Medical device producer Lepu Medical has led a $40m series C round for US-based oncology therapy developer Rgenix that included pharmaceutical firms Novo and WuXi AppTec.
Alexandria Venture Investments, a subsidiary of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, also invested, as did Oceanpine Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Partnership Fund for New York City’s Innovate NY Fund. WuXi Apptec took part through its corporate venturing fund.
Rgenix is developing a small-molecule immunotherapy known as RGX-104 and is enrolling patients in a phase 1b clinical trial in multiple cancer indications. The funding will support both that trial and a planned phase 2 trial.
The company intends to also launch a phase 1 trial for a small molecule compound called RGX-202 that is intended to suppress the growth of gastrointestinal cancer later this year. Both candidates are based on the company’s microRNA target discovery platform.
Zhongjie Pu, Lepu Medical’s chairman and chief executive, said: “Lepu Medical is very pleased to make this investment in Rgenix. We truly appreciate Rgenix’s unique RNA target discovery approach in identifying various first-in-class cancer targets.
“We also believe RGX-104 has great potential with checkpoint inhibitors across many important cancer types.”
Rgenix has now raised a total of approximately $81m, including $33m in a 2016 series B round co-led by Novo and Sofinnova Partners that also featured Alexandria Venture Investments, Partnership Fund for New York City and VC firm Conegliano Ventures.
The company had previously received $8m in funding from undisclosed investors in 2015, according to a regulatory filing. Jeffries advised it on the latest round.
