SHANGHAI, China and WAEDENSWIL, Switzerland – March 9, 2020 - Numab Therapeutics announced today the closing of its Series B financing round at a total volume of CHF 22M (approximately USD 22.6M). New investors in this round included 3SBio Group’s subsidiary Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical（Shanghai）Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd. and Eisai Co., Ltd. as well as Numab’s board member Dr. Daniel Vasella. Numab’s existing shareholders also contributed to the financing round. Sunshine Guojian invested CHF15M in this series B financing in December 2019. Dr. Zhenping Zhu, MD, PhD, President of Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer of 3SBio, has joined the Numab’s board of directors. With the financing secured, Numab plans to further broaden its proprietary pipeline and accelerate the development for a number of programs towards the clinic. The company also plans to initiate a clinical trial for its lead oncology program ND021 during the course of 2020.
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital is one of Asia’s leading venture capital firm focusing on life science, information and communications technology and high technology investments. Numab and Eisai entered into a global research and option agreement to discover and develop a portfolio of multi-specific antibody immunotherapies for cancer in October 2019. In December 2019, Numab added a regional alliance with Sunshine Guojian to its growing roster of pharmaceutical partnerships.
“We are very pleased to have attracted a renowned institutional investor in Mitsubishi UFJ Capital to the Numab story and likewise appreciate the additional display of confidence in our platform and pipeline strategy by our partners as well as by our existing Series A investors and our board member Dr. Daniel Vasella,” commented Dr. David Urech, Chief Executive Officer of Numab Therapeutics.
“3SBio is committed to developing innovative cancer cures. The investment and collaboration with Numab are consistent with our strategies. we are looking forward to collaborating with the Numab team to explore cutting edge immunotherapies in oncology.” said Dr. Jing Lou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 3SBio。
Multi-specific antibodies have the potential to unlock entirely novel modes-of-action aiming at superior benefit-to-risk profiles relative to conventional cancer immune therapies. Numab’s proprietary MATCH™ technology platform represents one of the most versatile and flexible sources for multi-specific antibodies. MATCH™ molecules can incorporate up to six binding specificities in true plug-and-play fashion. The individual antibody Fv building blocks are designed for maximum stability and developability.
About Numab Therapeutics
Numab Therapeutics is an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company based in Zurich-area, Switzerland. At Numab, we are writing the next chapter in cancer immunotherapy by creating multi-specific antibodies that enable the pursuit of novel therapeutic strategies. With our proprietary MATCH™ technology platform we are fueling a new wave of multi-specific drug candidates engineered with versatility and developability in mind. Our lead product was designed to balance potent anti-tumor immunity with a desirable safety profile by targeting 4-1BB, PD-L1 and Human Serum Albumin simultaneously. We believe meeting the highest quality standards in every step of the drug design process matters and will result in better patient outcomes. For further information, visit www.numab.com.
About Sunshine Guojian
Sunshine Guojian was established in 2002 and is one of the first batch of innovative biopharmaceutical companies focusing on antibody drugs in China. It is a domestic pharmaceutical company that has two launched therapeutic antibody drugs, and had emerged as a leader in antibody drug with its capabilities of independent R&D, manufacturing and commercialization in China. Sunshine Guojian orients its R&D efforts primarily towards innovative therapeutic antibody drugs, and provides quality, safe and effective clinical solutions to the therapeutic areas of major diseases such as auto-immune diseases and tumors. Currently, Sunshine Guojian has 15 anti-body drug candidates (including 7 drug candidates in clinical and new drug registration stage and 8 drug candidates in pre-clinical stage) which are under different development stages, targeting tumor, auto-immune diseases and ophthalmological diseases. Most of those drug candidates are Category I biological products for therapeutic use or monoclonal antibodies, 2 of which are in application for launching, and 5 are in clinical stage. Sunshine Guojian may submit applications to both the National Medical Products Administration and the US Food and Drug Administration for some of those drug candidates, or some may be admitted for priority evaluation. Please visit www.ynzqzl.com for additional information.
About 3SBio
3SBio is a fully-integrated biotechnology company in China with market-leading biopharmaceutical franchises in oncology, auto-immune diseases, nephrology, metabolic diseases and dermatology. 3SBio is focusing on building an innovative product pipeline, currently with over 30 product candidates under development. 3SBio’s manufacturing capabilities include recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies and chemically-synthesized molecules. 3SBio has research and production centers in Shenyang, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Como, Italy. Please visit www.3sbio.com for additional information.
Cautionary Note and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, such as those relating to business or products outlook, or Company's intent, plans, beliefs, expectation, or strategies. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect or may not be realised in future. With respect to any new product or new indication, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully develop or eventually launch and market such product or indication.
Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our other public disclosure documents.
Contacts:
For Numab Therapeutics
David Urech
Chief Executive Officer
d.urech@numab.com
MacDougall
Sara Michelmore or Caroline Rufo, PhD.
+1 781-235-3060
numab@macbiocom.com
Zhang Hui
+86 21 50791207
Steven.zhang@3sbio.com