Pharmaceutical Business review

Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm Antengene completes $120m Series B financing

Image: Antengene founder and chairman Dr Jay Mei. Photo: courtesy of Antengene Corporation.

Antengene has secured the money under series B financing round led by Boyu Capital and FountainVest.

The participants include new investors such as Celgene, WuXi Corporate Venture Fund and Taikang, as well as previous investors such as Qiming Venture Partners and TF Capital.

Antengene’s new round is said to be followed by a $21m series A financing round conducted in 2017 by Qiming Venture Partners.

Antengene founder, chairman and CEO Dr Jay Mei said: “We are grateful for the support and recognition from these prestigious and well-established investors, and that we share a common vision of delivering cutting-edge therapies to help patients with life-threatening diseases.

“This round of financing is critical for Antengene’s growth. We will continue to maintain and advance rigorous, science-driven, and patient-centered R&D, while actively preparing for the commercialization of our lead products in China and the Asia-Pacific Region.”

The company will use the funding to expand its pipeline through internal R&D and external partnerships and support the commercial launch of late-stage drug candidates.

The ATG-010 is a first-in-class selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound in late clinical development to treat multiple hematological malignancies and solid tumors such as multiple myeloma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and liposarcoma.

The ATG-008 is a second generation TORC1/2 inhibitor, which is currently in development to treat hepatitis B virus positive (HBV+) hepatocellular carcinoma. It was also selected as a key project for novel drug development in China

Antengene is currently building 169,984ft² manufacturing and research facility in Shaoxing of China. It will support the clinical and commercial drug supply of the firm’s pipeline products.

Boyu Capital, managing director Yanling Cao said: “As a long-term investor in China’s biopharmaceutical industry, Boyu Capital is much honored to be the lead investor in the Series B financing of Antengene.”

Established in 2017, Antengene is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics, including innovative drugs and combination therapies. The company is mainly targeting markets in China and the Asia-Pacific region.