Hengsai Biologicals Completes Tens of Millions of Dollars in Series A+ Financing

Following the completion of a billion-dollar financing in November 2023, Hengsai Bio recently announced that it has once again secured tens of millions of dollars in Series A+ financing, which will be used to advance the expansion of its product pipeline and clinical filings, as well as the construction of its R&D center and pilot plant in Zhongshan. The financing is jointly participated by Cuiheng Group, Xiban Investment Control, Zhongshan Venture Capital and Chengming Capital.

Founded in 2018, Hengsai Bio is a scientific and technological innovative enterprise and national high-tech enterprise dedicated to the research, development and industrialization of dendritic cell vaccines (DC vaccines). The company has successfully constructed the Eco-DCVax platform, aiming to break down the technical barriers to industrialization and develop global First-in-Class high-quality DC vaccine products with independent property rights that are safe, efficient and convenient to administer. The developed product, therapeutic dendritic cell vaccine, provides a new approach and strategy for the treatment of relapsed and refractory tumors, chronic viral infections, autoimmune diseases and other diseases that are in urgent need of effective clinical treatments.

Hengsai Bio's R&D center and pilot plant in Shanghai Lingang Blue Bay officially came into operation in 2021, and a large-scale R&D/production base is under construction. The company has now established stable cooperative relationships with a number of domestic and foreign research institutions and tertiary hospitals, and is in the process of dual-reporting between China and the U.S. to carry out clinical research and technical cooperation in order to comprehensively verify the clinical safety and effectiveness of the DC vaccine.

Dr. Liu Huining, Founder and CEO of Hengsai Biologicals Inc.said: We are very grateful to the investors of this round, Cuiheng Group, Xiban Investment Control, Zhongshan Venture Capital and Cheng Ming Capital, for their recognition and trust in the company. In recent time, the external market environment has undergone profound changes and adjustments, and the whole biomedical industry has undergone butterfly changes in confusion. Hengsai's team has kept the original intention, overcome difficulties, and moved forward, and made many remarkable achievements: the safety and efficacy of our first dendritic cell vaccine, KSD-101, have been preliminarily verified in clinical IIT studies, and the initial research results will be presented at the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting; and we have successfully completed the RMB 100 million Series A financing. In the future, we will continue to maintain the spirit of innovation and the advantages of teamwork, deepen our core technology, enhance our competitiveness, lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of our company, and wholeheartedly develop safer and more effective products for patients.

Cedric Lam, General Manager, Investment (Business) Department, Tsui Hang GroupIt is indicated that: Biomedical industry is the key development industry in Cuiheng New District, Zhongshan City. Cell therapy is a popular research field in the biomedical industry, and Cuiheng Group is actively making industrial deployment in this field. Based on the DC vaccine developed by Hengsai Bio has the advantages of wide application prospects, low cost, good efficacy, low side effects, convenient clinical use, etc., Cuiheng Group has already invested in Hengsai Bio through the equity fund in 2021, and successfully recruited Hengsai Bio to land in Cuiheng New District. Since obtaining financing in 2021, Hengsai Bio has developed rapidly, has built a mature DC vaccine preparation process and established a rich product pipeline, and the clinical results of the first pipeline have shown significant efficacy for tumor patients. The investment in Hengsai Biologicals by Tsui Heng Group will continue to help Hengsai Biologicals to develop rapidly and promote Hengsai Biologicals to grow into a leading DC cell therapy enterprise in the world. Cui-Heng Group always adheres to the industrial operation concept of growing together with enterprises, provides full-cycle services for enterprises in the park, and realizes win-win situation between the park and enterprises by building an industrial ecosystem of "landlord + shareholder". 

West Bay Investment Controls Investment TeamHengsai Bio is a key investment project of Zhongshan Cuiheng New District and an important layout for the development of cellular drugs in Cuiheng New District. At present, the company mainly conducts product pipeline research and development for EBV-induced lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric carcinoma, with great future market prospect. Dr. Liu Huining, the founder of the company, has a solid theoretical foundation in DC cell vaccine research and development and rich practical experience. The first product pipeline, KSD-101 (for EBV-induced lymphoma), has demonstrated remarkable therapeutic effects in preclinical studies, and the company's products have a short preparation cycle and low cost, which makes the treatment affordable for ordinary families, and will be a boon for all mankind if it is put into the market in the future. It will be a boon to all mankind when it is put into the market in the future. 

