KTB, Jolly Innovation lead $30m round for China's CARsgen

CARsgen will use the funding to pursue an international development strategy for its upcoming series of cancer drugs, according to a release. Over the next year the company plans to complete the first stage of clinical studies for two drugs in China, while completing preclinical testing for the same drugs in the US and filing applications with regulators to pursue further studies.

Kaitai Capital and JIC GenesisFountain Healthcare Ventures of China also participated in the round. As part of the transaction, KTB's Chi Hoon Hyun will join CARsgen's board of directors.

CARsgen's treatments are based on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, in which patients' immune cells are extracted, modified, and then returned to the patients' bodies to attack their cancer. The company previously received a Series A round for an undisclosed amount led by China-focused healthcare investor BVCF in 2014.

KTB Ventures is the VC arm of South Korea's KTB Investment and Securities, and is one of the country's oldest venture capital firms, having been founded in 1981. It seeks investment opportunities in Series A or B rounds for technology-driven start-ups in Korea, China and the US, and prefers to partner with local VC firms.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Expansion
• Venture
• China
• KTB Securities
• healthcare
• Growth capital
• Venture