CPE News Brief (5.3.2023) – uBriGene Biosciences, a Chinese company with office in Vancouver, has raised ¥150 million or US $20 million in Series C+ funding from undisclosed investors.
Founded in October 2015, uBriGene is a R&D and production biotechnology company dedicated to the development and application of gene therapy and cell therapy (CGT) technology and providing overall solutions for the industrialization of CGT.
With Canadian subsidiary incorporated in Canada in 2021 and office located in the campus of the University of British Columbia, uBriGene Biosciences also has Delaware domiciled subsidiaries based in Rockville Maryland.
photo credit: uBriGene
News Release
uBriGene Biosciences Inc. closes 150 million CNY (20 million USD) Series C+ round
Updated: Apr 21
uBriGene Biosciences Inc. has closed a 150 million CNY (20 million USD) Series C+ financing round. It was completed just half a year after uBriGene’s Series C funding in September 2022, when the company received hundreds of millions of CNY (tens to hundreds of millions of USD).
The funds will be used for the expansion of uBriGene’s global footprint, developing prospective key technologies, and enhancing its global-oriented CGT CDMO platform.
The goal of expanding global production capacity is to meet the needs of overseas market, fully exploit the team’s strengths and advantages, improve the manufacturing platforms based in the United States and Canada to better provide services for global customers.
Accelerating prospective development of key technologies at uBriGene’s global R&D centers to enhance their one-stop GCT CDMO platform, which includes six core technology platforms: plasmid production, viral vector production, cell therapy drug preparation, nucleic acid therapeutics, as well as process development and quality control. In addition, the funds will be used for disruptive and fundamental innovations, breakthrough innovations for CGT industrialization, cost and efficiency improvements, as well as the commercialization of biological therapeutics to benefit more patients in a quick, economical and effective manner.
Statement from Dr. Sun Xiulian, Chairman and CTO of uBriGene:
“I am very grateful to shareholders, investors, and partners for their recognition, trust, and support, and to our team for their persistent efforts and hard work. For more than ten years, uBriGene has experienced and witnessed the development and rise of the CGT industry and has continued to grow from tackling challenges. With an abundance of knowledge and experience accumulated, uBriGene has become a core participant in the CGT CDMO industry and new drug research and development industries. In recent years, uBriGene has been favored by investors for its outstanding technological innovation, high-quality products, and a reputation of excellence. Whether it is in 2022, which was known as the “frozen capital” year, or in 2023, when the CGT market gradually returns to normal, we have always been supported by stable capital flow, which is the key to realizing the long-term strategic goal for uBriGene. The C+ round of financing will be mainly used to accelerate the internationalization of the company as well as to construct and improve the global CGT CDMO platform. With our continuous, fundamental innovations on technology, high-quality and cost-effective products, as well as comprehensive one-stop service capabilities, we will further open overseas markets and provide all-round assistance for global CGT pharmaceuticals in R&D, production, IND, and clinical trials as “a world-class cell & gene therapy CDMO partner, from concept to commercialization”.
uBriGene Financing Highlights
October 2019: uBriGene raised tens of millions CNY (millions of USD) in angel round financing, which was used to improve and strengthen uBriGene CDMO team structure and equipment upgrades.
December 2020: uBriGene raised 120 million CNY (17 million USD) capital in Round A financing, which was used to improve the development of new vector technologies and platform processes, and comprehensively enhance the GMP-grade viral vectors production capacity.
September 2021: uBriGene raised nearly 200 million CNY (29 million USD) capital in Round B financing, which was used to improve viral vector manufacturing technologies, to expand the company’s leading advantages in plasmids and AAV, to construct domestic and overseas commercial manufacturing facilities, to strengthen uBriGene’s market presence, as well as to reinforce its leading edge and to promote the development of the industry.
September 2022: uBriGene raised hundreds of millions of CNY (tens to hundreds of USD) in Round C finance, which was used for expansion of global footprint, to establish the CMC R&D centers in the United States and Canada, to continuously advance the development and innovation of CGT technologies and processes, to continuously improve uBriGene’s leading edge as a one-stop service provider in the field of CGT CDMO, to comprehensively scale up the production capacity of GMP AAV, plasmid, lentivirus, adenovirus, CAR-T, iPSC and nucleic acid therapeutics, to empower the development of new CGT drugs in China and globally, as well as to lead and to transform the industry.
April 2023: uBriGene raised 150 million CNY (20 million USD) in Round C+ of financing, which will be used to further accelerate the expansion of uBriGene’s global footprint, developing prospective key technologies, and enhancing its global-oriented CGT CDMO platform.
About uBriGene
Founded in October 2015, uBriGene is a R&D and production biotechnology company dedicated to the development and application of gene therapy and cell therapy (CGT) technology and providing overall solutions for the industrialization of CGT.
uBriGene is in the early stage of establishing its international presence. The GMP bases established in Suzhou and Jinan, China, have a total area of over 100,000 sq ft., with dozens of plasmid, virus and cell therapy drug production lines, which can provide CGT pharmaceuticals with GMP plasmids, AAV, lentivirus, oncolytic virus, CAR-T /NK, iPSC-based therapeutics, RNA therapeutics preparation, and other one-stop CDMO services. CMC R&D centers focusing on prospective technology development and application have been established in the United States and Canada to ensure that the company’s technology is always at the global forefront.
uBriGene has a professional technical team, a complete GMP system, and an abundance of project experience. These enables uBriGene to meet customers’ demands for early R&D, investigator-initiated clinical (IIT), new drug clinical trial application (IND), and I/II/III clinical trials. The company’s commercial production is in compliance with NMPA of China and FDA of the US. uBriGene provides CGT customers with one-stop CDMO services from process development, pilot batch, engineering batch, and GMP clinical batch production, helping customers to accelerate the commercialization of new therapeutics. Since 2019, the company has undertaken and delivered more than 80 batches of IND and IIT products in China. In 2022, a total of 4 IND applications for cell and gene therapies were approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and entered the clinical trial stage. This demonstrated uBriGene’s competitive edge in the field, notably for large-scale preparation of AAV and lentiviral vectors.