On October 30, 2019 Akeso BioPharma, a company focusing on innovative antibody drug R&D, reported that it has closed series C funding, led by Ally Bridge Group, with participation from existing investors Shenzhen Capital Group, Triwise Capital and Jianxin Capital (Press release, Akeso Biopharma, OCT 30, 2019, View Source;c=index&a=show&catid=169&id=61 [SID1234550281]). The funding will be used to support Akeso Bio to advance several innovative antibody drugs into later clinical stages, and to build a new commercial production plant.
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Akeso Biopharma was founded in 2012 by a group of entrepreneurial returnees led by Dr. Michelle Yu Xia, focusing on discovering and developing innovative therapeutic antibodies with global intellectual property rights for the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. The company has built a world-class R&D and commercialization platform for therapeutic antibodies, and a rich product pipeline targeting oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory, cardiovascular, and pain disease areas. Among the 30 antibody drugs in the pipeline, 10 of them have been filed for IND, 8 have entered clinical studies, and 4 have been selected as part of the National Major New Drug Development program. Akeso Bio was the first Chinese company to out-license a fully internally discovered new therapeutic antibody to a leading multi-national drug company. The milestone payment totals up to $200 million. Akeso Bio developed a series of core antibody R&D technologies in-house, including its unique "Tetrabody" bispecific antibody technology. Akeso Bio’s PD1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody AK104, developed using the "Tetrabody" bispecific antibody technology, is the first PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody in the world to enter clinical trial. AK104 was also awarded "Top 10 advances in Biotechnology in China" in 2017
Following series A funding in 2015 and series B funding in 2017, the series C funding of Akeso Bio again receives support from top tier biotech investors, demonstrating the leading position and steady growth of Akeso Bio in the field of antibody drug R&D.
"We are pleased that the company has again drawn so much attention from many investors, and thanks for their continuing acknowledgement on advances of our drug development programs and the overall momentum of Akeso Bio. Within a year we have successfully advanced 8 new drug programs into clinical stage, among which many are in the leading position domestically or internationally. In addition, the construction of the commercial production plant has been initiated. The funding of this round will support us to push forward our preclinical and clinical programs into later stages." said Dr. Michelle Xia, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Akeso Bio.