A Chinese biotech developing a PD-1xVEGF bispecific and other antibody-drug conjugates has secured a nine-figure raise from blue-chip investors.
Shanghai-based Minghui Pharmaceutical raised $131 million in what it called a “pre-IPO” financing, the company announced Thursday. The round was co-led by OrbiMed, one of the biggest life science investors in the US, and Qiming Venture Partners, the China-based firm that routinely invests in the country’s early-stage science.
The PD-1xVEGF bispecific field has been hot lately thanks to Summit and Akeso, whose drug ivonescimab is undergoing Phase 3 studies in lung cancer. Some of the trials based in China
showed it to be superior
to Merck’s best-selling immunotherapy Keytruda, but the data have been
less straightforward when tested in Western patients
.
Nonetheless, the data are attractive enough that Summit has had discussions with AstraZeneca about a potential $15 billion deal, according to a
report last month
from
Bloomberg
. Those talks followed another high-profile deal in the space: Bristol Myers Squibb
teamed up
with BioNTech in an agreement that could be worth more than $10 billion.
Pfizer has also jumped into the space, partnering with 3SBio in a
deal
that closed last month and could be worth more than $6 billion. Merck licensed a PD-1xVEGF bispecific last year as well from LaNova Medicines that could see Merck on the hook for more than $3 billion.
In Thursday’s
press release
, Minghui said its new funds will go “with a particular focus” toward its own PD-1xVEGF bispecific, which is called MHB039A and is currently in Phase 2 trials. Last November, Minghui
said
it was “exploring strategic partnerships” for the program after reading out Phase 1 dose-escalation data.
Minghui also noted that the bispecific is being tested in combination with an unnamed TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate.
The biotech’s other pipeline programs include a topical JAK inhibitor currently under NDA review in China, an IGF-1R antibody being tested in Phase 3 studies for thyroid eye disease, and a B7-H3 antibody-drug conjugate that’s in a Phase 3 for small cell lung cancer.
It’s not entirely clear when Minghui last put together a financing, though the company says on its website that it raised “over $70 million” in 2020. A spokesperson for Minghui didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.