On April 21, 2021 EdiGene, Inc. ("Company", or "EdiGene"), reported the successful completion of an RMB 400 million (approximately USD 62 million) Series B Plus financing (Press release, EdiGene, APR 21, 2021, View Source [SID1234578311]). Loyal Valley Capital led the round and other new investors included BioTrack Capital and Sherpa Healthcare Partners, along with continued support by existing investors including IDG Capital, Lilly Asia Venture, 3H Health Investment, Huagai Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Alwin Capital and Kunlun Capital. EdiGene is a biotech company develops genome editing technologies to accelerate drug discovery and develop novel therapeutics for a broad range of diseases. Previously the company completed a Series B Financing of an RMB 450 million (approximately USD 67 million) in October 2020. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company’s pipeline into clinics and to scale up the business operation.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Andy Lin, Founding Partner of Loyal Valley Capital commented: "Gene-editing, as one of the most exciting technologies in life science, has showcased huge potential in treating or curing various diseases in recent years and may fundamentally transform the current ways of disease treatment in the future. As the leading company in China in translating gene-editing technologies into innovative therapies, EdiGene has assembled a team of world-class researchers and experienced drug developers to develop and commercialize such assets, with full scientific rigor and quality. With their lead product receiving the first gene-editing therapy IND application approval in China, their pipeline addresses serious unmet medical needs with innovative and creative approaches. Investing in EdiGene fits very well with our value of ‘investing in and fostering leaders that make the world a better place’. We are honored to lead the round and join force with EdiGene and other investors to bring effective and accessible innovative therapies to patients in China and globally. We look forward to supporting the company in financing, scaling up development capabilities, linking up key resources upstream and downstream and collaborating with global partners, helping the company to become a global player in research and translation of gene editing technologies."

"We are delighted to add these top tier investors and are grateful for the continuous support from the current investors," said Dong Wei, Ph.D.，CEO of EdiGene, "The company is speeding up portfolio advancement and scaling up business footprints. Adding to our existing Beijing R&D center and Guangzhou Clinical Application Center, we have opened our Clinical Development Office in Beijing, Business Development Office in Shanghai and launched a R&D center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The round enables us to continue our efforts in translating gene-editing technologies into therapeutics and further grow the company in terms of scale, global competitiveness and business development. With these efforts, we strive to bring innovative therapies to patients in need sooner."

"We are grateful for the investors’ support, which enables us to move forward in R&D, company scale and globalization and propel the company to a brand new stage," said Wensheng Wei, Ph.D., Scientific Founder of EdiGene, "We will continue to translate genome editing technologies into transformative therapies, bringing new hope and new options to patients in China and around the world."

In January 2021, the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved EdiGene’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ET-01, an investigational CRISPR/Cas 9 gene-editing therapy for patients with transfusion dependent β-thalassemia. It marks the first gene-editing therapy and the first hematopoietic stem cell therapy IND application approval in China. The Company is preparing to initiate ET-01’s Phase I clinical trial, and furthermore, is advancing other assets including allogeneic CAR-T therapy, in vivo therapies based on RNA base editing technology LEAPER, as well as novel targeted therapies discovered through high-throughput genome-editing screening.