Refuge and 3SBio will collaborate on research to develop programmed cell therapeutics that can produce therapeutic proteins inside a patient’s body. The company is based in Menlo Park, California.

No current team members are available.