Oricell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company operating in China and the US, has secured $70 million in a Series C1 funding round to speed up its global expansion and clinical development.
Oricell, which develops next-generation cell therapies to address unmet needs in oncology and immunology, raised the new round from lead investors including the government-backed Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, and a leading global healthcare fund.
Australia’s NGS Super (NGS), E-Town Capital, Elikon Venture, Talon Capital, and a sovereign wealth fund participated in the round, Lighthouse Capital, financial adviser to the deal, announced on Monday.
The new financing will allow Oricell to strengthen its tech capabilities and pave ways to commercialisation.
Founded in 2015, Oricell is advancing a differentiated pipeline of CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumours, underpinned by three proprietary platforms developed over the past decade.
Dr Helen Yang, chairperson and CEO of Oricell, said: “Oricell will continue to push forward the global clinical advancement of our pipeline, as well as continuous R&D of in vivo products and new technologies. Leveraging our deep technical expertise, policy tailwind, and expanding market opportunities, we can accelerate the development of our CAR-Ts in the clinic at full speed.”
With offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and New Jersey, the US, Oricell has generated proof-of-concept (POC) clinical data across multiple pipeline CAR-T products. Its lead programme, Ori-C101, is an autologous GPC3-targeted CAR-T therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With both a Phase I Investigator-Initiated Trial (IIT) and a Phase I IND study completed, Ori-C101 is entering the registrational pivotal trial.
“As an early investor in Oricell, we’ve witnessed the company’s evolution from a promising startup to a technology powerhouse – from advancing autologous CAR-Ts to secreting CAR-Ts, to pioneering a three-day rapid manufacturing process, and now to exploring in vivo CAR-T in the clinic,” said Qiming’s managing partner, Xubo Hu.
Before the Series C1 round, Oricell raised sizeable funding from investors such as RTW Investments, Qatar Investment Authority, Qiming, and China’s C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment. It secured $125 million in its Series B round in July 2022 and an extension round of $45 million in February 2023.
