EdiGene Raises Approximately USD 62 Million in Series B Plus Financing and Expands Operation Locations to Advance and Scale Up Clinical Translation of Gene Editing Technologies

BEIJING & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EdiGene, Inc. (“Company”, or “EdiGene”), today announced the successful completion of an RMB 400 million (approximately USD 62 million) Series B Plus financing. Loyal Valley Capital led the round and other new investors included BioTrack Capital and Sherpa Healthcare Partners, along with continued support by existing investors including IDG Capital, Lilly Asia Venture, 3H Health Investment, Huagai Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Alwin Capital and Kunlun Capital. EdiGene is a biotech company develops genome editing technologies to accelerate drug discovery and develop novel therapeutics for a broad range of diseases. Previously the company completed a Series B Financing of an RMB 450 million (approximately USD 67 million) in October 2020. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company’s pipeline into clinics and to scale up the business operation.

Andy Lin, Founding Partner of Loyal Valley Capital commented: “Gene-editing, as one of the most exciting technologies in life science, has showcased huge potential in treating or curing various diseases in recent years and may fundamentally transform the current ways of disease treatment in the future. As the leading company in China in translating gene-editing technologies into innovative therapies, EdiGene has assembled a team of world-class researchers and experienced drug developers to develop and commercialize such assets, with full scientific rigor and quality. With their lead product receiving the first gene-editing therapy IND application approval in China, their pipeline addresses serious unmet medical needs with innovative and creative approaches. Investing in EdiGene fits very well with our value of ‘investing in and fostering leaders that make the world a better place’. We are honored to lead the round and join force with EdiGene and other investors to bring effective and accessible innovative therapies to patients in China and globally. We look forward to supporting the company in financing, scaling up development capabilities, linking up key resources upstream and downstream and collaborating with global partners, helping the company to become a global player in research and translation of gene editing technologies.”

“We are delighted to add these top tier investors and are grateful for the continuous support from the current investors,” said Dong Wei, Ph.D.，CEO of EdiGene, “The company is speeding up portfolio advancement and scaling up business footprints. Adding to our existing Beijing R&D center and Guangzhou Clinical Application Center, we have opened our Clinical Development Office in Beijing, Business Development Office in Shanghai and launched a R&D center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The round enables us to continue our efforts in translating gene-editing technologies into therapeutics and further grow the company in terms of scale, global competitiveness and business development. With these efforts, we strive to bring innovative therapies to patients in need sooner.”

“We are grateful for the investors’ support, which enables us to move forward in R&D, company scale and globalization and propel the company to a brand new stage,” said Wensheng Wei, Ph.D., Scientific Founder of EdiGene, “We will continue to translate genome editing technologies into transformative therapies, bringing new hope and new options to patients in China and around the world.”

In January 2021, the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved EdiGene’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ET-01, an investigational CRISPR/Cas 9 gene-editing therapy for patients with transfusion dependent β-thalassemia. It marks the first gene-editing therapy and the first hematopoietic stem cell therapy IND application approval in China. The Company is preparing to initiate ET-01’s Phase I clinical trial, and furthermore, is advancing other assets including allogeneic CAR-T therapy, in vivo therapies based on RNA base editing technology LEAPER^™, as well as novel targeted therapies discovered through high-throughput genome-editing screening.

About EdiGene, Inc

EdiGene is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on leveraging the cutting-edge genome editing technologies to accelerate drug discovery and develop novel therapeutics for a broad range of genetic diseases and cancer. The company has established its proprietary ex vivo genome-editing platforms for hematopoietic stem cells and T cells, in vivo therapeutic platform based on RNA base editing, and high-throughput genome-editing screening to discover novel targeted therapies. Founded in 2015, EdiGene is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai, China and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. More information can be found at www.edigene.com.

About Loyal Valley Capital

Loyal Valley Capital (“LVC”), founded in 2015, is a thematic, research-oriented private equity firm that has been a “partner of choice” for China’s most promising companies. LVC has left a mark in leading players such as Junshi, InnoCare, Akeso, Bilibili, Didi, and many other top-tier companies in China. In 2020, LVC was honorably awarded the “Top 10 Most Influential Private Equity Firms in China”, “Top 20 Healthcare Investor in China”, “Top 10 Innovative Drug Investor in China”, and “Top 20 Consumer Investor in China”.

About BioTrack Capital

Founded in 2017, BioTrack Capital is a dedicated healthcare venture capital firm focused on investing and incubating innovative life science companies in China. We are more than just capital providers. We invest in long-term partnerships with China’s leading healthcare entrepreneurs to build the next generation of world class companies.

About Sherpa Healthcare Partners

Sherpa Healthcare Partners (“Sherpa”) was founded in 2018, the founders previously worked together in one of China’s leading venture capital firms, built and led its professional medical investment team since 2011, set up the dedicated healthcare investment fund and responsible for healthcare investment. The founders have been teamed together in close co-operation, built on shared values, mutual trust, and complementary capabilities. Sherpa has now become an influential healthcare VC firm in the industry. Sherpa has invested in leading companies in many key areas, such as Pharma, GeneTech, MedTech and Medical services. From 2011 to 2020, the team has gone through 4 vintage year cycles of multiple U.S dollar funds and RMB funds and made 100 investments. Sherpa has the honor to work with many outstanding entrepreneurs and grow together with them.

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