The property developer has backed Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences spinout Juventas to help advance its clinical-stage oncology cell therapy candidates.
The company did not identify investors, however, DealStreetAsia reported it was led by private equity fund CMG-SDIC Capital and backed by commercial property developer Parkland Group.
The round also included Kaixin Biotechnology – possibly part of automotive retailer Kaixin Auto – Tzitzit Asset, Tianjin Venture Capital, Ruisheng Investment, Xiangrong Capital, Dalton Venture and Jiadao Fanghua Investment.
Parkland took part through its Daxie Pengchuang Investment vehicle. DealStreetAsia reported the round size as RMB450m, which would equate to $68.4m.
Juventas is developing cellular immuno-oncology therapies for acute lymphatic leukaemia and haematologic tumours. It recently began a phase 2 registration study for its lead drug candidate, CNCT19 for relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).
CNCT19 is also in a phase 1 clinical trial for relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, with a phase 2 study expected to begin by the end of this year.
Pharmaceutical company Casi Pharmaceuticals led a $14.5m series A-plus round in July 2019 that also featured Dalton Venture and Panacea Venture, following $23.7m in series A funding from Redhill Capital and Dalton Venture in late 2018.
Wei-Wu He, chairman and CEO of Casi, said in a statement this week: “Its financing provides Juventas with resources to continue moving CNCT19 through registration, and we remain excited about its potential as a first-line treatment for B-NHL.
“In addition, as a large (16%) shareholder of Juventas, we are pleased to see Juventas’ progress in their overall pipeline and expect its financing to help accelerate its development.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.