China 3D cell culture business secures Series B

Local vaccine producers Sinovac and Sinopharm both re-upped in the round. The proceeds will go towards R&D, international business development, and expansion of production capacity, pipelines, and digital solutions.

The company raised tens of millions of renminbi in an extended Series A from 3E Bioventures Capital last year. This followed a round of similar size in 2019 from Tsinghua Capital, Tsinghua Holdings Capital, C&I Capital, and Cash Capital.

CytoNiche was founded in 2018 by Yanan Du, a professor at Tsinghua University's school of medicine, and its core technology is based on research conducted at the university.

The company specialises in industrial-grade culture preparation solutions for 3D cell microcarrier technology. A microcarrier is a support matrix for the development of cells that must be attached to a surface if they are to grow. Rather than use a flat surface, cells are cultured on spherical microcarriers. Each particle carries several hundred cells, thereby multiplying the expansion capacity. 

CytoNiche microcarrier tablets and related instruments, consumables, and reagents for cell micro-tissue regeneration and high-throughput drug screening. The company claims that 3D systems require 90% less production space, 90% less manpower, and 60% fewer reagents and consumables than 2D systems.

CytoNiche has served more than 100 customers focused on stem cell research, vaccines, gene therapy, and immunotherapy. It operates from a 4,000 square-metre production base and a 5,000 sqm R&D and transformation platform.

The company is considered a domestic substitution play - allowing China to reduce its reliance on imports - alongside semiconductors and innovative drug development.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Healthcare
• China
• Pharmaceuticals
• Gaorong Capital
• CICC