Zhongshan Venture Capital Investment TeamHengsai Bio's core founding team has many years of industry experience in cell culture and therapeutics, and the company has now established a mature DC vaccine preparation process platform, as well as a compliant and scientific product quality control system, based on which the company has developed international and domestic leading DC vaccine products that greatly meet the clinical needs and are easy to commercialize. After this round of financing, we believe that Hengsai will further accelerate the R&D of its core pipeline products and become a pioneer in the DC vaccine industry. We expect Hengsai to develop more products with good efficacy, low side effects, convenient clinical use, etc., which will truly benefit patients and bring us more surprises.

Qiu Feng, Head of Investment, Cheng Ming CapitalIndication: Hengsai Bio's DC therapeutic vaccine product is one of the few products in the field of cell therapy that can cure patients with few side effects. A company in the United States has successfully developed products based on DC immunotherapy and formed great commercial value, but due to the unsatisfactory therapeutic effect, there has been no major development in this field in the past ten years. However, Hengsai Bio has solved the pain point of low cell purity under large-scale preparation, and made DC cells have targeting properties by training them, which has pushed forward the historic progress in this field. Hengsai Bio's debut product pipeline KSD-101 is mainly targeted at the indication of EBV virus-induced lymphoma, which currently has no effective treatment, and preclinical studies have shown amazing therapeutic effects, and the future launch of this product will benefit the majority of patients. The company's other reserve pipelines based on DC cell platform technology are also very promising.

Tsui Hang Group

Established in 2013, Zhongshan Cuiheng Group Co., Ltd ("Cuiheng Group") is a municipal level operating group company approved by the Zhongshan Municipal Government. With the mission of serving the development and construction of Cuiheng New District in Zhongshan City, and closely focusing on the development goal of "plowing into the new district, facing the Bay Area, and heading towards the whole country", Cuiheng Group has evolved from a single infrastructure builder into an urban service provider and industrial operator, with its main businesses including urban development, industrial development, urban operation, and capital investment. The main business includes urban development, industrial development, urban operation and capital investment. By the end of 2023, Cuiheng Group has total assets of 40.6 billion yuan, net assets of 18.5 billion yuan, and has built more than 2.5 million square meters of industrial carriers. In the field of capital investment, Cuiheng Group actively builds a local ecology by vigorously developing industrial funds, currently contributing to 9 funds with a total fund size of more than 2.6 billion yuan, and accumulatively introducing more than 20 enterprises into the new district, actively contributing to the cultivation, agglomeration and growth of industries in Cuiheng New District.

Sai Wan Investment Control

Zhongshan Xiwan Investment Holding Development Co., Ltd (referred to as "Xiwan Investment Holding") was established in December 2015, with a registered capital of 1.81 billion yuan, wholly owned by Zhongshan City Cuiheng New District Management Committee, focusing on financial, industrial and cultural tourism sectors. The company started as a financier and has been promoting high-quality economic development through the "Finance+" model. Through the Zhongshan Cuiheng New Area Promotion of High-Quality Economic Development Guiding Fund (hereinafter referred to as the "Xiban Mother Fund"), Xiban Investment and Control has initially formed a sub-fund cluster with a total scale of more than 20 billion yuan, prying social capital and resources to develop Zhongshan Cuiheng New Area's "health care and medicine", "equipment manufacturing and robotics", "new-generation information technology", "modern service industry" and "future industry". 4+X" industries such as health medicine, equipment manufacturing and robotics, new generation information technology, modern service industry and future industry. Through the operation of Xiban Mother Fund, Xiban Investment and Control constantly amplifies the fund's "magnetic force" and plays an active role in promoting scientific and technological innovation and attracting investment in Cuiheng New Area.

Zhongshan Venture Capital

Zhongshan Venture Capital Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned venture capital platform under Zhongshan Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. which is a state-owned enterprise in Zhongshan City. As the management organization of Zhongshan City's high-quality development mother fund, Zhongshan City Venture Capital Co., Ltd. focuses on the investment business around new energy, new-generation information technology, intelligent equipment and advanced manufacturing, as well as biomedicine and other strategic emerging industries. It aims to build an influential state-funded venture capital organization in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area.

Sung Ming Capital

Beijing Chengming Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd ("Chengming Capital") is a professional private equity investment institution that mainly invests in big health and big industry, and has built an ecological platform of "industry, investment, government, research and market". All members of the investment team have more than 10 years of investment experience in related industries. The core team members have international vision and have invested in healthcare and technology in North America and China, and have led more than 10 equity funds with a total size of over 5 billion.