According to the Instant Drug Database, last week (November 4th to November 10th), at least four emerging companies dedicated to innovative drug research and development worldwide announced the completion of a new round of financing, including three Chinese companies. These emerging companies that have gained favor in the capital market are developing drug types such as gene therapy drugs, iPSC cell therapy drugs, peptide vaccines, and antibody conjugated drugs (ADCs) with dual payloads.

Kanglin Biotechnology
Financing round: Series A
Financing amount: 150 million yuan

On November 8th, Kanglin Biotechnology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Kanglin Biotechnology") announced the completion of a 150 million yuan Series A financing, jointly invested by Zhejiang Province's "4+1" Biomedical and High end Device Industry Fund and old shareholder Zhejiang Miyin Investment Management Co., Ltd. Kanglin Biology was founded in 2015, focusing on the R&D and commercialization of innovative drugs for gene therapy, targeting diseases such as Mediterranean anemia, AIDS, hemophilia and Parkinson's disease.

The core product of Kanglin Biotechnology, KL003 Cell Injection, is a genetically modified autologous hematopoietic stem cell product intended for the treatment of transfusion dependent β - thalassemia in adults or children. This product aims to restore normal hemoglobin physiology in the human body, thereby improving anemia and ultimately eliminating transfusion dependence, with the hope of achieving the goal of "one-time administration, lifelong cure". At present, this product has completed the enrollment of all patients in Phase 1 clinical trials, and recently obtained the pediatric rare disease qualification (RPDD) and orphan drug qualification granted by the US FDA.

Zhongsheng Traceability
Financing round: Series B
Financing amount: 150 million yuan

On November 8th, Zhongsheng Traceability announced the completion of the first round of 150 million yuan B-round financing. This round of financing is led by Guangzhou Production Investment, with joint investments from institutions such as Zhongyuan Investment, Guoju Venture Capital, Hefei Gaotou, and old shareholder Junlian Capital. According to the press release, the funds raised in this round of financing will mainly be used to accelerate the clinical development of multiple clinical pipelines in the iPSC cell therapy field by Zhongsheng Traceability, as well as the commercialization of subsequent products, to promote the development of the cell therapy field.

Zhongsheng Traceability was established in 2016, focusing on basic research and clinical translation of iPSCs. Around the core technology of iPSC, the company has laid out multiple types of cellular drug pipelines in three major medical directions: anti-inflammatory repair, tumor immunity, and regenerative medicine. Two of the products have obtained implied approval for clinical trials from the China National Medical Products Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and entered the phase 1/2 registration clinical trial stage, including NCR100 injection and an iPSC derived mesenchymal like cell (iMSC) product, which is planned to be developed for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis; NCR300 injection, an iPSC derived natural killer cell (iNK) product, is planned to be developed for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome and the prevention of recurrence after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia. The company also has a number of iPSC derived cell drugs for Parkinson's disease, diabetes and other clinical needs, and will successively apply for IND to enter the stage of registered clinical trials.

Baiaotaike Biotechnology
Financing round: Pre-A round
Financing amount: tens of millions of yuan

On November 8th, BioTech announced the completion of tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A round financing, exclusively invested by Liaoning Jingci Medical Investment Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Jingci Medical"). According to the press release, this round of financing funds will mainly be used to accelerate the IND declaration process of BPV-01, a triple negative breast cancer specific peptide vaccine product independently developed by Biotec, as well as the promotion of other product R&D pipelines.

BPV-01 is a polypeptide vaccine specifically targeted at triple negative breast cancer. Its unique feature is that it can form a "coupled polypeptide" with the specific surface molecules of breast cancer cells through highly immunogenic polypeptide fragments, which can accurately target immune cells to cancer cells and effectively reduce the phenomenon of immune escape of cancer cells. When peptide vaccines bind to cancer cells, they can activate the immune system to produce immune memory for these highly immunogenic peptide fragments, thereby forming long-lasting immunity. Once the tumor recurs, the immune system can quickly recognize and determine that the tumor cells are harmful non self substances, and carry out precise killing. According to a press release from BioTech, this innovative mechanism is expected to solve the problem of recurrence in patients after treatment and effectively prevent new metastases in advanced cancer patients after second-line treatment, thereby delaying disease progression, prolonging survival time, and significantly improving patients' quality of life.

CrossBridge Bio
Financing round: Seed round
Financing amount: 10 million US dollars

On November 4th, CrossBridge Bio announced the completion of a seed round financing of $10 million, led by TMC Venture Fund and Crescent Enterprises' enterprise venture capital platform CE Ventures, Portal Innovations, Alexandria Venture Investments, Linden Lake Labs, and several seed investors participated. CrossBridge is a biotechnology company developing antibody conjugated drugs (ADCs) with dual payloads, aimed at improving cancer treatment indicators and addressing challenges of tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance.

CrossBridge's dual payload ADC technology aims to provide synergistic therapeutic effects through highly stable linkers, ensuring that the payload is only released within the target cancer cells, thereby maximizing its therapeutic efficacy and reducing the burden associated with unexpected tissue uptake. According to a press release from CrossBridge, the seed funding will support the development of its lead project CBB-120, a TROP-2 targeted dual payload ADC intended for the treatment of solid tumors. This funding will also advance the application of proprietary connectors and dual payload technology, thereby improving the safety and effectiveness of current and future ADC candidate products.