HanBio Therapeutics ("HanBio"), a biotechnology company committed to researching and developing next generation transformative medicines, today announced that it has completed a US$40 million Series A financing to advance the preclinical and clinical development of its series of innovative antibodies and other biologics products. This round of financing was jointly led by OrbiMed and Hankang Capital, followed by Yonghua Investment and Elikon Investment. Before the completion of this round of financing, HanBio was an early product research and development company incubated by Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("Sunshine Guojian"). The company's current pipeline includes three bispecific antibodies in the IND and pre-IND stages, and a variety of early-stage antibodies and other biologics products.

Dr. Zhenping Zhu, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HanBio, said, "We highly appreciate OrbiMed and Hankang Capital and the other investors for their recognition of HanBio's R&D capability, its innovative pipeline and overall development strategy. This round of funds will be used for preclinical research and clinical trials of our multiple antibody and bispecific antibody products, as well as the establishment of an efficient company management and R&D team. We expect to submit IND applications to the regulatory agencies in both China and the United States for three innovative bispecific antibody products in 2022. On the research front we will focus on exploring new therapeutic targets and modalities, and developing innovative medicines with better safety and efficacy profiles to the current standard treatment options."

Dr. Zhu has extensive experience and an excellent track record in the biopharmaceutical industrial field, including more than 28 years of research and management experience in several world-renowned pharmaceutical companies. Prior to founding HanBio, Dr. Zhu served as the President of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer of 3SBio Group. Before joining 3SBio, Dr. Zhu has served as Executive Vice President at Kadmon Holdings, Vice President and Global Head of Protein Sciences at Novartis Biologics, and Vice President of Research at ImClone Systems. Dr. Zhu has contributed greatly to the discovery and development of a number of therapeutic antibody products approved by the US FDA, European EMA and China NMPA; he is the patent inventor of both ramucirumab (CyramzaR) and necitumumab (PortrazzaR), and one of the main contributors to cetuximab (ErbituxR). Dr. Zhu has published more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers in international journals, and has applied for or obtained more than 150 patents in China, United States and other international territories.

Dr. Jing Lou, Chairman of Sunshine Guojian, said, "I am very glad that HanBio, as an early product R&D company incubated by Sunshine Guojian, is recognized by leading biotech investors. Sunshine Guojian is committed to working with the investors to fully support HanBio for the rapid development of the company's innovative products that will benefit cancer patients in China and around the world."

Dr. Steven Dasong Wang, Partner at OrbiMed, said, "Dr. Zhu is one of the pioneers and leaders in the global biopharmaceutical industry. Several antibody products he invented or greatly contributed to, including ramucirumab (CyramzaR) and cetuximab (ErbituxR), have become ones of the most prescribed biologics in the treatment of gastric and colorectal cancers, with total global annual sales nearing 3 billion US dollars. HanBio led by Dr. Zhu has impressed us with its holistic approach to target selection, antibody discovery and design, and clinical translation strategy with special focus on cancers of the human digestive system. We look forward to supporting the company in advancing product clinical development and achieving breakthroughs in the treatment of cancers with high prevalence in China."

Mr. Quanhong Yuan, Partner at Hankang Capital, said, "PD1/PDL1 antibodies have reshaped the landscape of cancer treatment, but they also face the problem of limited response rate. Combination therapies and bispecific antibodies represent a new wave of therapeutic modalities, and are expected to provide a breakthrough solution to the treatment of PD1/PD1 resistant tumors. Dr. Zhu and his team at HanBio have rich experience and excellent track record in the field of antibody drug R&D and tumor immunotherapy. We expect HanBio to achieve great success in the field of cancer treatment."

About HanBio Therapeutics

"Transformative Medicines by Innovation." HanBio Therapeutics is an innovative biotechnology company committed to researching and developing next generation transformative medicines to treat patients with serious diseases.

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Source: HanBio Therapeutics