Shougang Fund, an investment vehicle owned by steel producer Shougang, has participated in a RMB140m ($20.4m) series C round for China-based oncology technology developer Immunochina Pharmaceuticals.
The round included Sherpa Venture Capital, Qingzhe Capital, China Resources Innovative Equity Investment Fund and private investor Peter Thiel as well as unnamed additional investors.
Immunochina is developing CAR-T cell therapies, a process that alters certain cells in a patient’s immune system to attack cancer cells and treat malignant tumours.
The series C funding comes in the wake of recently formed partnerships with biopharmaceutical manufacturing and equipment provider Sartorius and medical product developer Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Proceeds from the round will be used expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities and fund the clinical trials for its lead drug candidate, which targets B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Immunochina said it also plans to accelerate the development of candidates targeting multiple solid and liquid tumours.
Ting He, co-founder and chief executive of Immunochina, said: “We are excited about the interest we received in this financing round, and believe the investors we ultimately chose are a great strategic fit for our ambitions.
“We are not only working toward becoming the leading CAR-T company in China, but as we are observing increasing interest from international companies in our CAR-T cell therapy products and lentiviral manufacturing platform, our series C financing round enables us to continue growing into a stronger company with potential to enter the global market.”
The company had raised $7m in a November 2017 series B round led by Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, and backed by consulting firm Shengjing Group and Thieal Capital, according to China Money Network.