China-based biopharmaceuticals developer Transcenta Holding has received $100m in a series B-plus round featuring Lilly Asia Ventures, the Asia-focused corporate venturing vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
The round was co-led by CR-CP Life Science Fund and Fortune Capital, while Temasek, Epiphron Capital, CCT China Merchant Buyout Fund, China Equity Group, Hillhouse Capital, Teng Yue Partners, Sequoia Capital and Arch Venture Partners also took part.
Transcenta is working on antibody-driven drugs for cancer, kidney disease and bone disorders. It was formed through the merger of Lilly Asia Ventures-backed drug developers HJB and MabSpace Biosciences in January 2019.
The company’s 10-strong pipeline includes Blosozumab, a drug candidate for osteoporosis, a condition which makes bones brittle and more likely to break. It has completed phase 2 clinical trials and Eli Lilly has licensed the drug in addition to multiple other bone disease candidates in Transcenta’s pipeline.
The funding will support the further clinical development of Blosozumab along with Transcenta’s other lead candidates, including a cancer drug candidate based on Claudin 18.2, an antibody thought to be depleted in certain gastric tumours.
The company will also invest in bolstering production capacity as it moves toward launching an initial public offering. The company’s precursors had jointly assembled at least $175m in funding prior to the merger.
HJB, itself an offshoot of biotherapeutics business Just Therapeutics, had received a total of $120m from investors including Lilly Asia Ventures, insurance provider Taikang Life, Temasek, Hillhouse and financial services firms Bank of Hangzhou and Bank of China, the latter through BOCGI Zheshang Capital, as of mid-2018.
MabSpace had meanwhile secured $55m across two rounds, from Lilly Asia Ventures and Sequoia Capital in addition to King Star Capital.