BVCF leads Series A for Shanghai immunotherapy firm
China-focused healthcare investor BVCF has led an undisclosed Series A round of funding for CARsgen, an immunotherapy firm that focuses on treating cancer.
The firm has established partnerships with Shanghai Cancer Institute and Shanghai Renji Hospital to develop new treatments for liver, lung, stomach and brain cancers.
It plans to use the new funds to initiate clinical studies for its liver cancer therapy, known as chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T) cell therapy. This involves the modification of T-cells extracted from the patient, which are then returned to the human body to attack liver cancer.
Zonghai Li, CEO of CARsgen, said liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide - with the vast majority of the sufferers in China - yet it remains underdiagnosed and inadequately treated.
"The leadership team has a strong background in cancer biology, cancer immunology, and antibody development, as well as clinic cellular therapy technology and has assembled a strong proprietary position in CAR-T cell therapy specifically," Zhi Yang, the managing partner of BVCF, said in a statement.
Life sciences and healthcare investor BVCF was set up in 2005 under its previous name, Bio Veda China. It closed its third fund at $200 million in April of this year. The vehicle is more than twice the size of its 2008 vintage predecessor.
Recent investments include Kunshan RiboQuark Pharmaceutical Technology and MicuRX Pharmaceuticals. Another portfolio company, Jaguar Animal Health, was looking to list in the US but it decided to pull the offering earlier this month.
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