On March 1, 2021 Suzhou Medilink Therapeutics Ltd. (Medilink), a global biotech company focusing on next-generation antibody-drug conjugate Research & development, reported the closing of a $50 million series A financing, to accelerate its innovative pipeline development and to support its unique conjugate technology platform (Press release, Suzhou Medilink Therapeutics, MAR 1, 2021, View Source;development-301236856.html [SID1234575893]). The financing includes a series-A1 round led by Apricot Capital, and a series-A2 round co-led by Loyal Valley Capital and Qiming Venture Partners.
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"Our team has extensive knowledge in ADC technology and project development. Our aim is to develop medicines with real benefit for patients around the world. The ADC field has experienced a series of significant breakthroughs in recent years and we believe that there is still an urgent need to develop more efficacious and safer ADC drugs " Said Dr. Tongtong Xue, Founder and CEO of Medilink, " With solid support from our prestigious investors, we will focus on our conjugate platform and swiftly build up our differentiated pipeline, to meet huge unmet needs worldwide."
Medilink Therapeutics was established in 2020 by a sophisticated team of industrial veterans. Dr. Xue has comprehensive experience in R&D, manufacture and business development. He used to serve as the CEO of Kelun-Biotech and managed a team of over 1000 scientists. Dr Jiaqiang Cai, CSO of Medilink, gathered nearly 30 years’ industrial experience in small molecule and ADC drug R&D and served previously as the VP at Shanghai Hansoh Pharmaceutical Ltd. Dr Liang Xiao, COO of Medilink, who was the VP at Kelun-Biotech and COO at Klus Pharma, has extensive experience in the development of biologics and ADCs.
Mr. Roy (Ronggang) Xie, Partner at Loyal Valley Capital said, "ADC is one of the most important approaches for cancer treatment. The advance of linker and payload technology has expanded the therapeutic applications of ADC. The Medilink team has the insight and knowledge edge in ADC R&D front. Since its founding, Medilink has shown strong execution capability and made rapid progress in fronts including projects, external collaborations and team buildings. We are honored to work with such an excellent team. Loyal Valley Capital will definitely be a long-term supporter of Medilink, which we believe will become a world-class leader in drug conjugate technology development. "
Dr. Kan Chen, Principal of Qiming Venture Partners, said, "Conjugated drugs have obvious advantages in fighting against cancers, especially malignant tumors. As the technical barriers are extremely high, ADC development is full of hope and challenges. Founded in Suzhou，China, Medilink has high ambitions for its ADC R&D to be globally competitive, and meet the needs of global patients in the future. The team has the vision, experience and capacities to achieve the goal."
Mr. Jing Qiang, Partner at Apricot Capital, said, "The ADC drug development is highly complex, which requires well-balanced approach of all components including antibody, linker, and payload. Medilink has shown their strong know-how and unique insights in every step of ADC design and development. It is highly appreciated about the entrepreneurship and chemistry among the team members, and we are confident that the company will be able to grow as a leading drug conjugate technology platform in the world."