This round of financing was led by the Yixing Environmental Science Park Production and Development Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), and the controlling shareholder, China Biotech Service, continues to increase.
On December 8, China Biotechnology Service (08037) issued an announcement stating that its subsidiary Shanghai Longyao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Longyao Biotech”) completed the first round of financing of nearly 100 million yuan, with a pre-investment valuation of about 800 million yuan. This round of financing was led by the Yixing Environmental Science Park Production and Development Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), and the controlling shareholder, China Biotech Service, continues to increase. This round of funding will mainly be used for phase II clinical trials of CD20-OX40 CAR-T products and clinical research of other solid tumor pipeline products, and the construction of a new GMP cell production laboratory in Yixing.
Established in 2013, Longyao Biotech is dedicated to the research and development of tumor immune cell technology and products. It is a national high-tech enterprise focusing on R&D and product development. The company has now laid out a number of tumor immune cell product pipelines, covering fields such as hematoma and solid tumors.
On January 21, 2021, Longyao Biotech received a notice from the State Drug Administration on “Approval of the Clinical Trial of Shanghai Longyao's Cell Injection ('LY007 Cell Injection')”, which was registered and classified as a Class I new drug. This is the first and only CAR-T product with CD20 targets approved for registration in China. It is mainly used to treat recurrent and difficult to treat CD20 positive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).
CD20 CAR-T, which optimizes the immune response of B cells, is a good choice because patients with recurrent refractory B-NHL who target CD19 CAR-T therapy still have drug failure and relapse. Longyao Biotech's LY007 uses a lentivirus vector for genetic modification, and combines a unique design independently developed by Longyao Biotech to introduce an independent co-stimulatory signal receptor OX40 into the CAR structure, thus forming a novel CAR-T structure.
This novel structure not only enhances the killing ability of CAR-T cells, but also reduces the expression of depleted molecules on the cell surface, can better maintain the function of CAR-T cells in the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment, and is expected to prevent tumor recurrence.
With its differentiated targets, novel structural design, and excellent clinical performance, LY007 has also received the favor of Academician Chen Saijuan of the National Translational Medicine Center of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Professor Zhao Weili, Deputy Director of Ruijin Hospital and Vice Chairman of the Lymphoma Association of the Chinese Medical Association, and Professor Li Jianyong, Director of Hematology at Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital and Vice Chairman of the Integrated Hematology Professional Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctors Association. Since the implementation of the first phase of the clinical trial project, LY007 has also participated in the first phase of the clinical trial of this product. Up to now, a total of 9 patients (9/12) of subjects in the first phase of the three dose groups have been completed at Ruijin Hospital and Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, respectively, showing good safety and efficacy. Currently, the clinical progress of this target, CAR-T, is in a leading position in China.
Furthermore, based on optimism about the prospects for international commercial development of the CD20 target CAR-T and the OX40 patented technology platform, AstraZeneca (China) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Biotechnology Service in October this year. The two sides will cooperate in immunocyte therapy in Yixing City to help the innovative results of the Shanghai Longyao Biology Project land in Yixing. In terms of cell project design and fund investment, AstraZeneca will provide comprehensive guidance and support, which is conducive to speeding up the commercial operation of Shanghai Longyao products before listing and the expansion of market sales after listing.
At the same time, the strategic cooperation with AstraZeneca also lays the foundation for future commercialization of the CD20-OX40 CAR-T patent overseas. As the world's leading pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca's CGT cell therapy R&D and production base products are spread across all major economies around the world. Once patent licensing cooperation starts, it will surely speed up the clinical and approval speed of this product in countries around the world. With its first-mover advantage and good safety and efficacy, Longyao Biotech can use AstraZeneca's global R&D platform and sales network to achieve early overseas launch and treat more patients around the world as soon as possible.
About Yixing Huankeyuan Industrial Development Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership)
It was founded on September 22, 2021 with a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan. Its general partner is the state-owned enterprise Yixing Jieyi Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd., and its limited partners are the state-owned Yixing Environmental Protection Industry Co., Ltd. and Wuxi Xinyuan Investment Co., Ltd.