Legend leads $20m Series B for China's Exegenesis Bio

Exegenesis was founded in Hangzhou in July of last year by Zhenhua Wu, the current CEO, who has previously worked on gene therapy treatments for the likes of Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and NeuExcell Therapeutics. Other members of the founding team have similar backgrounds, with both the chief science officer and CTO having spent time at US-based Applied Genetics Technology Corporation (AGTC).

Within four months of establishment, the company had built a production facility that met regulatory requirements in China, the US and Europe. Exegenesis has not disclosed any information on the make-up and maturity of its portfolio. A statement merely stresses the global potential of treatments based on DNA sequencing.

Few gene therapy drugs have received approval to conduct clinical trials in China because domestic players often struggle with technical barriers. A major challenge is designing gene vectors – which are based on genetically neutered viruses that cannot reproduce once they infect a target cell – with high tissue specificity, low immunogenicity, and high infection efficiency. These factors dictate the effectiveness of a drug.

Exegenesis believes its ability to produce high-purity gene therapy vectors in a stable, large-scale, and low-cost manner can be a competitive advantage.

Junfeng Wang, a managing director at Legend Capital, noted that gene therapy has become a popular biotech segment globally, with numerous big pharma players devoting resources to it. However, in China, it is still a relatively new area and relevant talent is scarce. The core team at Exegenesis has the experience to become a leading player in China and ultimately take on international competitors, he added.

Legend Star – an incubator under Legend Holdings, which is also Legend Capital’s parent company – participated in a $10 million Series A round for Exegenesis last October. Additional contributions came from K2 Venture Partners and Kaitai Capital.

Other VC-backed start-ups in China’s gene therapy space include EdiGene, which is developing genome editing technologies into innovative treatments for genetic conditions and cancer. It received $10 million in funding from IDG Capital and Lilly Asia Ventures last year.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Early-stage
• China
• Legend Capital
• Pharmaceuticals