RepliCel Life Sciences Inc (TSXV:RP)
RepliCel is a regenerative medicine company developing autologous cell therapies that address diseases caused by a deficit of healthy cells required for normal healing and function.
Starting with just $11 million seed in 2015, investors have proven their faith in InvestiBio with their increasing financial support. Every two years InvestiBio’s financing rounds have grown, from their 2015 launch with just $11 million and a $19 million Series B $70 million raised in 2019, to a whopping $147 million in this week’s Series D round.
This successful round, led by Hillhouse affiliate GL Ventures, brought back existing shareholders – Lilly Asia Venture, ObiMed Asia, Pudong Innotek, AdvanTech Capital and CMB International – and introduced new ones, including Qiming Venture Partners, Janchor, AIHC Capital, Matrix Partner China, Dyee Captial and E Fund Capital. The exclusive financial advisor of the transaction was China Renaissance.
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“InventisBio is committed to developing first- and best-in-class innovative drugs for cancer and other major diseases. We are grateful and honored to have Hillhouse’s GL Ventures led this series D round and thankful to other top investment funds, as well as the continued support from the existing investors,” Dr. Yaolin Wang, Chairman and CEO of InventisBio, said in a statement. “This investment demonstrated the recognition of our strong pipeline and fully integrated innovative R&D platform by top healthcare investors. It also shows our strategic investors’ confidence in the future success of our company as a key player in the global pharmaceutical market.”
InventisBio is dedicated to the research and development of small molecule drugs – medications usually taken orally that can enter cells easily. They currently have three drug products in clinical development and one new study just entering Phase I. Furthest along the pipeline is their third-generation EGFR-790M tyrosine kinase inhibitor D-0316. D-0316 was independently developed by InventisBio and then out-licensed to Betta Pharma for the rights in China. It’s currently in registration trials of first and second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR-mutation. So far trials are progressing smoothly.
Funds raised in this round will mainly be used to usher the company’s current products into Phase II clinical studies in China and the U.S. like D-0502, InvestiBio’s oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) for the treatment of ER-positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. D-0502 showed promising anti-tumor activity in Phase I with excellent bioavailability and a tolerable safety profile.
Financing will also be used to push along Phase II clinical trials for D-0120, the company’s gout drug candidate, and support their global clinical development of other new drugs, further expanding their pipeline and team.
“As a small molecule innovative drug research and development company, InventisBio has an in-depth knowledge of small molecules’ structure-activity relationship and integrated understanding and experience in the efficient and successful development of novel molecules. The founding members have more than 20 years of experience in drug discovery and development, thorough understanding of drug’s mechanism of action and selection of lead candidate for development,” Michael Yi, co-chief investment officer of Hillhouse Capital and head of biomedicine and medical devices of Hillhouse’s GL Ventures, said. “Since its establishment, InventisBio has balanced innovation and druggability, and has effectively developed multiple assets for diseases with unmet clinical needs. With four drug candidates in various clinical stages and two clinical registration trials ongoing, InventisBio has established its pipeline in two major therapeutic areas of oncology and metabolic diseases. In addition, the company has maintained a leading position in the drug development of similar products in China. We look forward to developing deep collaboration with InventisBio, advancing its drug discovery and clinical development to bring innovative drugs to the market faster to benefit more patients.”
